The Hovey and Beard Company
The Hovey and Beard Company manufactures a variety of wooden toys, including animals and pull toys. The toys are manufactured by a transformation process that began in the wood room. There, toys are cut, sanded, and partially assembled. Then the toys are dipped into shellac and sent to the painting room. In years past, the painting was done by hand, with each employee working with a given toy until its painting was completed. The toys were predominately two colors, although a few required more than two colors.

Now, in response to increased demand for the toys, the painting operation has been changed so that the painters sit in a line by a long chain of hooks. These hooks move continuously in front of the painters and pass into a long horizontal oven. Each painter sits in a booth designed to carry away fumes and to backstop excess paint. The painters take a toy from a nearby tray, position it in a jig inside the painting cubicle, spray on the color according to a pattern, and then hang the toy on a passing hook.

The rate at which the hooks move is calculated by the engineers so that each painter, when fully trained, can hang a painted toy on each hook before it passes beyond reach. The painters are paid on a group bonus plan. Because the operation is new to them, they receive a learning bonus that decreases by regular amounts each month. The learning bonus is scheduled to vanish in 6 months, by which time it is expected that the painters will be able to meet the production standard and to earn a group bonus when they exceed the standard.

QUESTIONS
1. Assume that the training period for the new job setup has just begun. What change do you predict in the level of output of the painters? Why?

2. What other predictions regarding the behavior of these painters can you make, based on the situation described so far?