Question

A manager checked production records and found that a worker produced 215 units while working 50 hours. In the previous week, the same worker produced 160 units while working 40 hours.

Compute Current period productivity and Previous period productivity. (Round your answers to 2 decimal places.)
Compute Current period productivity _____ units/hour
Previous period productivity _____ units/hour

Answer 1

Current period productivity is calculated as 4.30 units/hour, while Previous period productivity is calculated as 4.00 units/hour. Productivity in both cases is determined by dividing the number of units produced by the total hours worked.

Step-by-step explanation:

To compute Current period productivity, divide the number of units produced by the total hours worked in the current period. So, for the current period the worker produced 215 units over 50 hours, which calculates to 4.30 units/hour (215 units ÷ 50 hours).

Similarly, for the Previous period productivity, divide the number of units produced by the total hours worked in the previous period. In this case, 160 units produced over 40 hours equals to 4.00 units/hour (160 units ÷ 40 hours).

These calculations are examples of measuring productivity, which is often expressed in terms of the output per hour worked as a common measure of U.S. productivity per worker. This is used to assess how much a worker contributes to the employer's output, and significant growth in this measure has been observed over time as depicted in various statistical figures.