A MULTIPLE-ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

Abstract : A generalization of Kuhn's simple assignment problem is considered: There are m men and n tasks given with each man qualified for certain of the tasks. The output from each task is given as a concave function of the number of qualified men assigned to it. Find an assignment of men to task, perhaps more than one man to a task, so as to maximize total output. An algorithm for solving this general problem is given in which transfers like those used by Kuhn on the simple problem are selected using a node-labeling procedure on a related network. The algorithm yields for every k, 1 < k < m, an optimal assignment of the first k men only, employing a single transfer to increase k by one. Several special forms of the generalized problem are considered including a target assignment problem which A. S. Manne has formulated as a linear program.