Case #$5$

OPTIMAL DESK PRODUCTION

Burger Office Equipment Co$.$ produces two types of desks: standard and deluxe. Deluxe desks

have oak tops and more expensive hardware and require additional time for finishing and

polishing. Standard desks require $80$ square feet of pine and $10$ hours of labor, while deluxe

desks require $60$ square feet of pine, $18$ square feet of oak, and $16$ hours of labor. For the next

week, the company has $5,000$ square feet of pine, $750$ square feet of oak, and $400$ hours of labor

available. Standard desks net a profit of $$150,$ while deluxe desks net a profit of $$320.$ All desks

can be sold to national chains such as Staples or Office Depot.

Use Microsoft Excel to answer all the questions below. Please upload one single Excel

solution file on Canvas by the due date, with each question answered on a separate sheet of

the same Excel file. Submission of the Excel solution file via email is not acceptable.

Questions

Formulate a linear programming optimization model to determine how many of each type

of desk the company should make next week to maximize profit contribution. $(20$ points$)$

Put the formulated model in Excel, identify the optimal solution, and explain it$.$

points$)$

The shop supervisor is suggesting that his workforce be allowed to work an additional $50$

hours at an overtime premium of $$12/$hour$.$ Is this a good suggestion? Why or why not?

Explain. $(10$ points$)$