Reference no: EM133437787

Question: You may use classical LINDO software only to solve the following problem or solve by hand:

OC Transpo believes that it will need the following number of LRT dispatchers during each of the next five years: 60 dispatchers in year 1; 70 dispatchers in year 2; 50 dispatchers in year 3; 65 dispatchers in year 4; and 75 dispatchers in year 5. At the beginning of each year, the company must decide how many dispatchers should be hired or fired. It costs $40,000 to hire a dispatcher and $20,000 to fire a dispatcher. For continuity of the staff, the company will not fire more than 10% of the dispatchers in any year (e.g. at the start of year 3 it would not fire more than 10% of the dispatchers on staff during year 2). A dispatcher's salary is $100,000 per year. At the beginning of year 1, the company has 50 dispatchers. A dispatcher hired at the beginning of a year may be used to meet the current year's requirements and is paid full salary for the current year. Part-time dispatchers can also be hired and are paid proportionally to the amount of time they work (e.g. a dispatcher who works 25% of a full load is paid 25% of a full salary). How many dispatchers should the company hire or fire at the beginning of each year to minimize total costs? How many dispatchers should it have on staff each year? What are the minimum total costs?