Evaluating the Impact of Adding Another Copier or Hiring Another Worker
To determine whether the copy company should purchase another copier or hire another worker to expand output, we need to analyze the impact of each option based on the provided information.
Impact of Adding a Copier
– Adding 2 copiers increased output by 60,000 pages per day.
– One copier costs three times as much as a worker.
Adding 2 copiers resulted in an increase of 60,000 pages per day. Therefore, the increase in productivity per copier can be calculated as:
[ \text{Increase in Productivity per Copier} = \frac{60,000}{2} = 30,000 \text{ pages per day per copier} ]
Since one copier costs three times as much as a worker, the cost of adding one copier is equivalent to hiring three workers.
Impact of Adding a Worker
– Adding 5 workers increased output by 25,000 pages per day.
Adding 5 workers led to an increase of 25,000 pages per day. Therefore, the increase in productivity per worker can be calculated as:
[ \text{Increase in Productivity per Worker} = \frac{25,000}{5} = 5,000 \text{ pages per day per worker} ]
Given that the cost of one copier is three times the cost of a worker, hiring one worker is more cost-effective than purchasing one copier.
Recommendation
Based on the analysis, it is more cost-effective for the copy company to hire another worker rather than purchase another copier to expand output. Hiring additional workers provides a higher increase in productivity per dollar spent compared to purchasing additional copiers. This decision aligns with the company’s goal of maximizing output while minimizing costs.