- In the past, there was concern about a “productivity paradox” related to IT services. More recently, there have been few references to this phenomenon. Using the Internet, explain the term “productivity paradox.” Why do you think that the discussion of that topic has faded?
- A U.S. company has two manufacturing plants, one in the United States and one in another country. Both produce the same item, each for sale in their respective countries. However, their productivity figures are quite different. The analyst thinks this is because the U.S. plant uses more automated equipment for processing while the other plant uses a higher percentage of labor. Explain how that factor can cause productivity figures to be misleading. Is there another way to compare the two plants that would be more meaningful?
- While it is true that increases in efficiency generate productivity increases, it is possible to get caught in an “efficiency improvement trap.” Explain what this means.
- It is common knowledge that Sam’s boss Dom has been fudging the weekly productivity figures. Several employees, including Sam, have spoken to him about this, but he continues to do it. Sam has observed a drop in morale among his coworkers due to this. Sam is thinking about sending an anonymous note to Dom’s boss. Would that be ethical? What would you do if you were Sam?
- Give two examples of what would be considered unethical involving competition and the ethical principles (see Chapter 1) that would be violated.
1. A catering company prepared and served 300 meals at an anniversary celebration last week using eight workers. The week before, six workers prepared and served 240 meals at a wedding reception.
a. For which event was the labor productivity higher? Explain.
b. What are some possible reasons for productivity differences?
2. The manager of a crew that installs carpeting has tracked the crew’s output over the past several weeks, obtaining these figures:
Week Crew Size Yards Installed
1 4 96 2 3 72 3 4 92 4 2 50 5 3 69 6 2 52
Compute the labor productivity for each of the weeks. Based on your calculations, what can you conclude about crew size and productivity?
