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CMA Final · Strategic Cost Management · Assignment

A works manager has 5 operators and only 4 jobs, each operator can do any job, and the cost of every operator-job pair is known. Before applying the Hungarian method, what should be done to the cost matrix?

Add one dummy job column with zero costs. The matrix must be square, and the operator assigned to the dummy job is left without a real job. Zero costs mean the dummy adds no real cost, so the optimal real assignment is not distorted.

  1. AAdd one dummy job column with all costs equal to zeroCorrect
  2. BAdd one dummy job column with every cost equal to the highest cost in the matrix
  3. CDelete the operator with the highest total cost
  4. DSubtract the smallest element of the matrix from every cell

Explanation

The matrix is 5 x 4 and must be square before the Hungarian method is applied. One dummy job is added with zero costs, so the operator who gets it is simply left idle. Using the highest cost would distort the result. Deleting an operator discards valid options and may remove the optimum.

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