what can a business do to improve its productivity? lower salaries reduce its workforce sell assets invest in capital
A business improves productivity by producing more output per unit of input, and from the options given the best strategy is to invest in capital (e.g., better machines, software, or technology). Lowering salaries, reducing the workforce, or selling assets usually cuts costs but often harms efficiency, morale, and long‑term capacity rather than truly raising productivity.
Correct option and why
- Invest in capital
- New technology, automation, and better equipment let each worker produce more in the same amount of time, which directly raises output per worker or per hour.
* Examples include modern machinery, time‑tracking and project‑management tools, or AI assistants that remove repetitive tasks so staff can focus on higher‑value work.
Why the other options fail
- Lower salaries
- May reduce costs in the short term but often lowers motivation, increases turnover, and can reduce effort and quality, which hurts productivity.
- Reduce its workforce
- Can make sense only if there is serious overstaffing; usually it increases workload and stress for remaining employees and may reduce total output or quality, not improve true productivity.
- Sell assets
- Selling productive assets (machines, tools, buildings) generally reduces a firm’s ability to produce and can lower productivity unless those assets are genuinely unused or obsolete.
So, among “lower salaries, reduce its workforce, sell assets, invest in capital,” the best answer to “what can a business do to improve its productivity?” is: invest in capital.