Step 1 :An employee's monthly productivity $M$, in number of units produced, is found to be a function of the number $t$ of years of service. For a certain product, a productivity function is shown below. Find the maximum productivity and the year in which it is achieved.
Step 2 :The productivity function is given by \(M(t)=-4 t^{2}+192 t+200\), where $t$ is the number of years of service and $M$ is the monthly productivity.
Step 3 :The maximum productivity is achieved when the derivative of the productivity function is zero. This is because the derivative of a function gives the rate of change of the function, and when this rate of change is zero, it means the function is at a maximum or minimum.
Step 4 :In this case, since the function is a downward-opening parabola (because the coefficient of $t^2$ is negative), the maximum will be achieved when the derivative is zero.
Step 5 :Let's find the derivative of the productivity function: \(M'(t) = 192 - 8t\).
Step 6 :Setting the derivative equal to zero gives us the year in which maximum productivity is achieved: \(192 - 8t = 0\). Solving for $t$ gives $t = 24$.
Step 7 :Final Answer: The maximum productivity is achieved in year \(\boxed{24}\).