Practical Management Science
6th Edition
ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Chapter2: Introduction To Spreadsheet Modeling
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 20P: Julie James is opening a lemonade stand. She believes the fixed cost per week of running the stand...
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1- Which crew size had the highest productivity per worker ? Which crew size had the lowest productivity per worker? What are some possible explanations for these results ?

2- After a recent storm , a customer called in a panic , saying she had planned a garden party for the upcoming weekend and her garden was in a shambles. The owner decided to send a crew of four workers , even though a two worker crew would have a higher productivity. Explain the rationale for this decision.

3- What is a possible qualitative issue that may very well influence productivity levels that the productivity ratios fail to take into account ?

CASE
"YOUR GARDEN GLOVES"
JOSEPH MURRAY, GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
"Your Garden Gloves" is a small gardening business located in Michigan. The company plants and maintains flower gardens for both
commercial and residential clients. The company was founded about five years ago, and has since grown substantially, averaging about
10 new clients and one new employee a year. The company currently employs cight seasonal employees who are responsible for a
ccrtain number of clients.
Each morning, crews are assigned to jobs by the owner. Crew sizes range from two to four workers. Crew size and composition are a
function of the square footage of the garden and requirements of the job. The owner feels that large jobs should be assigned to crews of
four workers in order to complete the job in a reasonable amount of time.
From time to time, the owner noticed that some jobs, especially the largest ones, took longer than she had estimated, based on the
square footage of the garden space involved. The owner's son, Joc, decided to investigate. He kept records of job times and crew sizes,
and then used thosc records to compute labor productivity. The results were:
Crew Size Average Productivity per Crew
2
4,234 square feet per day
5,352 square feet per day
7,860 square feet per day
4
The company operates on a small profit margin, so it is especially important to take worker productivity into account.
Questions
1. Which crew size had the highest productivity per worker? Which crew size had the lowest productivity per worker? What are some
possible explanations for these results?
2. After a recent storm, a customer called in a panic, saying she had planned a garden party for the upcoming weekend and her garden
was in a shambles. The owner decided to send a crew of four workers, even though a two-worker crew would have a higher
productivity. Explain the rationale for this decision.
3. What is a possible qualitative issue that may very well influence productivity levels that the productivity ratios fail to take into
account?
Transcribed Image Text:CASE "YOUR GARDEN GLOVES" JOSEPH MURRAY, GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY "Your Garden Gloves" is a small gardening business located in Michigan. The company plants and maintains flower gardens for both commercial and residential clients. The company was founded about five years ago, and has since grown substantially, averaging about 10 new clients and one new employee a year. The company currently employs cight seasonal employees who are responsible for a ccrtain number of clients. Each morning, crews are assigned to jobs by the owner. Crew sizes range from two to four workers. Crew size and composition are a function of the square footage of the garden and requirements of the job. The owner feels that large jobs should be assigned to crews of four workers in order to complete the job in a reasonable amount of time. From time to time, the owner noticed that some jobs, especially the largest ones, took longer than she had estimated, based on the square footage of the garden space involved. The owner's son, Joc, decided to investigate. He kept records of job times and crew sizes, and then used thosc records to compute labor productivity. The results were: Crew Size Average Productivity per Crew 2 4,234 square feet per day 5,352 square feet per day 7,860 square feet per day 4 The company operates on a small profit margin, so it is especially important to take worker productivity into account. Questions 1. Which crew size had the highest productivity per worker? Which crew size had the lowest productivity per worker? What are some possible explanations for these results? 2. After a recent storm, a customer called in a panic, saying she had planned a garden party for the upcoming weekend and her garden was in a shambles. The owner decided to send a crew of four workers, even though a two-worker crew would have a higher productivity. Explain the rationale for this decision. 3. What is a possible qualitative issue that may very well influence productivity levels that the productivity ratios fail to take into account?
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