1. It has been said that aggregate planning is related to personnel planning, budgeting, and market planning. Describe the nature of the relationship among these types of planning.
2. Every firm has multiple objectives such as good labor relations, low operating costs, high inventory turnover, and good customer service. What are the pros and cons of treating these objectives separately in an aggregate planning problem versus combining them all into a single measure of cost?
3. What factors are important in choosing the length of the planning horizon for aggregate planning?
4. A barbershop has been using a level workforce of barbers five days per week, Tuesday through Saturday. The barbers have considerable idle time on Tuesday through Friday, with certain peak periods during the lunch hours and after 4 p.m. each day. On Friday afternoon and all-day Saturday, all the barbers are very busy, with customers waiting a substantial amount of time and some customers being turned away. What options should this barbershop consider for aggregate planning? How would you analyze these options? What data should be collected, and how should the options be compared?