Final answer:
The correct answer is option c. The goal of aggregate planning is to manage various production factors to meet demand while minimizing cost. It involves decisions about inventory levels, workforce, and production rates to achieve overall cost efficiency without compromising the ability to meet customer needs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The goal of aggregate planning is to manage production or service capacities in order to meet demand over a planning period. The primary focus is on balancing multiple factors to minimize overall costs while ensuring that the demand is met. This includes considerations like inventory levels, production rates, labor force stability, and supplier capabilities. The options provided suggest different potential focuses such as maximizing stock-out risk, maximizing average inventory, minimizing cost, or minimizing defects.
However, the correct aim of aggregate planning is closely related to cost management. High levels of stock risks and inventory can incur additional costs and have financial impacts, while minimizing defects is more pertinent to quality control rather than aggregate planning itself.
Therefore, the correct option in this context would be to meet demand while minimizing cost (option c). Minimizing cost encompasses managing inventory levels to avoid excesses that incur holding costs, planning workforce levels to avoid overtime, and underutilization costs, and smoothing production rates to meet demand without frequent and costly setup changes.