A Large Book Publisher Has Five Manuscripts That Must Be

Short Answer

A large book publisher has five manuscripts that must be edited as soon as possible. Five editors are available for doing the work; however, their working times on the various manuscripts will differ based on their backgrounds and interests. The publisher wants to use an assignment method to determine who does which manuscript. Estimates of editing times (in hours) for each manuscript by each editor are: $$\begin{array} { c} & &&{ \text { Editor } } \\\text { Manuscript } & \mathrm { A } & \mathrm { B } & \mathrm { C } & \mathrm { D } & \mathrm { E } \\\hline 1 & 12 & 8 & 10 & 16 & 13 \\2 & 9 & 10 & 14 & 13 & 9 \\3 & 17 & 14 & 9 & 18 & 12 \\4 & 15 & 7 & 11 & 9 & 18 \\5 & 12 & 18 & 22 & 11 & 27 \\\hline\end{array}$$
How many variables are involved in this assignment method?