Assignment 1. Linear Programming Case Study

Your instructor will assign a linear programming project for this assignment according to the following specifications.

It will be a problem with at least three (3) constraints and at least two (2) decision variables. The problem will be bounded and feasible. It will also have a single optimum solution (in other words, it won’t have alternate optimal solutions). The problem will also include a component that involves sensitivity analysis and the use of the shadow price.

You will be turning in two (2) deliverables, a short writeup of the project and the spreadsheet showing your work.

Writeup.

Your writeup should introduce your solution to the project by describing the problem. Correctly identify what type of problem this is. For example, you should note if the problem is a maximization or minimization problem, as well as identify the resources that constrain the solution. Identify each variable and explain the criteria involved in setting up the model. This should be encapsulated in one (1) or two (2) succinct paragraphs.

After the introductory paragraph, write out the L.P. model for the problem. Include the objective function and all constraints, including any non-negativity constraints. Then, you should present the optimal solution, based on your work in Excel. Explain what the results mean.

Finally, write a paragraph addressing the part of the problem pertaining to sensitivity analysis and shadow price.

Excel.

As previously noted, please set up your problem in Excel and find the solution using Solver. Clearly label the cells in your spreadsheet. You will turn in the entire spreadsheet, showing the setup of the model, and the results.

Write a 1,000-word paper that applies, reflects, and synthesizes the following questions:

1. What does Van Duzer mean when he claims that his book is both “priestly” and “prophetic” in purpose? Why are both purposes critical for us to consider as Christian business practitioners and academics?

2. Hardy provides a quote from the Apocrypha (Ecclesiaticus or Sirach 38:34, NOT canonized as part of the Bible) as introductory to his book, and the title of his book is pulled directly from this quote. How does this quote, along with Genesis 1:27 from the Bible, provoke Christian worldview thinking regarding HRD as a key focus for any business organization?

3. Analyze and assess the differences between a traditional/administrative view of HRD and a contemporary/strategic view of HRD. How does Christian worldview thinking apply here?

4. How do Equal Employment Opportunity-related statutes inform HRD practice? What are 2 or 3 key ways that the Bible and the creation-fall-redemption-consummation meta-narrative delineate both the inherent “righteousness” of, and the pragmatic “necessity” of, EEO statutes?

5. Review Reading 1.2 and Reading 4.2 from Mello (2015). What are 3 or 4 primary claims of both readings regarding human capital and employee engagement? Synthesize these claims/findings with Van Duzer’s and Hardy’s introductory thinking regarding the importance of working in business (as “vocation” or “calling”) in God’s world.

Required Sources

You must use the course texts as well as articles from scholarly and practitioner journals. Be sure to use current APA format, and include in-text citations for the following sources:

· At least 2 citations from Mello (2015).

· At least 2 citations from Hardy (1990).

· At least 2 citations from Van Duzer (2010). 

· At least 2 citations from related scholarly journals (e.g. Human Resource Development Quarterly, Human Resource Development Review, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, Christian Scholars Review), 

· At least 1 citation from a related trade/practitioner publication (e.g. Harvard Business Review, HR Magazine, T&D Magazine, Business Week, Wall Street Journal).