Supervisor: “Our peak time this week will be 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, which requires 32% more agents than the afternoon requirements of 473 agents.” Representative: “So, you will need to have __ in the morning shift.” 500 524 534 544 624
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is: 624
Explanation
To determine the correct number of agents required for the morning shift, we need to calculate 32% more agents than those needed in the afternoon, which is 473 agents.
This is a percentage increase problem, and we can use the formula:Morning Agents=Afternoon Agents×(1+Percentage Increase)\text{Morning Agents} = \text{Afternoon Agents} \times (1 + \text{Percentage Increase})Morning Agents=Afternoon Agents×(1+Percentage Increase)
Given:
- Afternoon Agents = 473
- Percentage Increase = 32% = 0.32
Morning Agents=473×(1+0.32)=473×1.32\text{Morning Agents} = 473 \times (1 + 0.32) = 473 \times 1.32Morning Agents=473×(1+0.32)=473×1.32
Now do the multiplication:473×1.32=623.76473 \times 1.32 = 623.76473×1.32=623.76
Since we can’t have a fraction of an agent, we round up to the nearest whole number:Morning Agents=624\text{Morning Agents} = \boxed{624}Morning Agents=624
Why rounding up matters:
In staffing, it’s important to round up rather than down because rounding down would result in having fewer agents than needed. That could lead to operational inefficiencies, longer customer wait times, and potential service level failures. Having 623 agents instead of 624 would be slightly short of the required increase.
Final statement:
Thus, the representative should respond:
“So, you will need to have 624 in the morning shift.”
This ensures coverage for the 32% higher workload during the peak time from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
