5. Lincoln Lights is considering hiring one of three software
firms to implement a new IT system. Lincoln management
has decided to evaluate the firms on three dimensions—
reputation, skill level, and price. Weights for each dimension,
as well as performance ratings for each of the firms (15
“poor” to 5 5 “excellent”) are shown in the following table:
Software Firm
DIMENSION WEIGHT ALTREX TGI LTD.
PC
ASSOCIATES
Reputation 0.2 3 4 5
Skill level 0.4 5 4 4
Price 0.4 5 3 2
a. (*) Use the weighted-point evaluation system to calculate weighted performance scores for each of the
software firms. Would the results change if each
dimension had a weight of one-third?
b. (**) In Chapter 2, we described order qualifiers as performance dimensions on which customers demand a
minimum level of performance. Basically, if a supplier
fails to meet the minimum requirements on any of
the qualifiers, that supplier would be eliminated from
contention. How would you incorporate the concept
of order qualifiers into the weighted-point evaluation
system?