A.) Please read and respond to the following scenario:

Your parents have recently retired and have turned their backyard gardening hobby into a small business growing organic vegetables and herbs. They start their seeds in the winter and plant as the weather allows in spring. Because they are organic, they do not use pesticides. All weeding and pest control are done by hand. The resulting foods are sold either at local farm markets or at a small stand in front of their house.

They are fortunate to live in a semi-rural suburb with little zoning regulation that is still close to urban and suburban areas where residents are willing to pay a premium for such foods. In fact, they are able to charge up to 15 percent more than local supermarkets do for similar organic foods. They have built up a strong clientele and could easily sell 50 percent more vegetables if they had more room and more help. They would love the extra money, but at their age are not anxious to buy more land, make huge investments in machinery, or start hiring staff. They also love the interaction with their customers. Clearly, this is a productivity issue.

1. Provide three (3) suggestions on how “your parents”/they could increase their productivity.

B.) Think of a service job currently or formerly performed by you.

2. Discuss how productivity could have been (or was) increased in that job