RATIONALIZING THE INVESTMENT DECISION USING THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHICAL PROCESS (AHP)

Abstract

The research aims by presenting one of the quantitative methods, which is the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP), and its impact on evaluating investment projects and comparing them, and developing an effective mechanism to rationalize investment decision-making, which is one of the most important and complex types of decisions and the most risky due to its future strategic dimensions and the length of its period, so it must be dealt with These decisions are more objective and not limited to only the financial aspect represented by calculating the cash inflows and outflows of the project, and the need to base these decisions on studied evaluation methods that are in line with the current conditions and contribute to the effective use of available resources, achieving the highest rates of economic growth and solving some economic and social problems. Where four investment projects will be evaluated, the company (subject of study) intends to compare them to choose the best project, with the identification of six criteria for comparison and evaluation, which are (quality, profits, costs, sustainability, geographical location, and delivery on time), and the study concluded that the hierarchical analysis process is a method Suitable for evaluating investment projects, as it takes into account the integration of financial and non-financial criteria side by side, calculating the relative importance of each criterion, and filling the gaps that the traditional approach cannot address due to its lack of flexibility and dependence primarily on financial criteria only, and not taking non-financial factors into account. The study recommended focusing It depends on many criteria when choosing between a group of investment projects, especially non-financial ones, and does not focus on financial criteria only such as costs and future cash flows of the project as a basis for the comparison process between the available alternatives.