The output of a process is valued at $100 per unit. The cost of labor is $50 per hour including benefits. The accounting department provided the following information about the process for the past four weeks:
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Units Produced 1 ,1 24 1 ,31 0 1 ,092 981
Labor ($) 1 2,735 1 4,842 1 0,603 9,526
Material ($) 21 ,041 24,523 20,442 1 8,364
Overhead ($) 8,992 1 0,480 8,736 7,848
a. Use the multifactor productivity ratio to see whether recent process improvements had any effect and, if so, when the effect was noticeable.
b. Has labor productivity changed? Use the labor productivity ratio to support your answer.