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ford has three assembly

Ford has three assembly plants located in various parts of the country. The first plant (built in 1937 and located in Norwood, Ohio) requires 1.5 hours of labor and 1 hour of machine time to assemble one automobile. The second plant (built in 1958 and located in Bakersfield, California) requires 1.5 hours of labor and 1.5 hours of machine time to assemble one automobile. The third plant (built in 1981 and located in Kingsport, Tennessee) requires 1.1 hours of labor and 2.5 hours of machine time to assemble one automobile. The firm pays $35 per hour of labor and $11 per hour of machine time at each of its plants. The first plant has a capacity of 400 hours of machine time per day; the second 1500 hours; and the third, 2,000 hours. The manufacturer's production target is 1,800 automobiles per day. The production department sets each plant's schedule by solving a linear programming problem designed to identify the cost-minimizing pattern of assembly across the three plants. Tasks: 1. Model the decision problem as a linear program 2. Use EXCEL Solver to determine the cost-minimizing method of meeting Ford's daily production target. Discuss the solution Obtain the sensitivity report of EXCEL Solver and discuss the report. ONLY use the Sensitivity Report to answer tasks (4 to 8) 3. 4. The UWA local in Bakersfield, California, has proposed wage concessions at that plant to raise employment. What is the smallest decrease in the wage rate at that plant that would increase employment there? (%10) (A) What is the cost of assembling extra 10 automobiles given the current output level of 1,800 automobiles? (B) Is it possible to produce 3,500 automobiles with given solution? If possible provide the new total cost, if not possible explain why not? (C) Is it possible to 5

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