Our examples in the chapter have focused on manufacturing, where the output is units of product and the inputs are manufacturing activities or costs. The concept of productivity can be applied in a variety of settings, wherever there are inputs and outputs. For example, consider LandscapeCity, a landscape design company that specializes in small landscape projects for people living in cities. Amanda Caldwell, the assistant manager, is in the process of trying to determine if productivity has been improving since she was hired 6 months ago. Because it is a design firm, labor is the only significant expense, but Amanda is unsure if the number ofprojects or the dollar of sales volume should be used when computing productivity. She has collected these data for sales and labor expenses for the past 6 months:

MonthLabor Expense Number of Projects Sales Dollars

1 $23,250 48 $21,490

2 32,640 68 $23,300

3 20,792 50 $30,180

4 14,594 16 $19,960

5 15,326 21 $23,080

6 21,992 50 $22,920

Required:

1. Calculate the productivity for each month and the change in productivity from month to month using number of projects as the measure of output.

2. Calculate the productivity for each month and the change in productivity from month to month using sales dollars as the measure of output.

Req 1

Calculate the productivity for each month and the change in productivity from month to month using number of projects as the measure of output.(Round your answers to 4 decimal places. Negative amounts should be indicated by a minus sign.)

Month Labor Expense Number of Projects ProductivityMonthly Charge

1 $23,250 48

2$32,640 68

3 $20,792 50

4 $14,594 16

5 $15,326 21

6 $21,992 50

Req 2

Calculate the productivity for each month and the change in productivity from month to month using number of projects as the measure of output.(Round your answers to 4 decimal places. Negative amounts should be indicated by a minus sign.)

Month Labor Expense Sales Dollars Productivity Monthly Change

1 $23,250 $21,490

2 $32,640 $23,300

3 $20,792 $30,180