The workload in many areas of bank operations has the characteristics of a non- uniform distribution with respect to time of day. At certain times of day there are more activities than at other times. For efficient use of resources, the personnel available should, therefore, vary correspondingly.

A variable capacity can be achieved effectively by employing part-time personnel. Because part-timers are not entitled to all the fringe benefits, they are often more economical than full-time employees. Other considerations, however, may limit the extent to which part-time people can be hired in a given department.

The problem is to find an optimum workforce schedule that would meet personnel requirements at any given time and also be economical. Some of the factors affecting personnel assignment are listed here:

1 Full-time employees work for 8 hours per day, with a one hour break for lunch scheduled

2. Fifty percent of the full-timers go to lunch between 11am and noon, and the remaining 50% go between noon and 1pm

3. Part-timers work for at least 4 continuous hours per day but less than 7 hours and are not allowed a lunchbreak.

4. By corporate policy, part-time personnel hours are limited to a maximum of 40% of the days total requirement

5. The shift starts at 9 A.M. and ends at 7 P.M. (i.e., overtime is limited to 2 hours). Any work left over at 7PM is considered holdover for the next day.

6. A full-time employee is not allowed to work more than 1 hours overtime per week. He or she is paid at the normal rate for overtime hoursnot at one-and-a-half times the normal rate applicable typically to overtime hours. Fringe benefits are not applied to overtime hours.

In addition, the following costs are pertinent:

a. The average normal rate per full time personnel hour is $24.08

b. The fringe benefit rate per full-time personnel hour is charged at 25% of the normal rate

c. The average rate per part-time personnel hour is $17.82

The personnel hours required by hour of day m are given in Table 1. The banks goal is to achieve the minimum possible personnel cost subject to meeting or exceeding the hourly work force requirements as well as the constraints listed above.

Table 1 Data for Bank of America

TIME PERIOD	HOURS REQUESTED
9-10AM	14
10-11 AM	25
11-12 AM	26
12-1PM	38
1-2 PM	55
2-3PM	60
3-4 PM	51
4-5 PM	29
5-6PM	14
7-8PM	9

Assignment questions

1. Research and write a brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages of using part-time employees as opposed to full-timers. This should be about 1 page.
2. What model would you use to arrive at a decision? What are the main attributes of that model?
3. Set up the model and provide a recommendation of the schedule to be followed in order to minimize cost. The excel spreadsheet should be attached.