Coordination Concerns

R&D Managers

R&D Managers can explain the relationship between:

• Age and positioning
• Positioning and material cost
• MTBF and material cost
• Automation and project length
• Number of projects and completion times

R&D Managers coordinate with:

• Marketing when products are repositioned or introduced;
• Production when new products are invented;
• Finance over their budget.

Marketing Managers

Marketing Managers can explain the relationships between:

• Price and contribution margin
• Price and demand
• Promotion budget and awareness
• Sales budget and accessibility
• A/R policy and demand

Marketing Managers coordinate with:

• R&D when products are launched or repositioned;
• Production in their unit sales forecast and contribution margin; and
• Finance with sales projections and their budget.

Production Managers

Production Managers can explain the relationships between:

• Inventory levels and carrying costs
• Carrying costs and opportunity costs (not having inventory to sell)
• Capacity and second shift
• Automation and labor costs
• Second shift and labor costs
• Idle plant costs
• Consequences of buying/selling capacity or increasing automation

Production Managers coordinate with:

• R&D about new product introduction and material costs;
• Marketing about demand, scheduling, and inventory;
• Finance about plant and equipment changes, inventory levels, and contribution margins.

Finance Managers

Finance Managers can explain the relationships between:

• Stock issue or retirement and capital structure
• Working capital and inventory
• Dividend policy and stock price
• Emergency loans and cash
• Current debt and short-term interest rates
• Bond issue and prepayment
• All financial performance measures

Finance Managers coordinate with:

• R&D over budgets and product introductions;
• Marketing about sales projections, margins, and marketing budgets;
• Production about margins, plant and equipment changes and inventory levels.