An Enlistment Bonus Distribution Model
Abstract
The U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) recently completed a survey of potential recruits, using a market research approach known as "choice-based conjoint analysis." One outcome of this work was a set of utilities that could be used to estimate relative proportions of the target population that would choose each of certain offered incentive packages. The incentive package that were considered included a range of bonus awards, lengths of commitment, military occupational specialties (MOS) and payment of college loans. This report presents the results of a study sponsored by USAREC aimed at exploiting utilities from conjoint analysis to assist Army decision makers in allocating recruiting incentive funds. We discuss background of the problem, illustrate how estimates of market share for various incentive packages can be extracted from conjoint analyses, and demonstrate use of integer programming techniques to determine optimal bonus packages for a set of MOS categories. We propose an optimization model and present examples that illustrate its feasibility. We discuss strengths and weakness of the model and software selected for its implementation. Specific numerical values obtained in the example illustrations are not presently valid for application to actual enlistment bonus allocations by the Army. However, with more extensive conjoint assessments and carefully determined category importance weights as inputs to this model, we believe useful allocation programs can be obtained.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA345762
Entities
People
- Donald Barr
- Jeffery Joles
- Steven Charbonneau
Organizations
- United States Military Academy