Hewlett-Packard (HP) is considered one of the best-managed and most innovative companies in the world. It continually has shown an ability to adapt to global competitive challenges through technical innovation and continual reassessment of its management and control mechanisms.

Most applications of activity-based costing by Hewlett-Packard have been successful.

But, over the period August 1988 to August 1989, the Colorado Springs Division of Hewlett-

Packard designed an activity-based costing system with the goal of providing for better product costing and inventory valuation. It began implementation in November 1989 but halted the process in the summer of 1992. Since then, the Colorado Springs Division has made no further attempts to re-implement a more expansive ABC approach.

Instructions The March 1997 issue of Management Accounting contains an article by Steven P. Landry, Larry M.

Wood, and Tim M. Lindquist about the Colorado Springs Division entitled “Can ABC Bring Mixed Results?” Read the article and answer the following questions.

(a) What went wrong at HP’s Colorado Springs Division in the design, development, and implementation of its activity-based costing system?

(b) What conclusions were drawn from HP’s Colorado Springs Division experience? What does successful ABC implementation require?

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