Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 181

The plan outlines three business policies:

1. No additional fundraising for one year.
2. Avoid investments that do not generate short-term returns, such as land and buildings.
3. Develop and produce shoes for the church as soon as possible.

The confusion among everyone arises from the contradiction between maintaining the status quo with points 1 and 2 and the expansion approach outlined in point 3. At first glance, it seems to suggest increasing production without spending money. The question is whether such a thing is possible.

Naturally, there are complaints. Gorgogo, who is in charge of development, expresses his concerns straightforwardly. “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but isn’t this impossible? Are you telling us to work harder? The young craftsmen are already putting in a lot of effort, more than we initially expected.”

As Gorgogo points out, the young craftsmen are indeed working harder than anticipated. Thanks to their efforts, the production of Guardian Shoes has increased by 30-40% over the initial forecast. Trying to increase the production rate further would likely result in poor quality, which is something Gorgogo, being a craftsman himself, wants to avoid.

“Of course, I’m not asking for more effort. My role as a small unit leader is to come up with a system that doesn’t require more effort,” I explain.

“That’s good to hear. So, what’s your plan?”

“Increase the workforce.”

“Increase the workforce, but…” Gorgogo glances around the workshop. It isn’t a very large space to begin with. The current setup allows 20 craftsmen to work effectively due to the organized layout and the rapid shipping of completed products, but it seems challenging to fit in more.

“Right now, that’s not possible,” I say, then add, “Therefore, we’ll extend the working hours in two shifts. I plan to divide the team into one group working from early morning to afternoon and another working from afternoon to night.”

In essence, the idea is to increase the workshop’s operating hours. There are restaurants that operate as coffee shops from morning to noon, izakayas in the evening, and a karaoke bar at night. Similarly, since the costs for land and buildings remain the same, the goal is to use them as efficiently as possible. However, given the poor security and high lighting costs in this world, operating 24 hours a day isn’t feasible. Hence, the plan is to use a two-shift system. If land and buildings were cheaper, I wouldn’t need to consider such measures.

“This is a method I haven’t heard of before. Won’t the craftsmen dislike it?” Gorgogo says, expressing skepticism.

Indeed, forcing craftsmen into an unfamiliar working pattern could be challenging. If they decide to leave, it would defeat the purpose.

“I see. Well, how about this? We’ll hire more people. We should be able to train about two people a month.”

“Well, if it’s just two, we can train them, and it might be good for getting time off,” Gorgogo concedes.

“For now, let’s go with that plan,” I say, temporarily shelving the initial idea. Though it seems like a good idea, the pushback is more significant than anticipated. Increasing the manufacturing line itself might be less effective than boosting support staff for preparation and cleanup during early mornings and nights. These tasks could be handled by children or women, which might increase overall production efficiency.

I don’t advocate child labor, but children from rural areas who are unsure of their future might have a higher survival rate working in a workshop until they are physically mature. If they show interest, they could be employed in the workshop long-term.

Debating with Gorgogo and Anne, I come to appreciate once again the value of teamwork and realize that being self-centered doesn’t always yield the best results.