Decision Making Problem

For Problems 1-3 below, submit a non-technical consulting report (approximately ? a page for each problem) accompanying by a technical appendix. The report should highlight your findings (e. g. business implications) and be prepared as if to be presented to an audience that has little knowledge of quantitative models. The technical appendix should include a formulation of a linear model, as we did in class (decisions, objective, constraints), and standard printouts of the spreadsheet model with an optimal solution (see Instructions for Standard Printouts below). Problem 1: Perfume (30 marks)Rylon Corporation manufactures Brute and Chanelle perfumes. Raw material costs $3 per pound. Processing a pound of raw material takes one hour of laboratory time, and yields 3 ounces of Regular Brute and 4 ounces of Regular Chanelle perfume. Regular Brute can be sold for $7/ounce and Regular Chanelle can be sold for $6/ounce. Rylon has the option of further processing Regular Brute perfume to prod uce Luxury Brute perfume, selling for $18/ounce. Each ounce of Regular Brute processed requires additional 3 hours of laboratory time and yields one ounce of Luxury Brute at a cost of $4.They can also process Regular Chanelle into Luxury Chanelle. Processing an ounce of Regular Chanelle requires 2 additional hours of lab time and yields one ounce of Luxury Chanelle, again at a cost $4. Luxury Chanelle sells for $14/ounce. Rylon has 4000 pounds of raw material on hand, and 6000 hours of lab time available. How can they maximize their profit? SKOLKOVO FT MBA Problem 2: Production & advertisement (35 marks) Your firm makes fluorescent paint pigments in four plants and ships them to four distributors (abbreviated â€Å"D1† through â€Å"D4†), as follows: Plant Northeast Southeast NorthwestSouthwest Unit Shipping Cost To D2 D3 Capacity Unit Cost Impurities D1 1000 $ 12. 40 12 $ 1. 20 $ 1. 75 $ 2. 35 1250 $ 11. 55 15 $ 1. 95 $ 1. 35 $ 1. 75 950 $ 10. 85 18 $ 2. 45 $ 1. 50 $ 2. 10 1200 $ 12. 05 12 $ 2. 75 $ 2. 25 $ 2. 00 D4 $ 2. 85 $ 2. 15 $ 1. 95 $ 1. 45 The distributors' demand for the pigments is as follows: D1 15. 0 Max Impurities 700 Base Demand Advertising Sensitivity 0. 05 D2 15. 0 600 0. 1 D3 14. 0 550 0. 05 D4 15. 5 675 0. 125 For example, distributor D1 will accept up to 700 units of pigment, plus 0. 05 units for every dollar you spend on national advertising.Advertising is not separated by distributor: a single expenditure affects all distributors simultaneously. Thus, if you spend $100 on advertising, D1's demand will be 700 + (0. 05)(100) = 705 units, D2's demand will be 600 + (0. 1)(100) = 610 units, D3's demand will be 555 units, and D4's demand will be 687. 5 units. â€Å"Max impurities† indicates the maximum average impurity level allowed for shipments to each distributor. For instance, the shipments from the four plants to D1, when mixed together, should have an average impurity level of at most 15. . You have at most $59,000 to spend on production, shipping and advertising, and all the distributors pay you $28. 50 per unit. How can you maximize your profits? Note: this problem combines blending, transportation, and elements of the â€Å"pickles† problem. 1) 2) Formulate a linear model. Give clear definitions to your decision variables. Set up a spreadsheet model. Use Solver to find the optimal solution. SKOLKOVO FT MBA Problem 3: Kingston Manufacturing (35 marks) Kingston Manufacturing produces heads for engines used in the manufacture of trucks.The production line is highly complex and measures 500 meters in length. Two types of engine heads are produced on the line: the P-Head and the H-Head. The P-Head is used in heavy duty trucks and the H-head is used in smaller trucks. Because only one type of head can be produced at a time, the line is either set up to manufacture the P-Head or the H-Head, but not both. Changeovers from producing one type to the other are made on weekends and cost $500. The line has capacity to produce the PHead at 100 units per week and the H-Head at 80 units per week.Kingston Manufacturing has just shut down for the week and the line has been producing the PHead. The manager wants to plan production and changeovers for the next eight weeks. Currently Buckeye has an inventory of 125 P-Heads and 143 H-Heads. Inventory carrying costs are charged at an annual rate of 19. 5% of the value of inventory. The production cost for the P-Head is $225 and for the H-Head is $310. The objective in developing a production schedule is to minimize the sum of production cost, inventory carrying cost and changeover costs.Kingston Manufacturing has received the following requirements schedule from its customer (an engine assembler) for the next nine weeks. Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Product Demand P-Head H-Head 55 38 55 38 44 30 0 0 45 48 45 48 36 58 35 57 35 58 Safety stock requirements are such that week-ending inventory must provide for at least 80% of next week’s demand. You should prepare a production and changeover schedule report for the Kingston Manufacturing management to minimize total costs for the next eight weeks. (Hint: To model the changeover costs, you may introduce a binary decision 1, if there is a changeover in week = 1, †¦ 8. Let a binary variable represent a decision whether to produce Pheads ( = 1) or H-heads ( = 0) in week , = 1, †¦ 8. Then you need the constraints which say that if you change the production in week from P-heads to H-heads or H-heads to P-heads, must be 1: ? ? 1 and ? 1 ? .) Instructions for Standard Printouts Throughout the course, I will ask for â€Å"standard printouts† of your Excel models.The standard printouts for a model consist of two things. The first is a printout of the model as a set of values, the way it usually appears on the screen. To get this printout, you perform the following steps: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Go to Print/Page Setup. Click on the Sheet tab. If there is no â€Å"X† in the box next to â€Å"Gridlines† and â€Å"Row and Column Headings†, click there so that one appears. Click OK Click on the printer icon in the toolbar, or choose Print†¦ from the file menu to print the spreadsheet. If possible, you should try to make each spreadsheet printout fit on a single page.Under the Print/Settings select â€Å"landscape† orientation, and â€Å"fit sheet on one page† before you print. The second printout should be as a set of formulas. It should show the formulas in your spreadsheet; for optimization models (which will be most of our spreadsheets), it should also clearly indicate the target cell, the changing cells, and all constraints. Also indicate whether you are minimizing or maximizing the target cell. To get this printout, follow these steps: †¢ †¢ †¢ Type control-tilde (hold down â€Å"ctrl† and type the key marked ` ~) Adjust the column widths so that you can see all the formulas.Print out the spreadsheet, using the same procedure as above. To indicate the target cell, minimization or maximization, changing cells, and constraints, you may make handwritten notations on this second printout. Alternately, you may make notations using text and graphics on the spreadsheet itself. Excel will let you draw arrows right on your spreadsheet. Points will be deducted if you fail to follow these guidelines. Common errors are forgetting the row and column headings, or not clearly indicating the changing cells, target cell, or constraints. To go back to the values view, type control-tilde

Cognitive approach Essay

The cognitive approach focuses on the way information is processed by humans. It looks at how we as individuals treat information and how it leads to responses. Cognitive psychologists study internal processes such as attention, language, memory, thinking and perception. The main assumption of this approach is that in when information is received it is then processed by the brain and this processing directs how we as individuals behave or justify why we behave the way we do. With the cognitive approach it is hard to view its constructions, though, some say that it is an example of theoretical constructs. This means that we cannot directly see processes such as thinking but we can infer what a person is thinking based on simply the way they act. Cognitive psychologists mainly focus on internal mental processes such as memory. Attention is put on how individuals learn to solve problem and the mental processes that are present between stimulus and response. This approach has been influenced by developments in computer science, such that the ideas are very similar. It gets its idea from how a computer works and how we process information. Based on the computer analogy, cognitive psychology is interested in how the brain inputs, stores and outputs information. Loftus and Palmers (1974) study of an eyewitness testimony demonstrates how the cognitive process of a person’s memory can be misled by other information provided after an event. This highlights that memory is a dynamic process which can be influenced by many events such as leading questions. The study also shows that memory is a dynamic process and changes to make sense of certain experiences. When individuals behave in a certain way towards another individual, it is likely that we challenge to understand how the other is thinking and feeling. Baron-Cohen’s (1997) study of behaviour and how it can be influenced by a cognitive process identifies a ‘theory of mind ’. This theory enables an individual to acknowledge grow understanding and respect for the fact that people have thoughts and beliefs that are different from their own. His study challenges to demonstrate that the main inefficiency of autism is a failure to completely develop the cognitive process of a ‘theory of mind’. This approach is different from other approaches in different ways. One way is that it adopts the use of scientific and experimental methods to measure mental processes. Another  difference is that the approach is the supporter of importance of mental processes such as beliefs and desires in determining behaviour unlike the behaviourist approach. One strength of the cognitive approach is that it uses a scientific approach through the use of laboratory experiments. These experiments are beneficial as they are extremely high in control, thus enabling researchers to recognise the cause and effect. In terms of being able to control, when Loftus and Palmers conducted their study they were able to control the ages of the participants and the location of the experiment. Every participant was asked the same questions. Furthermore, experiments such as the one discussed is easy to test for reliability. However, many cognitive studies that are carried out in laboratory settings/environment ca n lack environmental validity. It may be difficult to generalise the results/findings to everyday life if the cognitive process such as memory and theory of mind are studied in artificial situations. A further asset of this approach is the useful contributions that have risen from this approach. Understanding cognitive process allows us to help improve the way in which people execute their cognitive process such as memory or language. The Baron-Choen’s study on behaviour and how it is influential enables us to understand the behaviour of people with mental conditions. Similarly, Loftus and Palmer’s study highlights the limitations of an eyewitness testimony. Though the approach has many strengths, it also has some weakness’, one being that the cognitive approach relates to the validity of measuring cognitive processes. The approach relies heavily on a self-report and observation, meaning, we can only gather/interpret what someone is thinking. http://www.revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/psychology/themes-issues-and-debates/nature-nurture-debate/approaches-stance-nature-nurture http://www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html Humanism Humanistic psychology is a perspective that highlights the study of a person as a whole, this is referred to as ‘holism’. Humanistic psychologists look at human behaviour not only through the eye of the observer but through the eyes of the person doing the behave. Humanistic psychologists believes that an individual’s behaviour is linked to their inner feelings and self-image. The approach centres on the view that each person is different and unique, and each individual has free will to change at any time in their lives. The perspective suggest that we as indivduals are responsible for our own happiness and well-being. As humans with have an inborn capaticy for self –actualization which is our desire to achieve our highest potential as people. The humanists regarded scientific methods as inappropriate for studying behaviour beacause of the focus on the person and their personal experiences and perception of the world. There are two very influential theorist s in humanistic psychology. These are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Psychodynamic perspective Who hasn’t heard of Sigmund Freud? So many expressions from our daily life come from Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis – subconscious, denial, repression and anal personality to name only a few. Freud believes that events in our childhood can have a significant impact on our behavior as adults. He also believed that people have little free will to make choices in life. Instead our behavior is determined by the unconscious mind and childhood experiences. Freud’s psychoanalysis is both a theory and a therapy. It is the original psychodynamic theory and inspired psychologists such as Jung and Erikson to develop their own psychodynamic theories. Freud’s work is vast and he has contributed greatly to psychology as a discipline. Freud, the founder of Psychoanalysis, explained the human mind as like an iceberg, with only a small amount of it being visible, that is our observable behavior, but it is the unconscious, submerged mind that has the most, underl ying influence on our behavior. Freud used three main methods of accessing the unconscious mind: free association, dream analysis and slips of the tongue. He believed that the unconscious mind consisted of three components: the ‘id’ the ‘ego’ and the ‘superego’. The ‘id’ contains  two main instincts: ‘Eros’, which is the life instinct, which involves self-preservation and sex which is fuelled by the ‘libido’ energy force. ‘Thanatos’ is the death instinct, whose energies, because they are less powerful than those of ‘Eros’ are channeled away from ourselves and into aggression towards others. The ‘id’ and the ‘superego’ are constantly in conflict with each other, and the ‘ego’ tries to resolve the discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we tend to use defense mechanisms to reduce our anxieties. Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve their inner conflicts. An asp ect of psychoanalysis is Freud’s theory of psychosexual development. It shows how early experiences affect adult personality. Stimulation of different areas of the body is important as the child progresses through the important developmental stages. Too much or too little can have bad consequences later. The most important stage is the phallic stage where the focus of the libido is on the genitals. During this stage little boys experience the ‘Oedipus complex’, and little girls experience the ‘Electra complex’. These complexes result in children identifying with their same-sex parent, which enables them to learn sex-appropriate behavior and a morale code of conduct. However it has been criticized in the way that it over emphasizes of importance of sexuality and under emphasizes of role of social relationships. The theory is not scientific, and can’t be proved as it is circular. The sample was biased, consisting of middle-class, middle-aged neurotic women. Never the less psychoanalysis has been greatly contributory to psychology in that it has encouraged many modern theorists to modify it for the better, using its basic principles, but eliminating its major flaws. Perspectives Conclusion To conclude, there are many different perspectives to psychology in explaining different types of behaviour and give different judgments. The fact that there are many perspectives shows that human behave is in fact a very complex thing to analyse. A scientific approach, such as cognitive psychology or behaviourism, often tends to ignore the personal experiences that people have. Though, the humanistic perspective does in fact recognise human experience. The psychodynamic perspective concentrates  largely on the unconscious mind and childhood. The biological perspective reduces humans to a group of mechanisms and physical structures that are essential and very important, such as genes. However, the biological perspective fails to account for consciousness and influences of the environment and behaviour.

Causes of the French Revolution Essay

The Gallic Revolution had many causes including ; economic. political. and geographic factors that built up until people decided to take a base. An illustration of this is in document figure 11 which has both —– and —– factors from a societal scientific discipline position. This papers shows the members of the national assembly who decided to take a base and vowed to non divide until they made a fundamental law subsequently known as the â€Å"Tennis Court Oath† . This papers truly shows the continuity the people of France had to do life every bit just for both the royals. provincials and everyone in between. As you now know there are many factors that led up to the Gallic Revolution and one of the biggest causes was economic crisis. While the royal household was happy holding banquets the people of France were hungering and many could hardly afford the monetary value of a four pool loaf of staff of life. In document figure 15 it shows how the monetary value of staff of life skyrocketed in merely a year’s clip and how much of a person’s income was spent on staff of life. Not merely was the monetary value hideous but it was the chief component in their diet so they could non travel without it. This papers is a secondary beginning and it shows both political and economic positions in a societal scientific discipline position. Another illustration of economic confusion is in document figure 10. In this papers it shows the fiscal jobs in France during 1789. The economic system was so unhealthy that non merely were the urban common mans in debt the male monarch besides was. When adding up the monetary value of nutrient. rent. tithe. revenue enhancements. and dressing it put the common mans at an amazing 170 % entire. and although it was a lesser sum the male monarch was besides in debt by a humongous 60 % . This papers has both political and economic points and even though it is a secondary beginning it truly makes you believe about how difficult it must hold been for the people to merely last. Throughout history there have been many people who wanted power. to be a leader and stand over others and demo that they are of a greater category. And to the people king Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were seeking to demo their laterality. Political positions have ever been a large portion of society and they were besides a immense subscriber to the start of the Gallic Revolution. Document figure one has a picture for both King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette which clearly shows that they are rich and powerful. As you look at Marie in this image you can see that she had no job paying a monetary value to look beautiful and Louis closet indicates that he has large luxuries and they love to demo it. This papers is a primary beginning and has political. economic. and cultural positions. Another great illustration for a political cause is document figure three. This papers non merely has a political position it besides shows economic. cultural. and psychologically positions in a primary beginning. It talks about the adversities a adult female and her hubby are confronting seeking to run into the demands of the royals. the papers states â€Å"The revenue enhancements and feudal dues are oppressing us. † What sent many people over the border was non being treated reasonably until they eventually snapped.

The Impact of Semi-Passive RFID Tags on the UK Warehouse Operations Essay

The Impact of Semi-Passive RFID Tags on the UK Warehouse Operations Performance - Essay Example ight be used in warehousing and, when they are used, what benefits have resulted from their use in both the warehouse situation and allied industries. The challenges to be overcome in the use of BAP tags and the solutions offered will also be studied. Thereafter the principal objective will be - through an in depth survey of the industry - to attempt to understand the concerns of non-users, asses the reactions of current users and their future intentions, and offer suggestions for greater application of, and improvements in, BAP tags for the warehousing industry. RFID technology was developed in World War II in order to distinguish between enemy and allied aircraft and to prevent â€Å"friendly fire† incidents (Mital & Ives, 2003; Weis, 2009). Refined in 1948 for ‘civilian’ use (Roberts, 2006) the system consists of â€Å"two basic components – a transponder [the tag itself] and a transceiver [the reader]. The tag comprises an antenna and an integrated circuit which requires a power input (Mital & Ives, 2003). This comes from the transceiver [reader] through a tiny antenna. The transponder gathers energy from the magnetic field, processes the information and passes it back to the reader for processing (Mital & Ives, 2003). There are three types of tag: (a) passive - draws energy from the transponder (b) active, containing a small battery and (c) semi-passive - battery powered but requires signal from the transponder for activation [i.e. conserves energy when dormant] (Angeles, 2005). Ambient vibration energy was s uccessfully used to boost BAP battery power (Lai et al., 2005). The performance of the tags depends on their type and the frequencies used. They may be divided roughly into three groups: (a) low [100-500 kHz] - tags are mostly passive and the reading distance is short [0-3.5 m]; (b) intermediate [10-15 MHz] - reading range of 0-10 m; (c) high [850-950 MHz and 2.4-5.8 GHz] - the reading distance is commonly 50-100 m with, under favourable

Response on The Grand Inquisitor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response on The Grand Inquisitor - Essay Example This were the same people who really longed for the coming back of the savoir in regard to their torments and tribulations they had initially gone through, hence the coming back of Christ was a great relief to the people nevertheless, the church did not recognize and embrace it and went further to arrest Christ. This shows that the church doctrine has denied people the right to practice the true religion. In my opinion the parable suggests how the church has been used to articulate dictatorship and abuse of power in administering her duties and beliefs to her faithful. It was ironical for the inquisitor to tell Christ that the church does not him any more. It makes one wonder ho the church that was founded on Christ philosophical principles to reach a time and renounce the same foundation upon which they were built on. (Dostoyevsky 17). Church doctrine has been used in this story as a symbol of the characters and behaviors witnessed around the world today which are contrary and oppressive to the teachings of religion. The church has been shown as an oppressor of humanity infringing and treading on the right of believers to adore and exalt Christ. They are expected to follow the teachings and procedures laid down by the church fathers, contrary to it may lead to arrest and detention similar to Christ himself. This leaves the people hungry and unsatisfied spiritually since the waters t hey need to quench their spiritual thirst can not be able to quench the thirst they have in acquiring religious freedom. Therefore, the coming back of Christ was their ultimate redemption, but unfortunately the church authorities stood on their way of freedom by keeping Christ in detention. The inquisitor informs Christ that his coming back would have a big negative impact on the church mission work and relates his rejection on the basis of Christ temptation by Satan in the desert. In my thoughts this parable suggests that the church has adopted satanic ways of operation

Strategic Hospitality Management - A Plan for the Expansion of Accor Essay

Strategic Hospitality Management - A Plan for the Expansion of Accor - Essay Example So Europe as a whole (including France) has a total of about 50% of Accor’s business, but the Asian market has only 9%. Considering the populations of Asia and their growing middle class, this seems a somewhat skewed proportion with ample room for improvement. The proportions hotel business are as follows: As the company has been successful within the Economy sector it seems logical to plan for the future using the paradigm that has succeeded thus far. GOALS The Accor Board is planning on continued expansion with 10,000 rooms per annum over 2007/2008. This represents a fairly modest 2.2% rise per annum. This growth is planned across both established markets, such as in Europe and North America, and emerging markets in the developing world, such as Latin American, the Middle East, and Asia. PROPOSAL Established Markets Country The country chosen for expansion in the established market is Switzerland. The brand that will be expanded is the budget ETAP band. Switzerland is a logi cal and promising choice for the following reasons. 1)The Swiss economy is one of the most advanced in the world and has a broad range of economic activity, with a main focus on the banking and tourism sectors: â€Å"Switzerland’s economy is based on a highly qualified labor force performing highly skilled work. The main areas include micro-technology, hi-tech, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, as well as banking and insurance know-how. Most of the people working in Switzerland are employed by small and medium-sized enterprises.†

The Effects of TQM on Human Resource Management Essay

The Effects of TQM on Human Resource Management - Essay Example Wilkinson, Marchington & Daleuman believe that "TQM is unlikely to achieve its objectives unless there is greater awareness of the people factor in quality management." Even if a strategy and the tools employed may be considered fool-proof, nothing will happen if the people side of the equation is not properly addressed. Most management experts share the same thoughts. Strategic planning, which is a prerequisite in TQM, takes WHAT IS and develops ideas on WHAT SHOULD BE along with plans for HOW TO GET THERE. Since such planning provides the road map for GETTING THERE, it is important to incorporate the people or human resource factor in this effort. Strategic planning is therefore nothing but human resource planning, which is another name for Human Resource Management. Perry & Mesch (1997) This paper will attempt to chronicle how HRM evolved from its simple screening-and-hiring role in the past into its more critical and multi-faceted functions of today, an expanded role imposed on it by necessity because of the advent of TQM. At the outset, this has been the most visible effect of TQM on human resource management. In the past, human resource management went no farther than classifying job positions, recruitment and hiring as well as ensuring proper employee benefits, discipline and seeing to the organization's compliance with employment laws. This role has expanded to include duties on building a more stable, better qualified workforce as required by the TQM approach, which calls for a team effort, assistance in developing it and objectives-based performance appraisal systems. To be able to contribute to an organization's success under a TQM approach, human resource development now covers the following: Internal career ladder system - this is done to focus individual attention on strategic issues facing the organization over the long term. Formal training - continuous training is held for everyone to fit in the organization and become a valuable contributor to the team. Result-oriented performance appraisal - this is conducted as basis for promotion, demotion, retention, transfer and pay scale. Employment security - this is put in place for employees to devote their attention to the job at hand rather than worry about their possible dismissal. Employee voice/participation - active participation in the effort to achieve the organization's goals raises the employees' morale and sense of duty. Broadly defined jobs - employees are given more challenging and meaningful job assignments to keep them on their toes. Performance-based compensation - rewards for a job well done inspire employees to do better. TQM calls for the involvement of top management and all levels of the organization and this in turn requires a more strategic approach to the management of human resources which is HRM. There is a "hard" type of TQM which pays little attention to the people element in the drive for continuous quality improvement. This TQM type is largely production-oriented such that emphasis is given to systems, processes and procedures. The criteria for the granting of ISO-9000 and British Standards-5750 are based mostly on this type which disappoint HRM professionals who feel that greater emphasis must be placed on the human aspects of TQM.