A Manufacturer Builds Finished Items A, B, and C from Five

question 15

Essay

A manufacturer builds finished items A, B, and C from five different components. They currently have several finished units, a number of items that are partially complete, and many components that have just been delivered from their suppliers. The finished items, incomplete items and raw components can all be assigned some monetary value even though the manufacturer typically does not sell anything except finished items. The manufacturer needs to raise capital quickly so they formulate a linear program to help them decide on the most profitable way ahead. Their linear programming expert forgets to restrict their decision variables to non-negative values and is surprised when the computer output tells them that finished item A and C should be negative. If the company always follows the advice of their linear programming analysis, what should they do and why?

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Definitions:

Run Macro

Execute a series of predefined instructions in software to automate repetitive tasks.

Format As Hidden

A feature in computing that allows data or files to be hidden from the standard user view, often used for privacy or to prevent accidental changes.

Small Caps

A typographical feature where lowercase letters appear as smaller versions of capital letters.

Superscript

A character set slightly above the normal line of type, often used for references or to denote mathematical powers.