Daniel Tracy, owner of Martin Manufacturing, must expand by building a new factory. The search for a location for this factory has been narrowed to three sites: A, B, and C. The following table shows the results obtained by using the factor-rating method to analyze the problem. The candidate locations are rated based on the 0-5 scale, with 5 as the most satisfactory.
|
Factor
|
Weight
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
|
Quality of labor
|
10
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
|
Construction cost
|
8
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
|
Transportation cost
|
7
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
|
Proximity to markets
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
|
Taxes
|
6
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
|
Weather
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
5
|
(a) What are the relative importance weights of the 6 factors? You will use the relative importance weights to calculate the overall ratings of the three locations in Question (b).
(b) Which location should Tracy choose? For each site, please provide at least one step of calculation and the correct overall weighting.