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The Cost of Business in Ireland





This is the first part of an informational article series I have decided to publish, intended to give workers and managers something of a plain-language perspective on what it’s like to operate a company in Ireland, given the current state of affairs within Ireland and the game, in general. The whole thing is tl;dr, so if you’re not into things like explanations of productivity, basic wage structure and how it affects cost versus profit, then you are free to go, with our humble thanks if you should choose to grace us with a vote and/or sub.

Down the line, we will cover a number of business and work related topics, from a breakdown of the current productivity formula, to a demonstration of the theoretical benefits of a standardized, scaled wage structure, and a few related subjects in between, including a tidbit or two many company managers might not be aware of.

For this first article, we’ll take a look at the ever-elusive, ever-changing productivity formula.





Productivity Formula Explained

Simply stated, the productivity formula is the mathematical equation used by the game mechanics to determine the amount of production a worker accomplishes each day. The productivity formula uses both fixed values predetermined by the game admins, and more fluid values that are based on the physical characteristics of the company’s location, as well as a worker’s skill and relative health at work time.

All of these values come together to determine how many units of work a particular worker will accomplish, which will translate into either units of raw materials or manufactured products you generate each working day.

First, let’s look at the actual production formula published in the wiki. From there, we’ll break it down and demystify the numbers. Here is the published formula:


Productivity = A * (3.6 + (B * 0.4)) * C * (1 + ((Bo+R+Co)/100)) * 8


It looks big and scary, but in reality is quite easy to understand. First, let’s break down the variables.

A = The number of employees in the company at work time. (More on this subject in just a bit.)

B = The employee’s attained work skill level at work time. This is a numeric value, from 1 to 13, assigned to each full skill level, with Apprentice =1 up to Guru*** =13. The points accumulated between each jump in skill level are not a factor in the formula.

C = The worker’s health level at work time.

Bo = The level of production booster selected by the worker at work time. As you probably know by now, the booster levels are as follows: 10%, 50%, 100% and 200%.

R = The bonus provided by the particular regional characteristics of the country in which the company is located. These characteristics include the number of unique raw material regions the country possesses, as well the final variable –

Co = The 25% bonus awarded to a citizen owner when all of his/her companies are located in the country to which the owner has citizenship. As it stands, orgs do not receive this bonus.

Two of the three numeric values (3.6 and 0.4) are values created by the admins, and their exact basis is unknown. The number eight ( 8 ) at the end of the formula represents the number of hours worked that day, which is currently 8 hours. This particular part of the formula is a holdover from Rising, when you could choose the number of hours you worked per day.

As you can see, once the individual parts of the formula are laid out and explained, it is easier to comprehend the formula as a whole. However, it is often useful to see a contextual scenario as well.


The Setup

Ok, let’s setup the scenario for this series - a Q1 food company in Ireland. For this scenario, our company will use the bare minimum of work and production modifiers, and operated based on the following parameters:

* Company type: Q1 food
* Number of Employees: 1 with no friends (sadness)
* Employee skill level: Apprentice (1)(n00b)

Take note that the parameters used here are particular to a food company in Ireland. Each type of company will have a slightly different configuration and accompanying company-related values.


Before we continue, though, this special announcement:




MAX PRODUCTION IS DEAD.

That’s right, kids, if you didn’t know it before, you do now. The old bonus for having the recommended number of employees is no more. Now, it doesn’t matter if you have one worker or ten; each additional employee will only generate the amount of production he/she would if they were the only employee. However, you do still get penalized for having more than the recommended number of workers, and fairly significantly.

Continuing on...





Now, according to the formula, there are a few more items that must be considered, those being the worker’s health level and chosen production bonus, and the company’s location and citizenship bonus. In order to keep the scenario simple, we will assume the employee will be working at full health, and as she is a new player, will use the standard 10% bonus, thus:

* Employee health level: 100
* Production bonus: 10%


Know Thy Country, Know Thy Business

It pays to know your country and its raw material assets, as they play an integral part in both individual and overall production. According to the current rules, the company earns a bonus of (5*x) for each unique raw materials (RM) type contained within the country where the company is located. There are 5 RM types for both food (grain, fruit, fish, deer and cattle) and weapons (iron, aluminum, rubber, saltpeter and oil). Ireland currently has 2 unique food RM types, fruit (Shannon, Northeast of Ireland) and cattle (Cork and Kerry, Northwest of Ireland). For this scenario, we will also assume no citizenship bonus, thus:

* Unique region bonus: 10%
* Citizenship bonus: 0


Finally, we have all the variables that we need to fill out the formula, which now looks like this:


Productivity = 2 * (3.6 + (1 * 0.4)) * 3 * (1 + ((10+10+0)/100)) * 8


If we were to do the math manually, rounding to the nearest hundredth, as the current mechanics do, we return the value of 230.40. The game mechanics then round it again to a whole number, either 230 or 231. This number represents the base production for a lonely Apprentice-level employee in a q1 food company, with this particular setup.

We then divide this number by six (6), the number of grain units required for each Q1 food unit, and we can deduce that this employee, by herself, will produce just over 38 Q1 food each day (38.4). This is the base level of production you can expect from every Apprentice-level employee.


Well, there you have it. Hopefully, the information above has been at least mildly useful to you in comprehending the jumble of numbers and letters and symbols that is the all-encompassing productivity formula. Thanks for flying.


And for those of you who tend to better understand complex mathematical constructs by visual reference, we leave you with the following (click the image for larger version):






Managers Tip #1: Friendship Bonus – Managers should take note that a worker’s friendship bonus, if any, is not a factor in the current published formula, but is factored into the equation at work time and will cause your actual production values to stray from your expected production figures, luckily in your favour. The friendship bonus, which is optional, are set values of 10% for each friend selected, with a maximum of two friends, translating to a potential additional 20% for that worker’s production, or 30% overall, including the mandatory 10% booster.

Of course, the downside to this, and every worker-related production bonus, is the accelerated consumption of raw materials.


IN OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT: Of Wage and Profit – A two-part (maybe three, we’re not sure yet) article delving into such topics as wage structure and how Ireland doesn’t have one, the delicate balance between cost and profit, and the disappointing realities of being and employing an upper-skill worker.


Until then, we return you to your irregularly scheduled programming.

-K


** Wage information used in this scenario, if any, is taken directly from the job offers available to Irish workers just after day change on the day the article is published. Price information is based on prevailing market prices at publication time. Tax information is based on the tax information found on the Country Administration>Economy page at publication time.