A Multiple Attribute Group Decision Making Approach for Solving Problems with the Assessment of Preference Relations

Taho Yang,Yiyo Kuo,David Parker,Kuan Hung Chen

doi:10.1155/2015/849897

Abstract

A number of theoretical approaches to preference relations are used for multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems, and fuzzy preference relations is one of them. When more than one person is interested in the same MADM problem, it then becomes a multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problem. For both MADM and MAGDM problems, consistency among the preference relations is very important to the result of the final decision. The research reported in this paper is based on a procedure that uses a fuzzy preference relations matrix which satisfies additive consistency. This matrix is used to solve multiple attribute group decision making problems. In group decision problems, the assessment provided by different experts may diverge considerably. Therefore, the proposed procedure also takes a heterogeneous group of experts into consideration. Moreover, the methods used to construct the decision matrix and determine the attribution of weight are both introduced. Finally a numerical example is used to test the proposed approach; and the results illustrate that the method is simple, effective, and practical.

Highlights

There are many situations in daily life and in the workplace which pose a decision problem
A review of the literature related to this research suggests that no previous research has addressed all of the issues simultaneously
This paper proposes a procedure for solving multiple attribute group decision making problems

Summary

Introduction

There are many situations in daily life and in the workplace which pose a decision problem. Olcer and Odabasi [23] proposed a fuzzy multiple attribute decision making method to deal with the problem of ranking and selecting alternatives. Experts provide their opinion in the form of a trapezoidal fuzzy number. Cabrerizo et al [14] proposed a consensus model to deal with group decision making problems, in which experts use incomplete unbalanced fuzzy linguistic preference relations to provide their preference. The methodology consists of eight steps which are (1) definition of potential decision criteria, possible alternatives, and experts, (2) determining the weighting of experts, (3) identifying the importance of criteria, (4) assigning alternatives, (5) aggregating experts’ preferences, (6) identifying functional requirements, (7) calculating information contents, and (8) calculating weighted total information contents and selecting the best alternative.

Multiple Attribute Group Decision Making Methodology

The Proposed Approach

Numerical Example

Conclusion