MA 103, Quantitative Methods
In-class group activity
Decision Making
An Example: Selecting a Puppy
Consider the following ads for puppies in the Huntingdon, PA area, which were found on
http://www.discoverourtown.com . Note that the descriptions below are exactly as they appear, without editing.
Collie Puppies
We have AKC registered collie puppies. They were born on 9/14/2007 and will be ready for
adoption the beginning of November. They are white with sable markings. I do have a pedigree
and there are champion bloodlines. They come with first vaccinations, health certificate and full
registration. Asking price: $500
Rat Puppies
Health gurantee, first shots dewormed, tails docked. 12lbs grown. 2 chocolate white tri males
available $300. family raised inside my home. Handled and played with daily. socialized, great
with childern. short haired breed good indoor homes only. located in PA sorry no shipping.
Shichon Puppies
We have three gorgeous female Shihchons (pronounced she-shon) puppies available. Two are
white, one with black ears the other with cream ears. The third is a tan/sable and white spotted
puppy. All three are excellent with children and other pets, very sweet puppies. Shihchons are a
designer cross of the shihtzu and bichon frise, the result are adorable fluffy puppies that will not
shed. Females are $400. Email for availability and pictures of specific pups! Another shihchon
litter is ready Nov 1st.
Sheltie Puppies
For sale AKC Sheltie puppies, 1 female blue merle and 1 tri male. Great bloodlines, wormed up
to date, will be vet checked, first shots and wormed at time of sale. Will be ready by Nov. 10 th
Asking price: $500
Suppose we want to adopt one of the puppies listed above. We will use various criteria to help inform our
decision. While you may find other criteria more useful, for this example we will rate the puppies on cost,
appearance, and average life-span for the breed. Information for these three criteria is given in the following
table. The cost data came from the ad, the appearance score was subjective and based on experience, and lifespan data came from various web-sites.
Breed
Price
Appearance
Life span (years)
Collie
$500
7
12
Rat Terrier
$300
6
18
Shichon
$400
5
15
Sheltie
$500
8
14
Now, convert the price, and life span information to a “1 to 10” scale, where 10 represents most preferred and 1 is
least preferred. Appearance is already on a 1 to 10 scale.
Breed
Price rating Appearance rating Life span rating Weighted average
Collie
7
Rat Terrier
6
Shichon
5
Sheltie
8
Weights =
______
________
_________
Assign weights (numbers between 1 and 10, with 10 representing “most important,” to the three criteria. Then,
compute the weighted average for each dog.