Priceler Auto Corporation must determine whether or not to give consumers 8% or 11% financing on new cars. If Priceler gives 8% financing during the current month, the probability distribution of sales during the current month will be as shown in Table.
|
Current Month’s
|
Last Month’s
|
Sales
|
Sales
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Good
|
.95
|
.05
|
Bad
|
.40
|
.60
|
If Priceler gives 11% financing during the current month, the probability distribution of sales during the current month will be as shown in Table.
|
Current Month’s
|
Last Month’s
|
Sales
|
Sales
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Good
|
.80
|
.20
|
Bad
|
.20
|
.80
|
“Good” sales represents 400,000 sales per month, “bad” sales represents 300,000 sales per month. For example, if last month’s sales were bad and Priceler gives 8% financing during the current month, there is a .40 chance that sales will be good during the current month. At 11% financing rates, Priceler earns $1,000 per car, and at 8% financing, Priceler earns $800 per car. Priceler’s goal is to maximize expected discounted profit over an infinite horizon (use β = .98).
a Use the policy iteration method to determine an optimal stationary policy.
b Use linear programming to determine an optimal stationary policy.
c Perform two iterations of value iteration.
d Find a policy that maximizes average profit per month.