A poultry firm replaces many manual egg-collection tasks with conveyor belts and uses fewer workers. Which managerial choice does this illustrate?

### Why this is right The firm is choosing a more technology-intensive production method and changing the balance between machinery and labor. That is a technology and factor-combination decision. ### The concept Factor combination concerns the proportions of inputs used together. A labor-intensive system relies relatively more on workers, while a technology-intensive system relies relatively more on machinery or automated equipment. Neither method is automatically best; managers must consider costs, worker availability, production needs, and expected demand. ### The other options - **A change in consumer income**: this is an external demand determinant, not an internal production choice. - **A shift in market demand**: demand concerns buyers and is not directly illustrated by changing production equipment. - **A government decision to change tariffs**: this is an external policy decision. ### Terms - **Factor combination**: the mix of production inputs used by a firm. ### Remember Changing the labor-machinery balance is a production-method choice.