Expert: Lynn Houston - 10/27/2010

Question
The personnel manager for a large computer company is planning to promote one of two outside computer repair
technicians.
Unfortunately, she has limited data on which to base the decision. The only quantitative information that is
available for the
last year is summarized in the following tables. Devise and execute a strategy that will allow the personnel
manager to compare
these two candidates in an objective manor.

Tech 1            Jan   Feb   March   April   May   June   July   Aug   Sept   Oct   Nov   Dec
# of calls     42   65   57   39   41   55   62   38   45   52   47   61
# of good repairs 29   43   38   22   28   48   50   27   30   39   31   40

Tech 2             Jan   Feb   March   April   May   June   July   Aug   Sept   Oct   Nov   Dec
# of calls     30   25   28   32   22   21   31   29   35   33   26   32
# of good repairs 18   19   22   20   15   12   19   20   30   17   20   18


Answer
Not sure if this is a business question or a math question, but if you have the # of call vs the # of good repairs, I would compare the ratios and decide which one has a better repair record.

Add the # of calls and the # of good repairs for each person

Tech one ratio of good repairs to call
425/604 = 70% success rate

Tech two
230/344 = 66% success rate

So, just based on the limited information available, Tech one has a slightly better success rate on repairs, so the personnel manager should pick Tech 1.