| Productivity Work | |||
| TLW Consulting has been concerned about declining profitability and the president has asked you to evaluate productivity over the past two years. After several weeks, you have managed to collect the following data about company operations. | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Billable Hours | 125,000 | 135,000 | |
| Labor Hours | 150,000 | 160,000 | |
| Travel | $4,000,000 | $4,500,000 | |
| Information Technology | $3,200,000 | $5,800,000 | |
| Management Overhead | $5,000,000 | $7,000,000 | |
| Capital Investment | $3,000,000 | $4,500,000 | |
| The average charge for billable hours is $325 and the average cost per labor hour is $105. Invested capital is exclusive of information technology investment. The productivity of an individual factor involves comparing the cost of that input factor to the value of the output, which is billable hours. | |||
| 1. what is the output in hours? | |||
| 2.a. What is the labor productivity for 2019 in dollars? | |||
| 2.b. What is the labor productivity for this 2020 in dollars? | |||
| 2.c. What is the percent change in productivity? | |||
| 3.a. What is the total-factor productivity (use all the inputs) for 2020 based on the above factors? | |||
| 3.b. What is the total-factor productivity for 2019? | |||
| 3. c. What is the change in productivity from 2019 to 2020. | |||
| Problem 4: How well is the company doing? What would you recommend to the Boss? (Thinking question) | |||
| Problem 5: | |||
| Location | Lawrence | Kansas City | Manhattan |
| pieces processed | 7000 | 6500 | 7500 |
| workers/hr | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| hourly wage rate | $9.50 | $10.25 | $9.50 |
| overhead/hour | $25.00 | $20.00 | $40.00 |
| What is the multi-factor productivity for each of the centers per hour (units/$)? | |||
| Problem 6: | |||
| Based on the results of problem 5, which plant should the company shut down? | |||
7. What is the difference between efficiency and utilization?
8. What is the best scheduling method to use?
9. What is Rough Cut Capacity Planning? And, what is the drawback of this technique?
10. What is the link between the Theory of Constraints and the capacity of a facility/operation?
| forecast | actual demand | error | |
| 1Q 2019 | 215 | ||
| 2Q 2019 | 210 | ||
| 3Q 2019 | 220 | ||
| 4Q 2019 | 225 | ||
| 1Q 2020 | 255 | ||
| 2Q 2020 | 240 | ||
| 3Q 2020 | 260 | ||
| 4Q 2020 | 270 | ||
| 1Q 2021 |
- Using the 4 quarter moving average: What is the forecast for 2Q 2020, 3Q 2020, 4Q 2020, and 1Q 2021
- Compute the forecast for 2Q 2020, 3Q 2020, 4Q 2020, and 1Q 2021using exponential smoothing (start with 2Q 2020) with a smoothing factor of .6.
- Which forecast method provides a more accurate forecast?
- Compute the forecast for 2Q 2020, 3Q 2020, 4Q 2020, and 1Q 2021 using a weighted moving average technique. The most recent period (for 2Q 2020 that will be 1Q 2020) is weighted at .5, second most recent at .35, and 3rd most recent at .15.
- Compare the results from 4 to the results from 1 and 2. Now which forecast provides the more accurate forecast?
- If the exponential smoothing is calculated using a smoothing factor of .8 will the forecast error be smaller or larger?
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