A consulting firm would like to minimize the total hours it takes to complete four projects for a new client. The firm estimated the time it should take for each top consultants—Charlie, Gerald, Johnny, and Rick—to complete any of the four projects, as follows: Project Hours Consultant A B C D Charlie 13 16 11 18 Gerald 13 15 10 12 Johnny 15 11 20 15 Rick 17 17 12 22
(a) What is the total number of hours required by the following arbitrary assignment? Charlie→B; Gerald→A; Johnny→D; Rick→C
(b) What is the optimal assignment of consultants to projects? (Use the assignment method.)
(c) For the optimal schedule, what is the total number of hours it will take these consultants to complete these projects?