Powell Motors, an automobile manufacturing company, is interested in purchasing new air filters for its automobiles. The company's buying team has narrowed the alternatives to products proposed by five suppliers-supplier 1, supplier 2, and supplier 3, supplier 4, and supplier 5. To select a supplier, the team is considering two characteristics-reliability and durability. The purchase decision lies on the performance score and the importance weight of each characteristic. The performance scores for reliability of supplier 1, supplier 2, supplier 3, supplier 4, and supplier 5 are 10, 9, 8, 6, and 7, respectively. The performance scores for durability of supplier 1, supplier 2, supplier 3, supplier 4, and supplier 5 are 5, 7, 8, 8, and 6, respectively. The buying team assigns reliability an importance weight of 9 against a score of 8 for durability. According to the multiattribute model of evaluation, the buying team of Powell Motors is most likely to select _____.
A) supplier 2
B) supplier 1
C) supplier 4
D) supplier 5
E) supplier 3

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To determine the most likely supplier to be selected, calculate the weighted score for each supplier by multiplying the performance score by the importance weight for each characteristic and then summing these products. For example, for Supplier 1: (Reliability score * Reliability weight) + (Durability score * Durability weight) = (10 * 9) + (5 * 8) = 90 + 40 = 130. Performing similar calculations for all suppliers, Supplier 2 has the highest total weighted score, making it the most likely choice.

Powell Motors, an Automobile Manufacturing Company, Is Interested in Purchasing