The monthly demand for the latest computer at Newland Computers follows a normal distribution with a mean of 350 and standard deviation of 75. Newland purchases these computers for $1,200 and sells them for $2,300. It costs the company $100 to place an order and $12 for every computer held in inventory at the end of each month. Currently, the company places an order for 1,000 computers whenever the inventory at the end of a month falls below 100 units. Assume the beginning inventory is 400 units, unmet demand in any month is lost to competitors, and orders placed at the end of one month arrive at the beginning of the next month. a. Create a spreadsheet model to simulate the profit the company will earn on this product over the next 2 years. What is the average level of profit the company will earn? b. Suppose the company wants to determine the optimum reorder point and order quantity. Which combination of reorder point and order quantity will provide the highest average profit over the next 2 years?
> Refer to the previous question. A manufacturing engineer for MPI collected the following data on the failure rates of components X, Y, and Z in a random sample of 1,000 circuit boards: For example, the first row in this table indicates that components X
> Microproducts, Incorporated (MPI) manufactures printed circuit boards for a major PC manufacturer. Before a board is sent to the customer, three key components must be tested. These components can be tested in any order. If any of the components fail, th
> Bill and Ted are going to the beach with hopes of having an excellent adventure. Before going, they read a report by the world’s leading authority on tiger shark behavior indicating that when a tiger shark is in the vicinity of swimmers at the beach, the
> A manufacturer has two machines that make the same parts for diesel truck engines. One machine is 5 years older than the other one. The older machine runs slower and makes 35% of the parts, of which 85% are of acceptable quality and don’t require rework.
> Medical studies have shown that 10 out of 100 adults have heart disease. When a person with heart disease is given an EKG test, a 0.9 probability exists that the test will indicate the presence of heart disease. When a person without heart disease is giv
> The Tall Oaks Wood Products Company is considering purchasing timberland for $5 million that would provide a future source of timber supply for the company’s operations over the next 10 years. Alternatively, for $5 million, the company could also buy tim
> Refer to question 10. Suppose that the consultant’s fee is $5,000 and the utility function for the owner of Morley Properties can be approximated by the exponential utility function: where the risk tolerance value R 5 100 (in $1,000s)
> Refer to question 9. Suppose that the utility function for the owner of Morley Properties can be approximated by the exponential utility function: where the risk tolerance value R 5 100 (in $1,000s). a. Convert the payoff matrix to utility values. b. W
> Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Although that may be true, there is often great uncertainty involved in when one will encounter death and how much one must pay in ta
> Refer to the previous question. Morley Properties can hire a consultant to predict the most likely level of demand for this project. This consultant has done many similar studies and has provided Morley Properties with the following joint probability tab
> This chapter presented the problem of having to decide between two job offers. The decision maker could accept the job with company A, accept the job with company B, or reject both offers and hope for a better one. What other alternatives can you think o
> Refer to questions 6 and 7 and answer the following questions: a. What is the probability that the drive-in window is empty? b. What is the probability that a customer must wait for service? c. On average, how many cars wait for service? d. On average, w
> Suppose that arrivals to a queuing system with one server follow a Poisson distribution with an average of l 5 5 per time period, and that service times follow an exponential distribution with an average service rate of m 5 6 per time period. a. Compute
> Refer to the previous question. Suppose that Road Rambler’s phone system can only keep 4 calls on hold at any time, the average profit margin of each call is $55, and sales reps cost the company $12 per hour. a. If callers who receive a busy signal tak
> Calls to the service center at AutoMax occur at a rate of 27 per hour and follow a Poisson distribution. A single operator answers the calls and can handle an average 25 calls per hour with service times following an exponential distribution. If a call a
> Suppose a product must go through an assembly line is made up of five sequential operations. The time it takes to complete each operation is normally distributed with a mean of 180 seconds and standard deviation of 5 seconds. Define the flow time to be t
> Suppose a product must go through an assembly line is made up of five sequential operations. The time it takes to complete each operation is normally distributed with a mean of 180 seconds and standard deviation of 5 seconds. Let X denote the cycle time
> Firebird Packaging Operations manufactures small plastic cups used in a popular single-cup brewing systems for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. The cups are thermoformed with several different plastic resins including High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS). Fireb
> Meredith Shomers manages scholarship endowments for a major public university. Presently, she is trying to determine how much scholarship money may be awarded from an endowment with a current balance of $538,000. The endowment’s funds are invested in a p
> Refer to the previous question. Suppose plants 1 and 2 represent different building alternatives for the same site (i.e., only one of these plants can be built). Similarly, suppose plants 4 and 5 represent different building alternatives for another site
> A debate recently erupted about the optimal strategy for playing a game on the TV show called “Let’s Make a Deal.” In one of the games on this show, the contestant would be giventhe choice of prizes behind three closed doors. A valuable prize was behind
> One of the examples in this chapter dealt with determining the optimal reorder point for a computer monitor sold by Millennium Computer Corp. Suppose that it costs MCC $0.30 per day in holding costs for each monitor in beginning inventory, and it costs $
> Each year, the Schriber Corporation must determine how much to contribute to the company’s pension plan. The company uses a 10-year planning horizon to determine the contribution which, if made annually in each of the next 10 years, would allow for only
> The Major Motors Corporation is trying to decide whether to introduce a new midsize car. The directors of the company only want to produce the car if it has at least an 80% chance of generating a positive net present value over the next 10 years. If the
> Michael Abrams runs a specialty clothing store that sells collegiate sports apparel. One of his primary business opportunities involves selling custom screen-printed sweatshirts for college football bowl games. He is trying to determine how many sweatshi
> Amanda Green is interested in investing in the following set of mutual funds whose returns are all normally distributed with the indicated means and standard deviations: a. What is the expected return and standard deviation on a portfolio where Amanda i
> Refer to the previous question. Another type of option is the Asian option. Its payoff is not based on the price of the stock on the expiration date but, instead, on the average price of the stock over the lifetime of the option.Suppose a stock has an in
> A European call option gives a person the right to buy a particular stock at a given price (the strike price) on a specific date in the future (the expiration date). This type of call option is typically sold at the net present value of the expected valu
> Calls to the 24-hour customer support line for Richman Financial Services occur randomly following a Poisson distribution with the following average rates during different hours of the day: The Richman’s customer service representative
> Dr. Sarah Benson is an ophthalmologist who, in addition to prescribing glasses and contact lenses, performs optical laser surgery to correct nearsightedness. This surgery is fairly easy and inexpensive to perform. Thus, it represents a potential gold min
> For investment advisors, a major consideration in planning for a client in retirement is the determination of a withdrawal amount that will provide the client with the funds necessary to maintain his or her desired standard of living throughout the clien
> The owner of a local car dealership has just received a call from a regional distributor stating that a $5,000 bonus will be awarded if the owner’s dealership sells at least 10 new cars next Saturday. On an average Saturday, this dealership has 75 potent
> Executives at Meds-R-Us have decided to build a new production facility for the company’s bestselling high blood pressure drug. The problem they now face is determining the size of the facility (in terms of production capacity). Last year, the company so
> Refer to the Hungry Dawg Restaurant example presented in this chapter. Health claim costs actually tend to be seasonal, with higher levels of claims occurring during the summer months (when kids are out of school and more likely to injure themselves) and
> Vinton Auto Insurance is trying to decide how much money to keep in liquid assets to cover insurance claims. In the past, the company held some of the premiums it received ini interestbearing checking accounts and put the rest into investments that are n
> Bob Davidson owns a newsstand outside the Waterston office building complex in Atlanta, near Hartsfield International Airport. He buys his papers wholesale at $0.50 per paper and sells them for $0.75. Bob wonders what is the optimal number of papers to o
> Podcessories manufacture several accessories for a popular digital music player. The company is trying to decide whether to discontinue one of the items in this product line. Discontinuing the item would save the company $600,000 in fixed costs (comprise
> Sammy Slick works for a company that allows him to contribute up to 10% of his earnings into a tax-deferred savings plan. The company matches a portion of the contributions its employees make based on the organization’s financial performance. Although th
> Road Racer Sports, Inc. is a mail-order business dedicated to the running enthusiast. The company sends out full-color catalogs several times a year to several hundred thousand people on its mailing list. Production and mailing costs are fairly expensive
> After spending 10 years as an assistant manager for a large restaurant chain, Ray Clark has decided to become his own boss. The owner of a local submarine sandwich store wants to sell the store to Ray for $65,000 to be paid in installments of $13,000 in
> Techs burg, Inc. uses a stamping machine to manufacture aluminum bodies for lightweight, miniature aircraft used for military reconnaissance. Currently, forms in the stamping machine are changed after every 65 hours of operation or whenever a form breaks
> Fiasco Foods, Inc. is one of the largest suppliers of institutional and commercial food products in the United States. Fortunately for Fiasco, the demand for “food away from home” has been growing steadily over the pas
> Representatives from the American Heart Association are planning to go door-to-door throughout a community, soliciting contributions. From past experience, they know that when someone answers the door, 80% of the time it is a female and 20% of the time i
> Acme Equipment Company is considering the development of a new machine that would be marketed to tire manufacturers. Research and development costs for the project are expected to be about $4 million but could vary between $3 and $6 million. The market l
> Employees of Georgia-Atlantic are permitted to contribute a portion of their earnings (in increments of $500) to a flexible spending account from which they can pay medical expenses not covered by the company’s health insurance program. Contributions to
> The graph of the probability distribution of a normally distributed random variable with a mean of 20 and standard deviation of 1.5 is shown in Figure 12.5. The Excel function: also returns randomly generated observations from this distribution. a. Use
> Lynn Price recently completed her MBA and accepted a job with an electronics manufacturing company. Although she likes her job, she is also looking forward to retiring one day. To ensure that her retirement is comfortable, Lynn intends to invest $3,000 o
> The Harriet Hotel in downtown Boston has 100 rooms that rent for $150 per night. It costs the hotel $30 per room in variable costs (cleaning, bathroom items, etc.) each night a room is occupied. For each reservation accepted, there is a 5% chance that th
> The manager of Moore’s Catalog Showroom is trying to predict how much revenue will be generated by each major department in the store during the next year. The manager has estimated the minimum and maximum growth rates possible for reve
> Large Lots is planning a seven-day promotion on a discontinued model of 310 color television sets. At a price of $575 per set, the daily demand for this type of TV has been estimated as follows: Large Lots can order up to 50 of these TVs from a surplus
> The owner of a golf shop in Myrtle Beach, SC must decide how many sets of beginner golf clubs to order for the coming tourist season. Demand for golf clubs is random but follows a Poisson distribution with the average demand rates indicated in the follow
> Tarrows, Pearson, Foster, and Zuligar (TPF&Z) is one of the largest actuarial consulting firms in the United States. In addition to providing its clients with expert advice on executive compensation programs and employee benefits programs, TPF&Z
> The owner of a ski apparel store in Winter Park, CO must make a decision in July regarding the number of ski jackets to order for the following ski season. Each ski jacket costs $54 and can be sold during the ski season for $145. Any unsold jackets at th
> WVTU is a television station that has 20 thirty-second advertising slots during their regularly scheduled programming each evening. The station is now selling advertising for the first few days in November. They could sell all the slots immediately for $
> Hometown Insurance sells 10-year annuities to retirees who are looking for stable sources of investment income. Hometown invests the annuity funds it receives in an equity index fund with annual returns that are normally distributed with a mean of 9% and
> Branch banks must keep enough money on hand to satisfy customers’ cash demands. Suppose that the daily demand for cash at a branch of University Bank follows a lognormal distribution with means and standard deviation summarized as follo
> Under what condition(s) is it appropriate to use simulation to analyze a model? That is, what characteristics should a model possess in order for simulation to be used?
> Use Holt’s method to create a model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from Holt’s method versus the
> Create an exponential smoothing model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal value of a. a. What is the optimal value of a? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the exponential smoothing predictions against the origi
> Create a double moving average model (with k 5 4) for the data set. a. Prepare a line graph comparing the double moving average predictions against the original data. b. What are the forecasts for the next 2 years using this technique?
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> Use Holt-Winter’s multiplicative method to create a seasonal model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a, b, and g. a. What are the optimal values of a, b, and g? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the pr
> Mac Brown knew something had to change. As the new Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the PB Chemical Company, Mac understood that when you sell a commodity product, where there is minimal difference between the quality and price, customer service a
> Use Solver to determine the weights for a three-period weighted moving average that minimizes the MSE for the data set. a. What are the optimal values for the weights? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the weighted moving average predictions against the
> Use Holt-Winter’s additive method to create a seasonal model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a, b, and g. a. What are the optimal values of a, b, and g? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predicti
> Use the multiplicative seasonal technique for stationary data to model the data. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from this method against
> Use the additive seasonal technique for stationary data to model the data. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from this method against the or
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> Use Holt-Winter’s multiplicative method to create a seasonal model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a, b, and g. a. What are the optimal values of a, b, and g? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the pr
> Use Holt-Winter’s additive method to create a seasonal model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a, b, and g. a. What are the optimal values of a, b, and g? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predicti
> Use the multiplicative seasonal technique for stationary data to model the data. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from this method against
> Use the additive seasonal technique for stationary data to model the data. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from this method against the or
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> A used-car broker needs to transport his inventory of cars from locations 1 and 2 in Figure 5.39 to used-car auctions being held at locations 4 and 5. The costs of transporting cars along each of the routes are indicated on the arcs. The trucks used to c
> Use regression to estimate the parameters of a 6th order polynomial model for this data. That is, estimate the least squares estimates for the parameters in the following estimated regression equation: a. What are the optimal values of b0, b1, â
> Compute the two-period and four-period moving average predictions for the data set. a. Prepare a line graph comparing the moving average predictions against the original data. b. Do the moving averages tend to overestimate or underestimate the actual da
> Use Holt’s method to create a model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to estimate the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from Holt’s method against the
> Create a Double Moving Average model (with k 5 4) for the data set. a. Prepare a line graph comparing the Double Moving Average predictions against the original data. b. What are the forecasts for the next 2 months using this technique?
> Create an exponential smoothing model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to estimate the optimal value of a. a. What is the optimal value of a? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the exponential smoothing predictions against the original
> Use Solver to determine the weights for a four-period weighted moving average on the data set that minimizes the MSE. a. What are the optimal values for the weights? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the weighted moving average predictions against the or
> Compute the two-period and four-period moving average predictions for the data set. a. Prepare a line graph comparing the moving average predictions against the original data. b. Compute the MSE for each of the two moving averages. Which appears to provi
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> Use regression analysis to answer the following questions. a. Fit a linear trend model to the data set. What is the estimated regression function? b. Interpret the R2 value for your model. c. Prepare a line graph comparing the linear trend predictions ag
> Use Holt’s method to create a model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to estimate the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from Holt’s method against the
> In the wake of the Enron scandal two public accounting firms, Oscar Anderson (OA) and TriceMilkhouse -Loopers (TML), merged (forming OATML) and are reviewing their methods for detecting management fraud during audits. The two firms had each developed the
> Create a Double Moving Average model (with k 5 4) for the data set. a. Prepare a line graph comparing the Double Moving Average predictions against the original data. b. What are the forecasts for the next 4 months using this technique?
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> Use Holt-Winter’s multiplicative method to create a seasonal model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a, b, and g. a. What are the optimal values of a, b, and g? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the pr
> Use Holt-Winter’s additive method to create a seasonal model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a, b, and g. a. What are the optimal values of a, b, and g? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predicti
> Use Holt’s method to create a model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to determine the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the predictions from Holt’s method against th
> Use regression analysis to fit a quadratic trend model to the data set. a. What is the estimated regression function? b. Compare the adjusted-R2 value for this model to that of the linear trend model. What is implied by this comparison? c. Prepare a line
> Use regression analysis to fit a linear trend model to the data set. a. What is the estimated regression function? b. Interpret the R2 value for your model. c. Prepare a line graph comparing the linear trend predictions against the original data. d. Wha
> Use Holt’s method to create a model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to estimate the optimal values of a and b. a. What are the optimal values of a and b? b. Are these values surprising? Why or why not? Questions 35 through 39 refer to
> Create an exponential smoothing model that minimizes the MSE for the data set. Use Solver to estimate the optimal value of a. a. What is the optimal value of a? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the exponential smoothing predictions against the original
> A company has three warehouses that supply four stores with a given product. Each warehouse has 30 units of the product. Stores 1, 2, 3, and 4 require 20, 25, 30, and 35 units of the product, respectively. The per unit shipping costs from each warehouse
> Use Solver to determine the weights for a four-period weighted moving average on the data set that minimizes the MSE. a. What are the optimal values for the weights? b. Prepare a line graph comparing the weighted moving average predictions against the or
> Compute the two-period and four-period moving average predictions for the data set. a. Prepare a line graph comparing the moving average predictions against the original data. b. Compute the MSE for each of the two moving averages. Which appears to prov
> Prepare a line graph of these data. Do the data appear to be stationary or nonstationary?
> Each month, Joe’s Auto Parts uses exponential smoothing (with a 5 0.25) to predict the number of cans of brake fluid that will be sold during the next month. In June, Joe forecast that he would sell 37 cans of brake fluid during July. Joe actually sold 4
