A manufacturing firm is considering two automation projects,…

A manufacturing firm is considering two automation projects, Alpha and Beta, both requiring an initial investment of $200,000.Expected cash inflows are shown below: Year Alpha ($) Beta ($) 1 40,000 70,000 2 60,000 60,000 3 80,000 40,000 4 90,000 30,000 The firm’s liquidity policy requires projects to recover their investment in ≤ 3.5 years (simple payback, no discounting). Based on this criterion, which project(s) should be accepted, and what is the payback period of the accepted project?