golf shafts, inc. (gsi) - statistics question
Golf Shafts, Inc. (GSI), produces graphite shafts for several manufacturers of golf clubs. Three GSI manufacturing facilities, one located in San Diego, one in Tampa, and the other in Boston have the capability to produce shafts in varying degrees of stiffness, ranging from regular models used primarily by average golfers to extra stiff models used primarily by low-handicap and professional golfers. GSI just received a contract for the production of 200,000 regular shafts and 175,000 stiff shafts. Because all plants are currently producing shafts for previous orders, neither plant has sufficient capacity by itself to fill the new order. The San Diego plant can produce up to a total of 170,000 shafts, the Tampa plant can produce up to a total of 100,000 shafts, and the Boston plant can produce up to a total of 105,000 shafts. Because of equipment differences at each of the plants and differing labor costs, the per-unit production costs vary as shown here:
San Diego Cost Tampa Cost Boston Cost
Regular shaft $5.25 $4.95 $5.05
Stiff shaft $5.45 $5.70 $5.32
a. How many regular shafts are to be produced in San Diego, Tampa and Boston plants respectively in order to minimize the cost?
b. How many shafts (regular+stiff) in total do San Diego, Tampa and Boston plants have to produce in order to minimize the cost?
c. What is the value of the objective function?