Assignment

Technique

CONTENTS
1. Definition of assignment problem
2. Application
3. Types of problem
4. Steps
5. Practical examples

DEFINITION
Assignment method is used to determine what resources are
assigned to which department, machine or center of operation in
the production process.
This method is used to allocate the proper number of employees to
a machine or task, and the number of jobs that a given machine or
factory can produce with minimum costs and time.

APPLICATION

In assigning machines to factory orders

In assigning sales/marketing people to sales territories

In assigning teachers to classes

In assigning accountants to accounts of the client

TYPES OF PROBLEM
1. Balanced problem
2. Unbalanced problem
3. Prohibited problem
4. Maximization problem

STEPS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Row reduction
Column reduction
Crossing all zero by minimum number of horizontal or vertical lines
Check whether the number of lines is equal to number of matrix
Assign the jobs

Practical examples [1]

The personnel manager of Big bazaar has decided to recruit two employees
Amar and Kumal in a marketing department of the organization. The section
has five fairly defined tasks Research, Selling, Advertising, Customer service,
and Managing budget;
And 3 employees Rohit, Raj and Nikhat are already employed in the section.
Considering the specialized nature of task Advertising and the special
qualification of the recruit Amar for task Advertising, the manager has
decided to assign task Advertising to employee Amar and then assign the
remaining tasks to remaining employees so as to maximize the total
effectiveness.
The index of effectiveness of each employee of different tasks is as following;
-

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

25

55

60

45

30

Raj

45

65

55

35

40

Nikhat

10

35

45

55

65

Amar

40

30

70

40

60

Kumal

55

45

40

55

10

Assign the task for maximizing total effectiveness. Critically

examine whether the decision of the manager to assign

Advertising to employee Amar was correct.

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

25

55

60

45

30

Raj

45

65

55

35

40

Nikhat

10

35

45

55

65

Amar

40

30

70

40

60

Kumal

55

45

40

55

10

Balanced & Maximization problem

Each elements are subtracted by maximum value i.e. 70

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

45

15

10

25

40

Raj

25

15

35

30

Nikhat

60

35

25

15

Amar

30

40

30

10

Kumal

15

25

30

15

60

Step 1 : Row reduction & Column reduction

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

45

15

10

25

40

Raj

25

15

35

30

Nikhat

60

35

25

15

Amar

30

40

30

10

Kumal

15

25

30

15

60

Crossing all zero by minimum number of horizontal or

vertical lines
Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

35

25

30

Raj

20

10

30

25

Nikhat

55

30

20

10

Amar

30

40

30

10

Kumal

10

15

45

The uncrossed values are subtracted and the intersectional

values are added by the lowest value among the uncrossed
i.e.10

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

35 -10 =25

15 - 10 =5

30

Raj

20 - 10
=10

10

30 - 10=
20

25

Nikhat

55 - 10 =
45

30

20

10 -10 = 0

Amar

30 10
=20

40

30 -10 =
20

10

Kumal

45 +10 =55

10 +10
15 +10
=10
=25 are
uncrossed
values

Same procedure; The

subtracted and
the intersectional values are added by the lowest value i.e. 5

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

20

25

Raj

15

10

15

20

Nikhat

45

35

25

Amar

15

40

15

Kumal

15

30

55

Number of lines is equal to number of jobs

Optimal is realized

Tasks

Emplo
yee

Research

Selling

Advertising

Customer
Service

Managing
budget

Rohit

25

55

60

45

30

Raj

45

65

55

35

40

Nikhat

10

35

45

55

65

Amar

40

30

70

40

60

Kumal

55

45

40

55

10

Critically examine whether the decision of the manager to

assign Advertising to employee Amar was correct.

Maximized total effectiveness is

45 + 65 + 65 + 70 + 55 = 300

Yes, it is correct as Amar is assigned with Advertising for

maximizing total effectiveness.

Practical examples [2]

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Thane decided to hold seminar
on four topics. Seminars will be held once per week in afternoon
(one for each topic and not more then one seminar per afternoon)
so that the number of employees unable to kept is minimum. A
study indicates that the number of employees who cannot attend a
particular seminar on a specific day is as follows;

SEMINAR

CSR

Internatio
nal
exposure

Skills
Eupgradatio
Commerce
n

MONDAY

50

40

60

20

TUESDAY

40

30

40

30

WEDNESDA
Y

60

20

30

20

THURSDAY

30

30

20

30

FRIDAY

10

20

10

30

Will find an optimal schedule of the seminars. Also find

out the total number of employees who will be missing
at least one seminar?

Adding Dummy to Balance

Problem
Internationa
El exposure Commerce

Skills upgradation

Dumm
y

60

20

30

40

30

60

20

30

20

THURSDAY

30

30

20

30

FRIDAY

10

20

10

30

SEMINAR

CSR

MONDAY

50

40

TUESDAY

40

WEDNESDAY

STEP I :- Row & Column Reduction

SEMINAR

TOPIC
1

TOPIC
2

TOPIC
3

TOPIC
4

Dumm
y

MONDAY

50

40

60

20

TUESDAY

40

30

40

30

WEDNESDAY

60

20

30

20

THURSDAY

30

30

20

30

FRIDAY

1
0

2
0

1
0

2
0

STEP I :- COLUMN REDUCTION

SEMINAR

TOPIC
1

TOPIC
2

TOPIC
3

TOPIC
4

Dumm
y

MONDAY

40

20

50

TUESDAY

30

10

30

10

WEDNESDAY

50

20

THURSDAY

20

10

10

10

FRIDAY

4=5

SEMINAR

TOPIC 1

TOPIC 2

TOPIC 3

TOPIC 4

Dummy

MONDAY

40

20

50

TUESDAY

30

10

30

10

WEDNESDAY

50

20

THURSDAY

20

10

10

10

FRIDAY

Here we have 10.

Subtract 10 from each uncrossed element and add 10 to the
element which occurs at intersection of line

SEMINAR

TOPIC 1

TOPIC 2

TOPIC 3

TOPIC 4

Dummy

MONDAY

40 -10=30 20 -10=10 50 -10=40

TUESDAY

30 -10=20

10 -10=0

30 -10=20

10

WEDNESDAY

50

20

0
+10=10

0 +10=10

THURSDAY

20 -10=10

10 -10=0

10 -10=0

10

FRIDAY

0
+10=10

0 +10=10

SEMINAR

TOPIC 1

TOPIC 2 TOPIC 3 TOPIC 4 Dummy

MONDAY

30

10

40

TUESDAY

20

20

10

WEDNESDAY

50

20

10

10

THURSDAY

10

10

FRIDAY

10

10

SEMINAR

TOPIC 1

TOPIC 2 TOPIC 3 TOPIC 4 Dummy

MONDAY

30

10

40

TUESDAY

20

20

10

0
0

WEDNESDAY

50

00

20

10

10

THURSDAY

10

0
0

10

FRIDAY

00

10

10

ATTENDENCE RECORD
DAYS

SEMINARS

EMPLOYEES UNADBLE
TO ATTEND

MONDAY

Skills up-gradation

20

TUESDAY

DUMMY

WEDNESDAY

International exposure

20

THURSDAY

E-commerce

20

FRIDAY

CSR

10

OPTIMAL SOLUTION

70

Example [3]
Turkish national swimming team coach is putting
together a relay team for the 400 meter relay.
Each swimmer must swim 100 meters of
breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, or free style.
The coach believes that each swimmer will attain
the times (seconds) given in the Table below. To
minimize the teams time for the race, assign each
swimmer for a stroke.

FREE

BREAST

FLY

BACK

DERYA

54

54

51

53

MURAT

51

57

52

52

DENIZ

50

53

54

56

CEYHUN

56

54

55

53

Row Reduction
FREE

BREAST

FLY

BACK

DERYA

54

54

51

53

MURAT

51

57

52

52

DENIZ

50

53

54

56

CEYHUN

56

54

55

53

Column Reduction
FREE

BREAST

FLY

BACK

DERYA

MURAT

DENIZ

CEYHUN

FREE

BREAST

FLY

BACK

DERYA

0
0

MURAT

0
0

DENIZ

CEYHUN

0
0

Number of lines is not equal to the number of matrix,

so optimal solution is not obtained, the uncrossed min
value is 1, so subtracting 1 from the uncrossed values
and adding 1 to the intersections.

We get,
FREE

BREAST

FLY

BACK

DERYA

0
0

MURAT

00

DENIZ

0
0

CEYHUN

0
0

Free (Denis)

50

Breast (Cehyun)

54

Fly (Derya)

51

Back (Murat)

52
207 (seconds)