Maria Enterprise makes a variety of consumer electronic products. Its camera manufacturing plant is considering choosing between two different processes, named Alpha and Beta, which can be used to...

Maria Enterprise makes a variety of consumer electronic products. Its camera manufacturing plant is considering choosing between two different processes, named Alpha and Beta, which can be used to make a component part. To make the correct decision, the managers would like to compare the labour and total productivity of process Alpha with that of process Beta. The value of process output for product A is $175 per unit and product B is $140 per unit. The overhead costs are $6,000 for process Alpha and $5,000 for process Beta.
    Process Alpha    Process Beta
Product    A    B    A    B
Output(units)    50    60    30    80
Labour($)    $1,200    $1,400    $1,000    $2,000
Material($)    $2,500    $3,000    $1,400    $3,500


(a) Which process, Alpha or Beta, is more productive in terms of both labour and total productivities? (Ans. total productivity alpha=1.216, Beta=1.275.)
(b) What conclusions can you draw from your analysis?