Final answer:
The fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew is by task specialization, with each person performing a specific step in the manufacturing process. Production rates and quantities would not change significantly if Randy joined the crew and one of the original members became the backup. Cathy's movement to a different step would not affect the fastest time to manufacture a table. Utilizing the crew through task specialization could increase the number of tables manufactured per day.
Step-by-step explanation:
1. The fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew is by having each person perform a specific step in the manufacturing process. This means George does the finishing, Tom performs the preparation, Leon handles the assembly, and Cathy takes care of the packaging. Assuming each step takes the same amount of time, and all crew members work efficiently, they would be able to manufacture one table per day.
2. If Randy were to perform one of the four functions and one of the original crew members became the backup person, the production rates and quantities would not change significantly. The crew would still be able to manufacture one table per day.
3. If Cathy were moved to either the preparation or finishing step, the fastest time to manufacture a table with the original crew would not change. They would still be able to manufacture one table per day.
4. To better utilize the crew, they could adopt a task specialization approach. Instead of giving each person a single job or allowing each to manufacture an entire table, they could divide the manufacturing process into smaller tasks and assign each person to specialize in a specific task. For example, one person could cut and form the components, another could assemble the table, another could handle the finishing, and another could take care of the packaging. With this scheme, they could potentially manufacture more than one table per day, depending on the efficiency of the specialized tasks.