Page | 1

Chapter 2, PP 33, Section 2.1: A Simple Maximization Problem

(Reference: An introduction to Management Science by Anderson,
Sweeney and Williams)
Par, Inc., is a small manufacturer of golf equipment and suppliers whose
management has decided to move into the market for medium and high
priced golf bags. Pars distributor is enthusiastic about the new product line
and has agreed to buy all the golf bags Par produces over the next three
months.
After a thorough investigation of the steps involved in manufacturing a gold
bag, management determined that each golf bag produced will require the
following operations:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Cutting and dyeing the material

Sewing
Finishing (inserting umbrella holder, club separators, etc.)
Inspection and packaging

The director of manufacturing analyzed each of the operations and concluded

that if the company produces a medium priced standard medium, each bag
will require 7/10 hour in the cutting and dyeing department, hour in the
sewing department, 1 hour in the finishing department, and 1/10 hour in the
inspection and packaging department. The more expensive deluxe model will
require 1 hour for cutting and dyeing, 5/6 hour for sewing, 2/3 hour for
finishing, and hour for inspection and packaging.
Pars production is constrained by a limited number of hours available in
each department. After studying departmental workload projections, the
director of manufacturing estimates that 630 hours for cutting and dyeing,
600 hours for sewing, 708 hours for finishing, and 135 hours for inspection
and packaging will be available for the production of golf bags during the
next three months.
The accounting department analyzed the production data, assigned all
relevant variable costs, and arrived at prices for both bags that will result in
a profit contribution of $10 for every standard bag and $9 for every deluxe
bag produced. Formulate a mathematical model of the Par, Inc., problem
that can be used to determine the number of standard bags and the number
of deluxe bags to produce in order to maximize total profit contribution.
Formulation of Simple Maximization Linear Programming Problem

Page | 2

Q.1) A company has three operational departments (weaving, processing

and packing) with capacity to produce three different types of clothes
namely suitings, shirtings and woolens yielding a profit of Rs. 2, Rs. 4 and
Rs. 3 per meter respectively. One meter suitings require 3 minutes in
weaving, 2 minutes in processing and 1 minute in packing. Similarly, one
meter of shirting requires 4 minutes in weaving, 1 minute in processing and
3 minutes in packing and one meter of woolens requires 3 minutes in each
department. In a week, total run time of each department is 60, 40 and 80
hours for weaving, processing and packing departments respectively.
Formulate the linear programming problem to find the product mix to
maximize the profit.

Q2) RMC, Inc. is a small firm that produces a variety of chemical products.
In a particular production process, three raw materials are blended (mixed
together) to produce two products: a fuel additive and a solvent base. Each
ton of fuel additive is a mixture of 2/3 ton of material 1, ton of material 2
and 3/5 of material 3. A ton of solvent base is a mixture of ton of material
1, 1/5 ton of material 2, and 3/10 ton of material 3. After deducting relevant
costs, the profit contribution is $40 for every ton of fuel additive produced
and $30 for every ton of solvent base produced.
RMCs production is constrained by a limited availability of the three raw
materials. For the current production period, RMC has available the following
quantities of each raw material:
Raw Material
Material 1
Material 2
Material 3

Amount Available for Production

20 tons
5 tons
21 tons

Formulate the linear programming problem to maximize the total profit

contribution.

Q3) A small manufacturer employs 5 skilled men and 10 semi-skilled men

for making a product in two qualities: a deluxe model and an ordinary
model. The production of a deluxe model requires 2-hour work by a skilled

Page | 3

man and 2-hour work by a semi-skilled man. The ordinary model requires 1hour work by a skilled man and 3-hour work by a semi-skilled man.
According to worker unions rules, no man can work more than 8 hours per
day. The profit of the deluxe model is Rs. 1000 per unit and that of the
ordinary model is Rs. 800 per unit. Formulate a linear programming model
for this manufacturing situation to determine the production volume of each
model such that the total profit is maximized.
Q4) A firm manufactures three products A, B and C. Their profits per unit
are Rs. 300, Rs. 200 and Rs. 400, respectively. The firm has two machines
and the required processing time in minutes on each machine for each
product is given in the following table:

Machine

1
2

A
4
2

Product
B
3
2

C
5
4

Machines 1 and 2 have 2000 and 2500 machine-minute, respectively. The

upper limits for the production volumes of the product A, B and C are 100
units, 200 units and 50 units, respectively. But, the firm must produce a
minimum of 50 units of the product A. Develop a LP model for this
manufacturing situation to determine the production volume of each product
such that the total profit is maximized.

Q5) Johnson & Johnson has two products Deluxe Stayfree and Deluxe
carefree. To produce one unit of deluxe Stayfree, 2 units of material A, 4
units of material B and 2 units of material C are required. To produce one
unit of Deluxe Carefree, 3 units of Material A and 2 units of material B and 1
units of material C are required. Not more than 16 units of material A can be
used and at least 16 units of material B must be used and the use of
material C in total should be equal to 16. The profit contribution per unit of
Deluxe Stayfree and Deluxe Carefree are Rs. 6 and Rs. 8 respectively.
Formulate as a linear programming problem.
Q6) Consider a milk producer wants to feed his cows adequately but at the
same time with minimum cost. Suppose the adequate feed menu consists of
a minimum of 50 units of protein, 60 units of calcium and 40 units of

Page | 4

carbohydrates. Now, the job of the milk producer is to find out the quantities
of two feeds 1 and 2 that he can buy at Rs. 150 and Rs. 200 per unit
respectively subject to the minimum requirements of all the three nutrients
given. The following table gives the nutrients availability per unit of the feeds
concerned and the minimum requirements.
Nutrients
Protein
Calcium
Carbohydrate

Feed 1
2
3
2

Feed 2
2
2
4

Minimum Requirements
50
60
40

Formulate a suitable linear programming problem and obtain its optimum

solution by graphical method.
Q7) A firm produces two products A and B. Both of the products have to be
processed on two machines G and H. One unit of product requires four
minutes of processing on machine G and three minutes of processing on
machine H. One unit of product B requires three minutes of processing on
machine G and four minutes of processing on machine H. The firm only has
1650 minutes of processing time available per week on machine G and 2250
minutes of processing time available on machine H. The profit contributions
per unit of A and B are expected to be Rs. 45 and Rs. 55, respectively.
Formulate the firms problem as an LPP, find the optimal resource allocation
and product mix.
Q9) A small furniture manufacturer produces tables and chairs. Each
product must go through three stages of the manufacturing process:
assembly, finishing, and inspection. Each table requires 3 hours of assembly,
2 hours of finishing and 1 hour of inspection. Each chair requires 2 hrs of
assembly, 2 hrs of finishing and 1 hr of inspection. The profit per table is $
120 while the selling price per chair is $ 80. Currently, each week there are
200 hours of assembly time available, 180 hours of finishing time and 40
hours of inspection time. Formulate the problem as an LPP, and find the
optimal production schedule.

Q10) The Versatech Corporation has decided to produce three new

products. Five branch plants now have excess product capacity. The unit
manufacturing cost of the first product would be $31, $29, $32, $28 and $29

Page | 5

in plants 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. The unit manufacturing cost of the

second product would be $45, $41, $46, $42 and $43 in plants 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5, respectively. The unit manufacturing cost of the third product would
be $38, $35 and $40 in plants 1, 2 and 3, respectively, whereas plants 4 and
5 do not have the capability for producing this product. Sales forecasts
indicate that 600, 1000 and 8000 units of products 1, 2 and 3, respectively,
should be produced per day. Plants 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 have the capacity to
produce 400, 600, 400, 600 and 1000 units daily, respectively, regarding of
the product or combination of products involved. Assume that any plant
having the capability and capacity to produce them can produce any
combination of the products in any quantity. Management wishes to know
how to allocate the new products to the plants to minimize total
manufacturing cost. Formulate and solve the problem.

A Simple Minimization Problem

M & D Chemicals produces two products that are sold as raw materials to
companies manufacturing bath soaps and laundry detergents. Based on an
analysis of current inventory levels and potential demand for the coming
month, M&Ds management specified that the combined production for
products A and B must total at least 350 gallons. Separately, a major
customers order for 125 gallons of product A must also be satisfied. Product
A requires 2 hours of processing time per gallon and product B requires 1
hour of processing time per gallon. For the coming month, 600 hours of
processing time are available. M&Ds objective is to satisfy these
requirements at a minimum total production cost. Production costs are $2
per gallon for product A and $3 per gallon for product B. Find the minimum
cost production schedule.

Graphical Solution problem of Linear Programming Problem:

Page | 6

Q1) A company makes two kinds of leather belts. Belts A is a high quality
belt, and belt B is of lower quality. The respective profits are Rs. 4.00 and
Rs. 3.00 per belt. Each belt of type A requires twice as much time as a belt
of type B, and if all belts were of type B, the company could make 1000 per
day. The supply of leather is sufficient for only 800 belts per day (Both A and
B combined). Belt A requires a fancy buckle and only 400 per day are
available. There are only 700 buckles a day available for belt B. Determine
the optimal product mix.
Q2) Use graphical method to solve the LPP:
Max . Z=2 x1 + 4 x 2
subject to the constraints
x 1+2 x 2 5 ;
x 1+ x 2 4 ;
x1 , x2 0 .
Q3) Use graphical method to solve the LPP:
Max. Z=6 x 1+ x 2
subject to the constraints
2 x1 + x2 3 ;
x 2x 1 0 ;
x1 , x2 0 .

Q4) Use graphical method to solve the LPP:

Max. Z=x 1+ x 2

Page | 7

subject to the constraints

x 1+ x 2 1 ;
3 x 1 + x 2 3;
x1 , x2 0 .

Try yourself Q21, Q22, Q24 and Q28.

Marketing
An advertising Company wishers to plan an advertising campaign in three
different mediatelevision, radio, and magazines. The purpose of the
advertising is to reach as many potential customers as possible. Results of a
market study are given below.

Television
Prime
day(rs.)
Cost
of
an 40,000
advertising unit
Number
of 4,00,000
potential
customers
Reached per unit
Number
of 3,00,000
women
customers
reached per unit

Prime
time (Rs.)
75,000

Radio(Rs.) Magazines(Rs.
)
30,000
15,000

9,00,000

5,00,000

4,00,000

4,00,000

2,00,000

1,00,000

The company does not want to spend more than Rs. 8,00,000 on
advertising. It further requires that
i)
ii)

at least 2 million exposures take place among women

advertising on television be limited to Rs. 5,00,000

Page | 8

iii)
iv)

at least 3 advertising units be bought on prime day and two

units during prime time; and
the number of advertising units on radio and magazine should
each be between 5 and 10

Formulate the linear programming model in order to maximize total number

of potential customers reached.

Problem related to solving a Linear Programming problem with

Simplex Method.
High Tech Industries imports electronic components that are used to
assemble two different models of personal computers. One model is called
the Deskpro, and the other model is called the Portable. HighTechs
management is currently interested in developing a weekly production
schedule for both products.
The Deskpro generates a profit contribution of $50 per unit, and the Portable
generates a profit contribution of $40 per unit. For next weeks production, a
maximum of 150 hours of assembly time can be made available. Each unit of
Deskpro requires 3 hours of assembly time, and each unit of the Portable
requires 5 hours of assembly time. In addition, HighTech currently has only
20 Portable display components in inventory; thus, no more than 20 units of
the Portable may be assembled. Finally, only 300 square feet of warehouse
space can be made available for new production. Assembly of each Deskpro
requires 8 square feet of warehouse space; similarly, each Portable requires
5 square feet.

Problem related to solving a Linear Programming problem with Two

Phase Simplex Method.
Q1) G. J. Breveries Ltd. have two bottling plants, one located at G and the
other at J. Each plant produces three drinks - whisky, beer and brandy
names A, B and C respectively. The number of bottles produced per day is as
follows:

Page | 9

Drink
Whisky
Beer
Brandy

Plant
G
1500
3000
2000

J
1500
1000
5000

A market survey indicated that during the month of July, there will be a
demand of 20,000 bottles of whisky, 40,000 bottles of beer and 44,000
bottles of brandy. The operating costs per day of plants at G and J are 600
and 400 monetary units. For how many days each plant be run in July so as
to minimize the production cost, while still meeting the market demand?
Solve by two-phase Simplex Method?
Q2) Air Force is experimenting with three types of bombs P, Q and R in
which three kinds of explosive, viz., A, B and C will be used. Taking the
various factors into consideration, it has been decided to use at most 600 kg
of explosive A, at least 480 kg of explosive B and exactly 540 of explosive C.
Bomb P requires 3, 2, 2 kg. of A, B and C respectively. Bomb Q requires 1,
4, 3 kg of A, B and C respectively. Bomb R requires 6, 2, 3 kg of A, B, and C
respectively. Now bomb P will give the equivalent of a 2 ton explosion, bomb
Q will give a 3 ton explosion and Bomb R will give a 4 ton explosion. Under
what production schedule can be Air Force make the biggest bang? Solve by
Two-Phase Simplex Method.

CASE STUDY

TJs Inc, makes three nut mixes for sale to grocery chains located in the
Southeast. The three mixes, referred to as the Regular Mix, the Deluxe Mix,
and the Holiday Mix, are made by mixing different percentages of five types
of nuts.
In preparation for the fall season, TJs has just purchased the following
shipments of nuts at the prices shown:
Type of Nut

Shipment
(pounds)
6000

Amount Cost per Shipment ($)

7500

P a g e | 10

Almond
Brazil
Filbert
Pecan
Walnut

7500
7500
6000
7500

7125
6750
7200
7875

The Regular Mix consists of 15% almonds, 25% Brazil nuts, 25% filberts,
10% pecans, and 25% walnuts. The Deluxe Mix consists of 20% of each
type of nut, and the Holiday Mix consists of 25% almonds, 15% Brazil nuts,
15% filberts, 25% pecans, and 20% walnuts.
TJs accountant analyzed the cost of packaging materials, sales price per
pound, and so forth, and determined that the profit contribution per pound is
$1.65 for the Regular Mix, $2.00 for the Deluxe Mix, and $2.25 for the
Holiday Mix. These figures do not include the cost of specific types of nuts in
the different mixes because that cost can vary greatly in the commodity
markets.
Customer orders already received are summarized here:
Types of Mix
Regular
Deluxe
Holiday

Orders (pounds)
10000
3000
5000

Because demand is running high, it is expected that TJs will receive many
more orders than can be satisfied.
TJs is committed to using the available nuts to maximize profit over the fall
seasons; nuts not used will be given to a local charity. Even if it is not
profitable to do so, TJs president indicated that the orders already received
must be satisfied.
Management Report
Perform an analysis of TJs product-mix problem, and prepare a report for
TJs president that summarizes your findings. Be sure to include information
and analysis on the following:
1. the cost per pound of the nuts included in the Regular, Deluxe and
Holiday mixes.

P a g e | 11

2. The optimal product mix and the total profit contribution

3. Recommendations regarding how the total profit contribution can be
increased if additional quantities of nuts can be purchased.
4. A recommendation as to whether TJs should purchase an additional
1000 pounds of almonds for $1000 from a supplier who overbought
5. Recommendations on how profit contribution could be increased (if at
all) if TJs does not satisfy all existing orders.