Firms and production

A car-wash firm employs 3 workers. Prior to specialisation, each worker washed 5 cars per day. Following specialisation, 30 cars per day are washed. What is the percentage increase in productivity?

Feb/March 2025

The table displays the quantities of units of factors of production that a firm must use at two different levels of output. What is the firm experiencing?

May/June 2016

The table gives the number of units of factors of production that a firm must use at two different output levels. What is the firm experiencing?

May/June 2016

The table sets out the quantities of factors of production that a firm must use at two different output levels. land 4, labour 3, capital 5, output 20 land 8, labour 6, capital 10, output 40 What is happening to the firm?

May/June 2016

The table illustrates the way a firm’s output changes when it hires additional workers. number of workers: 10, 20, 30, 40 total production (kilos): 50, 100, 300, 600 What occurs to productivity as the number of workers employed increases?

May/June 2017

A car manufacturer operates a very mechanised assembly line that uses robots together with a small number of skilled workers. An international exam board hires many thousands of examiners to mark candidates’ examination papers. Which row matches each of these activities?

May/June 2017

A company makes an electric car that can travel much farther than other electric cars before it needs to be recharged. In contrast to petrol cars, it does not release the harmful fumes they give off. The batteries that power the car are extremely expensive, and the company is constructing a very large factory so that batteries can be produced more cheaply. Which concepts can be applied to the above statement?

May/June 2017

The table presents units of output, output value and the number of workers employed in an industry across three years. What conclusion can be drawn from the table?

May/June 2018

Which type of activity is carried out in the tertiary sector?

May/June 2018

The table presents units of output, the value of output and the number of people employed in an industry across three years. What conclusion can be drawn from the table?

May/June 2018

A television manufacturer says that its production is the most technologically advanced in the industry. Compared with rival producers, what is this most likely to imply?

May/June 2018

The table lists units of output, the value of output and the number of people employed in an industry across three years. What conclusion can be drawn from the table?

May/June 2018

Why does specialisation raise the productivity of employees?

May/June 2019

What is one characteristic of tertiary industries?

May/June 2019

Which firm operates in the tertiary sector?

May/June 2021

As artificial intelligence is developed in machines, the productivity of capital increases. What effect will this have?

May/June 2022

The table gives the number of units of factors of production that a firm must use at two different output levels. What is the firm experiencing?

May/June 2023

A farmer brings in machinery to assist workers during harvest time. The farmer also cuts the number of workers by 50%. As a result, total harvest rises by 25%. What has occurred?

May/June 2024

A company moves away from making single items of wooden furniture by hand and begins a mechanised production method that uses the division of labour. Which combination of outcomes is most likely to follow?

May/June 2024

A restaurant has two chefs who prepare every meal served to customers. What is most likely to raise the productivity of the chefs?

May/June 2025

Some agricultural co-operatives have switched from labour-intensive to capital-intensive production methods. What could be a reason for this change?

Oct/Nov 2016

A company made 200 cars each week and had 50 employees. Because demand fell, output was cut to 160 cars per week and the workforce to 32. What percentage change occurred in the firm’s productivity?

Oct/Nov 2016

Indonesia's biggest aviation company is a public corporation that began production in 1976. It makes use of a comparatively large amount of capital goods and holds a monopoly over aircraft construction in Indonesia. For some time it has produced parts for overseas firms, but it is now attempting to market aircraft to other countries. That means it is competing in a market where most firms are public limited companies.

Oct/Nov 2016

Which type of production would be least likely to benefit from economies of scale?

Oct/Nov 2018

Which factor is most likely to raise a firm’s total output in the short run?

Oct/Nov 2018

Pakistan’s biggest airline began when a state-owned airline and a private airline were merged. In April 2016, the Pakistan government converted this merged business into a public limited company. The aim was to raise the productivity of this loss-making airline and to help improve the wider economy of Pakistan.

Oct/Nov 2018

Productivity has declined recently in Finland, especially in the public sector. The country also has a fairly large number of small firms. In recent years, the price elasticity of demand and the price elasticity of supply for the products made by Finnish firms have altered.

Oct/Nov 2018

What is commonly regarded as one benefit to a firm of applying division of labour?

Oct/Nov 2020

Which outcome of greater specialisation in a firm is beneficial to the firm, but harmful to some workers in the firm?

Oct/Nov 2021

The table gives the output and total cost for a firm using four production methods, A-D. Which method results in diseconomies of scale when the firm increases production from $1000$ to $3000$ units?

Oct/Nov 2021

The table presents cake output from four bakeries, A-D. Which bakery achieves the greatest labour productivity?

Oct/Nov 2021

A business makes bicycles by using both workers and machines. The table sets out the output achieved from different mixes of workers and machines. Which mix has the highest labour productivity?

Oct/Nov 2022

Which outcome of firms and workers becoming more specialised is most likely to lead to difficulties for an economy?

Oct/Nov 2022

A business gives its customers a personal service. It chooses to stay labour-intensive instead of moving to production that is more capital-intensive. Which feature of remaining labour-intensive would justify this choice?

Oct/Nov 2022

Which factor is most likely to promote capital-intensive production methods in a low-income economy?

Oct/Nov 2024

What has to happen when a firm experiences economies of scale?

Oct/Nov 2025

The table presents the number of cakes produced by four bakeries, A, B, C and D. Which bakery has the greatest labour productivity?

Oct/Nov 2025