Table 3.4: I am Ulysses
Uncle Ulysses operates a small business: he produces three types of houses to sell to people wanting to get back to nature. Based on your discussion with your uncle you construct the following table based on your understanding of his weekly availability of labor.
| Item | Profit/Unit | Fabrication | Assembly | Painting | Crating |
| Birdhouse | $15 | 1 | 2.5 | 1 | 0.25 |
| Doghouse | $35 | 1.25 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Outhouse | $58 | 1.75 | 4 | 2 | 0.75 |
| Capacity | | 30 hours | 50 hours | 20 hours | 20 hours |
Based on the information in the table, you formulate the problem as a linear program. The labor needed for fabrication, assembly, painting, and crating is all dedicated solely to each function, i.e., none of the workers have been cross-trained. The Excel solution and the answer and sensitivity report are shown below.
The Answer Report:
The Sensitivity Report:
Uncle Ulysses' available hours for crating have fallen from 20 hours to 15 hours because of a new "one-hour nap time" rule for this five-year-old worker. How will this affect his profits?
• Profits will increase by $7.69.
• Profits will decrease by $7.69.
• Profits will decrease by $12.31.
• Profits will not change.
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