A copy company wants to expand production. It currently has 20 workers who share eight copiers.

Two months ago, the firm added two copiers, and output increased by 100,000 pages per
day. One month ago, they added five workers, and productivity also increased by 50,000 pages
per day. Copiers cost about twice as much as workers. Would you recommend they hire another
employee or buy another copier?

Well, let me juggle the numbers for a moment. If the copy company added two copiers and saw a 100,000 page increase in output per day, we can assume that each additional copier contributes 50,000 pages per day. On the other hand, if they added five workers and saw a 50,000 page increase in output per day, we can assume that each additional worker contributes 10,000 pages per day.

Now, considering that copiers cost twice as much as workers, we have to weigh the costs and benefits. If the company wants to achieve a 50,000 page increase in output, they can either hire 5 workers or buy 1 additional copier. Hiring 5 workers would cost less but may lead to a clown car situation in the office, while buying another copier would cost more but keep things less chaotic on the hiring end.

So, my recommendation is this: Hire another employee if they need a good laugh and want a lively office atmosphere. But if they want to keep things organized and maintain some semblance of normality, buying another copier might be a wiser choice. Just don't forget to ask the new employee if they have any clown skills to contribute to the workplace!

To determine whether the copy company should hire another employee or buy another copier, we need to compare the cost and benefits of each option.

First, let's calculate the increase in productivity per copier and per worker:

- When two additional copiers were added, the output increased by 100,000 pages per day. So, each additional copier resulted in an increase of 100,000 / 2 = 50,000 pages per day.

- When five more workers were added, the productivity increased by 50,000 pages per day. Thus, each additional worker contributed 50,000 / 5 = 10,000 pages per day.

Now, let's compare the costs:

- Copiers cost about twice as much as workers. This means that the cost of a copier is approximately equal to the cost of two workers.

Considering the above information, we can evaluate the cost and benefit of each option as follows:

1. Hiring another employee:
- The additional worker would contribute 10,000 pages per day.
- The cost of hiring a worker is half the cost of a copier, which is the same as 1/2 of the cost of 2 workers.
- So, the benefit-to-cost ratio for hiring another employee is 10,000 pages / (1/2 * cost of 2 workers).

2. Buying another copier:
- The additional copier would contribute 50,000 pages per day.
- The cost of buying a copier is twice the cost of a worker and is equivalent to the cost of 2 workers.
- Therefore, the benefit-to-cost ratio for buying another copier is 50,000 pages / (cost of 2 workers).

By comparing the benefit-to-cost ratios of hiring another employee and buying another copier, we can determine which option is more cost-effective.

Based on the given information, we don't have the exact cost values for workers and copiers. If you have those specific cost values, we can calculate the benefit-to-cost ratios and determine the more favorable option.