Q OMGT 3223 One-Page Summary Instructions for Final Exam – LP Case In the recorded session, I begin by talking about the case situation (in lieu of a case statement), which is a production planning problem for a manufacturing start-up. I present the original optimal solution (with a contribution of $2,206.353K), which turns out to be a really bad solution (even though it is optimal). After that, I present two alternative solutions, each of which favors one of the two products your company makes. While the LP formulation was set up to maximize contribution, you also had to consider capacity utilization (both actual and the need for a pattern of increasing utilization), costs and borrowing (how much of the line-of-credit – LOC – is available as a safety net), and market penetration (total sales and an increasing volume of sales from month to month). I am not claiming these are the two best solutions, but they are two different solutions and you have to pick one of them. You must listen to that recording and then decide for yourself which one of the solutions you would recommend, based on the criteria I present. Both solutions are better on some criteria, and worse on others. You must make tradeoffs to pick your solution. Once you have done that, you must write up your recommendation in a one-page summary. One note: many students think producing the product DL is the more important idea because it is used to treat AIDS patients. That is one of the solutions that is presented, but you cannot choose that solution based on the ethical argument. Producing DL has serious financial risks for the company, and if you select that solution (which also has some significant rewards), you must do so based on a financial argument. I am not saying the ethical argument is not important, but it is equally important that your company stay solvent. If your company goes bankrupt, the product will be off the market for years as the legal issues are straightened out, and that won’t help anyone. The margins of the paper can be no less than one inch all the way around. The typeface may be no less than 10 point, and you must use a normal typeface (Times New Roman, or something like that). The paper should be single-spaced. Grammar and spelling will be graded. The outline for what you must write follows: Begin by telling me which of the two solutions (make no DL or make all DL in January) you choose, saying simply “I recommend we ____.” You should not include the quotation marks and fill in the “_______” with the solution (No DL or All DL in January) you recommend. Start a new paragraph and for each of the criteria listed above (contribution, capacity utilization, cost and borrowing, and market penetration), explain to me which solution is better for that criterion. Repeat that for each criterion. In this paragraph, you must provide some data as part of the comparisons. In the final paragraph, consider the criteria as a group and explain why your preferred solution is overall the best. This will force you to make some trade-offs (give up something on one criterion to gain on another), so be sure you make it clear what the trade-offs are and why they were acceptable to you. To write a one-page summary, start by writing a two+ page summary, including everything you want to say. Then go back and start editing and deleting until you get it down to one page. As for grading, as noted, I will take off points for misspellings, misuse of words and poor grammar (noun/verb agreement, undefined pronouns, and misuse of punctuation, to list only a few possibilities). Think of this as a professional document, one you are handing to your boss. As always, think of your boss using your one-page summary to defend your recommendation to another person. You must provide a clear, well-explained defense of why your preferred solution is the better solution. This one-page summary is due by the date and time shown in Canvas. It is to be submitted through Canvas, (NOT via e-mail). I do not read rough drafts, but I will answer questions if you have them. If there is any part of this that is not clear to you, let me know. Ken MacLeod