Bentley Hamilton throws the business section of The New York Times onto the conference room table and
Question:
Mr. Hamilton wants to make a point.
He throws the front page of The Wall Street Journal on top of The New York Times and watches as his associates widen their eyes once heavy with boredom.
Mr. Hamilton wants to make a big point.
He then throws the front page of The Financial Times on top of the newspaper pile and watches as his associates dab the fine beads of sweat off their brows.
Mr. Hamilton wants his point indelibly etched into his associates minds.
(a) Emily first decides to evaluate the number and type of servers to purchase on a month-to-month basis. For each month, formulate an IP model to determine which servers Emily should purchase in that month to minimize costs in that month and support the new users. How many and which types of servers should she purchase in each month? How much is the total cost of the plan?
(b) Emily realizes that she could perhaps achieve savings if she bought a larger server in the initial months to support users in the final months. She therefore decides to evaluate the number and type of servers to purchase over the entire planning period. Formulate an IP model to determine which servers Emily should purchase in which months to minimize total cost and support all new users. How many and which types of servers should she purchase in each month? How much is the total cost of the plan?
(c) Why is the answer using the first method different from that using the second method?
(d) Are there other costs that Emily is not accounting for in her problem formulation? If so, what are they?
(e) What further concerns might the various departments of CommuniCorp have regarding the intranet?
Step by Step Answer:
Introduction to Operations Research
ISBN: 978-1259162985
10th edition
Authors: Frederick S. Hillier, Gerald J. Lieberman