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Relevance Regained Paperback – January 15, 2002

by H. Thomas Johnson (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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Building on his pathbreaking, award-winning bestseller, Relevance Lost, H. Thomas Johnson presents a devastating critique of the top-down hierarchical accounting systems that have dominated American corporations since the 1950s.

In Relevance Regained, Johnson shows exactly how "managing by remote control" through results-oriented accounting information has obstructed the real business objective: to reduce process variation and lead times for the purpose of obtaining and keeping satisfied customers. The failure of most American businesses to be competitive and profitable, he contends, is their reliance on management accounting information to control people's actions and productivity.

Cost-focused imperatives from on high must be replaced, Johnson asserts, with information systems that link actions with imperatives of global competition. Self-managing work teams, according to Johnson, must own problem-solving information to reduce variation, delays, and excess in processes.

Johnson prescribes the necessary changes in management principles that must replace the outdated style associated with the industrial revolution. Responsiveness to customers—not accounting costs—and flexibility—reducing lead times and removing constraints—are necessary for sustained competitive excellence and long-term profitability.

Johnson discusses the radical overhauls of companies, such as General Electric's work-outs/"best practices" program and Harley-Davidson's work simplification programs, and shows how these strong commitments to new strategies maximize a company's most important assets: people and time. To be globally competitive, he claims, a company's work must be directed toward selling to customers, not just selling products.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Free Press
  4. Publication date
    January 15, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0743236270
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0743236270
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Alfred M. King Senior Vice President, Valuation Research Corporation "Relevance Lost" by Johnson and Kaplan was the key accounting book of the 1980s. "Relevance Regained" will be the seminal volume of the 1990s.

Harry V. Roberts Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago A very important contribution to Total Quality Management...ranks with Schonberger, Ishikawa, Deming, Shingo, Ohno, Box, and Juran.

James M. Hurd President/CEO, Planar Systems, Inc. Articulates the fundamental changes that U.S. managers must lead to reverse the free-fall in American industrial competitiveness.

Richard J. Schonberger author, "Building a Chain of Customers" Johnson's prescriptions for sharp course corrections are right on target.

Steven C. Wheelwright co-author, "Revolutionizing Product Development" and "Dynamic Manufacturing" This outstanding work will be of tremendous value to managers. It provides a whole new frame of reference focused on what they care most about -- competitive advantage.

Thomas J. Murrin Dean, School of Business Administration, Duquesne University, and former President, Energy and Advanced Technology Group, Westinghouse Electric Co. Very timely -- and positively impactful!

Thomas M. O'Brien former manager, Product Management Programs, General Electric Co. In their search for companies that are making fundamental improvements, Wall Street analysts would be wise to understand Johnson's message.

William A. Golomski President, W. A. Golomski & Associates Provides new approaches and methods needed for managers at all levels to jump start the journey of continuous improvement.

About the Author

H. Thomas Johnson is Professor of Business Administration at Portland State University in Oregon and Distinguished Consulting Professor of Sustainable Business at Bainbridge Graduate Institute in Washington. He co-authored Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Management Accounting, which is considered one of the most influential management books of the twentieth century by the Harvard Business Review.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press (January 15, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743236270
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743236270
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

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4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Paolo
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
Simply great!
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wjbellows
5.0 out of 5 stars Relevance Gained
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2012
The relevance of Relevance Regained can be lost on those who subscribe to solutions that are heavily invested in tools used to attack and reduce waste as well as all non-value added activities. Instead, Relevance Regained offers a refreshing look, as well as a radical departure, from this all too common focus.

When Tom Johnson was approached by Robert Kaplan to serve as a co-author of Relevance Lost, he offered his expertise on the historical role of management accounting systems. Kaplan's thesis was that management accounting systems, as used at the time, were limiting the abilities of corporations to invest resources in ways to allow them to compete more effectively. Together with Johnson, Kaplan proposed that drastic changes were needed in management accounting systems, hence the reference to their "lost relevance." In a book devoid of references to quality and Deming, they concluded that:

"The management accounting systems were seen as necessary components for managing the increased scale and scope of operations.......For too many firms today, however, the management accounting system is seen as a system designed and run by accountants to satisfy the informational needs of accountants. This is clearly wrong....the task is simply too important to be left to accountants.....The active involvement of engineers and operating managers will be essential when designing new management accounting systems.....Failure to make the modifications will inhibit the ability of firms to be effective and efficient global competitors."

In closing Relevance Lost, Johnson and Kaplan directed management accounting in the direction of what eventually became known as Activity-Based Cost accounting. Instead of pursuing this path with Kaplan, Johnson's research led him to the evolving "Quality Improvement" community and interactions with associates of W. Edwards Deming. Evidence of this influence is provided in the opening quotation in Relevance Regained,

The basic cause of sickness in American industry and resulting unemployment is failure of top management to manage.
W. Edwards Deming

In a departure from a focus on how best to structure management accounting systems, Johnson was keen to immediately advise readers Of Relevance Regained of Dr. Deming's message; "the need to transform the entire structure, style, and philosophy of management - "from foundation upward." Johnson added that "Goals reflecting only accounting information constrict managements' thinking, eliminating companies from global competition." Johnson proceeded to reference Dr. Deming some 14 times in this book, concluding with that "The management revolution discussed here has little to do with Japan, the West, or any other group.... The opportunity will be lost to those who refuse to abandon thinking and practices of the past."

Twenty years after its initial publication, this book continues to offer a deep foundation for moving from traditional interpretations of the Toyota Production System to one firmly founded upon Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. I highly recommend it.
4 people found this helpful
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M Rother
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2011
Where does sustained competitive advantage come from? Using top-down accounting results to command and control an organization works well enough... if conditions are stable and the path to the goal is known. In that case, management's task consists largely of establishing targets, providing incentives and periodically checking results.

But many companies are finding themselves in marketplaces grown crowded and dynamic. It's not possible to know how conditions will develop, and when you fall behind it's hard to catch up. Our current managerial-accounting-based management system may not be up to the task that these challenges present. In crowded, dynamic markets, leaders and managers need to teach their people how to work systematically and iteratively to overcome obstacles and meet larger goals.

The change in market conditions can be slow to surface, so we may feel little urgency to change our management approach. And resistance to such change is naturally great anyway. In this book Professor Johnson gets you thinking... what if the constant use of financial-accounting-based "process drivers" cripple organizations in the long run, leading to eventual decline? Then Johnson points to mindset and behaviors that leaders, managers and business schools can adopt to better equip them for the uncertain grey zones ahead.

This book is completely germane to today's world, and it will surprise you to learn it was first published in 1992. Relevance Regained is a classic I recommend to anyone interested in management and leadership.
3 people found this helpful
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Steve Bell, Lean IT Strategies
5.0 out of 5 stars A real paradigm shifter
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2011
This early book by Thomas Johnson shows a remarkable vision in the making, of how command and control thinking inhibits creativity and progress, and how traditional management accounting is a powerful under-the-radar mechanism of that control philosophy. An early pioneer in Activity Based Costing, who later reversed course as a result of his ten year insider experience at Toyota at the invitation of Mr. Fujio Cho who was then President of Toyota's North American operations, Thomas became a pioneer in the practice of management accounting for Lean - or rather the absence of management accounting used in an attempt to guide operations. Johnson has long been in Peter Senge's inner circle, and was recently awarded the Deming medal for advancing the practice. This book is an important step in the journey of one of the lesser known but more influential Lean thinkers from the very beginning.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

DT
4.0 out of 5 stars Lean needs Accountancy Changes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
Classic text which underlines Art Bryne's storied experience that Lean Transformations must be supported by adjustments in accounting to enable change in the gemba.

Recommended for folks who still think like Sloan.
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DT
4.0 out of 5 stars Lean needs Accountancy Changes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2021
Classic text which underlines Art Bryne's storied experience that Lean Transformations must be supported by adjustments in accounting to enable change in the gemba.

Recommended for folks who still think like Sloan.
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