Fundamentals of Decision Support - Essay Example

Decisions are required when managers handle a situation with two or more alternative courses of action. To select the right course of action, the manager must analyze all the relevant information available. Information with no monetary figure requires a qualitative decision. Quantitative decisions, like in this scenario, are accompanied by measurable information mostly in financial figures. A quantitative decision problem is made up of six components. Decision problems involving two or more variables are a common occurrence when managing a business.

A high number of variables increase the level of complexity of the decision to be made. All variables have to be considered when making such decisions. There are methods used to analyze a decision problem. Common decision problem analysis methods include the simplex method and cost- volume- profit technique. Computer programs have also been developed to aid in the decision-making. The computer decision support software includes DecisionPro and Microsoft Excel (Brandimarte, 2012). £12 per unit.

Product 2 has a profit margin of £16 per unit. The setup cost for manufacturing facilities required to produce the two products also vary. Product 1 production facility installation cost is £45000 while for product 2 the setup cost for its production facility is £76000. The company has two factories capable of producing the two products. The rate of production of the two factories varies. Factory 1 can produce 52 units of product 1 per hour and 38 units of product 2 per hour. Factory 2 can produce 42 units of product 1 per hour and 23 units of product 2 per hour.

Factory 1 has 480 hours available for production of the two products. Factory 2 has 720 hours available for production of the two products. The aim of this solution is to optimize the profits the company will derive from producing the two products with the limited resources the company has. The constraints, in