Final answer:
The productivity of 0.85 parts per employee indicates the average output of each worker per day. The marginal product helps to understand the additional output contributed by an additional worker to the production. Productivity growth is essential for economic development and can be significantly impacted by each new hire.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a plant has a daily productivity of 0.85 parts per employee, we may infer that each worker, on average, contributes 0.85 parts to the plant's total production each day. This productivity measure is useful for comparing the efficiency of workers or the effectiveness of production processes within the industry.
Understanding productivity in terms of marginal product is also critical. The marginal product is defined as the additional output generated by employing one more worker. It allows us to measure the contribution of each additional worker to the overall production.
Now, if we analyze the scenario where the plant hires another employee, the subsequent change in total output divided by this change in labor will give us the new worker's marginal product. For example, employing a third worker in a lumberjack scenario might enhance the efficiency of the team if this person is able to assist in ways such as oiling the saw's teeth. Similarly, every new employee in a plant can affect productivity growth, which is pivotal for long-term economic development.