Section 1-4 Piecework
Piecework pay is based upon the units that are produced. It could be calculated for the number of pieces of material that are sewn together, the number of vehicles receiving an oil change, houses painted, or lawns mowed. To compute the total pay, multiply the amount/rate received per item by the number of items produced.
For instance, if you worked for a textile company and sewed 350 items in a day and received $0.25 per item, you would receive ( 350×0.25 ) , or $87.50, for that day. If you sewed 1,800 pieces in one week (5 days), you would receive $450.00( 1,800×0.25 ) .
A quota may be required for some jobs. A quota is a specified amount of produced items required of a worker. For instance, if 350 items were the quota amount required each day, you could receive an increased amount of money per item for each item over 350. The increased amount per item would be considered an incentive. The regular pay of $0.25 would be paid for the first 350 items produced, and then an incentive of $0.29 would be paid for each item produced over and above the 350-unit base. Follow along with the example below and note how the quota and incentive rates are computed.
Quota and Incentive Example:
Day | Number of Items Produced | Quota and Incentive | Pay |
Monday | 350 | 350×$0.25= | $87.50 |
Tuesday | 340 | 340×$0.25= | $85.00 |
Wednesday | 360 | ( 350×$0.25 )+( 10×$0.29 )= | $90.40 |
Thursday | 350 | 350×$0.25= | $87.50 |
Friday | 400 | ( 350×$0.25 )+( 50×$0.29 )= | $102.00 |
TOTAL | 1,800 | $452.40 |
Read through Example 1 on page 99 of your textbook. Ramon receives pay for each cabinet he assembles. At $8 per cabinet and by assembling 45 cabinets one week and 42 in another, Ramon earns $360 and $336 each week, respectively, for a total of $696.
Complete the Concept Check on page 99 of your textbook, and then check your answers at the end of the chapter on page 108. Complete Section 1-4 Practice and check your odd-numbered answers with the Selected Answers on page 804. Check even-numbered answers in the Appendix.