Multicriteria Decision Aid Methodology Research Articles

Performance Appraisal System

The processes for appraising organizational performance have become more complex. However, studies have focused on specific stages in the development of Performance Appraisal Systems, disregarding their completeness. This research seeks to describe how the evolutionary stages of a Performance Appraisal System (PAS) develop in the Brazilian public port context. A one-year case study was carried out, during which time the System went through the stages of the Life Cycle proposed by Bourne et al. (2000). To develop the System, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the decision-maker of a public port holding company, guided by the Constructivist Multi Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA-C) methodology. The results of this research show how a PAS is designed, implemented, used and updated, offering contributions to the field of research, which is criticized for the lack of evidence demonstrating the complete Life Cycle of PAS. The study also provides evidence on the construction of knowledge generated during the stages of the System Life Cycle. In this way, it was possible to contribute by providing the organization with a model capable of measuring and supporting management activities and decision-making. The combination of theoretical contributions with the knowledge derived from the illustrated empirical results corroborates the area of Performance Appraisal research on the validity of the PAS Life Cycle and contributes to leveraging the organization's performance.

Assessment of the Satisfaction Level of Users of Brazilian Cabotage—Containerized Cargo Segment

Due to its vast maritime coast, connected to the riverbeds that flow into the sea, Brazil holds favorable conditions for cargo transportation by cabotage—a type of navigation performed between points on the coast or between these and river points. The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a model to evaluate the degree of satisfaction of users of Brazilian cabotage, specifically the containerized cargo segment, with the services offered to them. The assessment model was developed based on the multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) methodology, which was designed under the aegis of the constructivist paradigm and with the collaboration of a team of cabotage specialists. A framework was built for assessment consisting of seven axes: service level, cargo safety, cabotage routes, transportation cost, general aspects of transportation, quality of information provided by EBNs and intermediary agents, and other aspects related to transportation. The global assessment obtained a score of 7.0, on a scale of zero to ten, which is considered good. The study’s contribution to the transportation sector consists of the construction of a multi-criteria assessment model, which can be replicated for other types of transportation with the necessary adjustments.

Using a Constructivist Multi-Criteria Decision Aid Model (MCDA-C) to Develop a Novel Approach to Self-Manage Motivation in Organizations

The Brazilian Federal Highway Patrol is an organ of public administration with the constitutional mission to carry out the extensive patrolling of federal highways. Stress and physical and emotional exhaustion are constant, causing illnesses along with frustration, demotivation, and depression. The objective of this research is the development of a self-evaluation model of performance for the Federal Highway Patrols, using their perceptions to enhance their motivation at work considering the factors under their control. The constructivist multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA-C) methodology was used to elaborate the model. The proposed model identifies, establishes, and structures a process to measure the performance of patrol officers on the relevant aspects that they can manage, to guide their decisions toward the desired consequences, thus regulating their stress levels.

Modelo multicritério para avaliação de desempenho de empresas incubadas

Objective: Create a performance evaluation model for technology-based incubated companies, using the multicriteria decision aid methodology (MCDA) and also respecting the guidelines of the CERNE model (Reference Center for Support to New Enterprises).Methodology: This work is classified as exploratory-descriptive, qualitative-quantitative in nature and, with regard to procedures, it adopts the case study, having as object of analysis a technology-based incubator. The MCDA was used for the construction of the model and the ELECTRE-TRI method for the modeling of the preferences.Originality: The originality of this study permeates the creation and application of a decision-making method that facilitates performance evaluation for incubated companies.Main results: The model created to assess the performance of incubated companies has 23 indicators and it was applied with three incubated companies and one graduated company. The developed model showed relevance and applicability to the reality of the studied incubator, supporting the decision-making process.Theoretical contributions: The joint application of the themes of MCDA and organizational performance evaluation.Social / management contributions: improving performance measurement models for incubated companies and strengthening the support offered by business incubators.

Evaluation of operating conditions of cargo transportation by cabotage in Brazil: A multicriteria approach from the shipowners’ point of view

The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a model to evaluate the operating conditions of cargo transportation by cabotage in Brazil, from the perspective of Brazilian shipping companies operating in this segment. The evaluation model was developed based on the Multicriteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methodology, conceived under the constructivist paradigm and with the participation of a team of experts in cabotage, who built a framework for evaluation of this transportation mode. The global evaluation of the conditions of cargo transportation by cabotage in Brazil, based on this framework, was scored 3.9, - on a scale of zero to ten, - a score considered extremely low for a segment of cargo transportation so important and with such weight to the Brazilian economy. It was concluded that this score reflects the situation of shortage, neglect, and abandonment currently faced by shipping companies that offer cargo transportation services along the Brazilian coast. This work contributes to the construction of a multicriteria evaluation model, which can be replicated for other modes of transportation, with the necessary adjustments.

An interpolation-based method for the time weighed vector elicitation in temporal PROMETHEE II applications

Many real-life decision problems are time-dependant; they cannot be effectively addressed with the classic multi-criteria decision aid methodology which deals with 'static' problems. In fact, comparing time-dependant alternatives (possible decisions, actions …) may require several assessments spaced in time. If the aim is to rank these alternatives by aggregating their periodic assessments, one would wonder how to weigh these assessments with respect to the time scale. This paper introduces a novel method -based on interpolation- for the elicitation of the periodic weights required in temporal PROMETHEE II. Assuming that each periodic assessment has a relative temporal weight, the proposed method derives, from the decision maker, a subset of these weights. Then the remained ones are found by an appropriate linear interpolation. Simulation results show that a few elicited weights are sufficient to determine an effective approximation of the whole set of the desired temporal weights.

A Multicriteria Intelligence Aid Methodology Using MCDA, Artificial Intelligence, and Fuzzy Sets Theory

Intelligence is increasingly relevant today in both military and business intelligence contexts. Business executives, military, and governments have more large datasets and meet difficulties in anticipating threat/competitor future decisions. Decision anticipation is desirable because it will enhance situation understanding and then will limit the surprise effect and favor more appropriate reactions and decision-making. Generating and evaluating competitor/threat actions is a very challenging problem because of the uncertainty, incompleteness, and ambiguity associated with it. This paper extends the multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) methodology to the context of intelligence analysis and proposes the main pillars of a novel methodology called “Multicriteria Intelligence Aid” (MCIA). More specifically, this paper addresses how can we adapt MCDA to the context of intelligence analysis and how can we use existent methods and techniques from MCDA, artificial intelligence, and fuzzy sets theory to build this methodology. The paper presents the MCIA steps, which consist of (i) structuring the competitor/threat decision problem, (ii) handling imperfect data, (iii) modeling the analyst’s risk attitude, and (iv) aggregating the performance of the generated potential actions. An illustration of the methodology is provided in the military context. Results show that the novel methodology is applicable and provides interesting and valuable results.

Modelo construtivista para apoiar o processo de gestão da Universidade Federal de Tocantins

Higher education institutions have a direct impact in promoting economic growth and social development. Specially of the environment on which they operate. Their results are expected by governments, businesses and society. For this reason, there is a need for management tools that can support decision-making processes. In this context, this present study main question is how a Performance Assessment Model can contribute to Araguina Campus management process of the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT)? To answer the question, the goal is to structure a performance evaluation multicriteria model to support the management of Araguaína campus of the Federal University of Tocantins. The developed case study has exploratory character with qualitative and quantitative approach, collecting primary and secondary data. The intervention instrument used was the Multicriteria Decision-Aid Methodology – Constructivist (MCDA-C). Methodology that meets the foundations of performance evaluation as a decision support tool. We identified 8 strategic objectives, operationalized by 134 performance indicators. Among these, 33 are in compromising performance, highlighting the need for intervention. The model facilitated the overview of this situation and provided a process for proposing improvement actions. Thus, enabling the monitoring and improvement of the current situation.

A multi-criteria decision aid methodology to design electric vehicles public charging networks

This article presents a new multi-criteria decision aid methodology, dynamic-PROMETHEE, here used to design electric vehicle charging networks. In applying this methodology to a Portuguese city, results suggest that it is effective in designing electric vehicle charging networks, generating time and policy based scenarios, considering offer and demand and the city’s urban structure. Dynamic-PROMETHE adds to the already known PROMETHEE’s characteristics other useful features, such as decision memory over time, versatility and adaptability. The case study, used here to present the dynamic-PROMETHEE, served as inspiration and base to create this new methodology. It can be used to model different problems and scenarios that may present similar requirement characteristics.

The effectiveness of multi-criteria decision aid methodology

Purpose – The innovation expected by clients is identified as a business success factor of industrial companies in the current decade and the accountability of it is primarily attributable to Research and Development (R&D), which makes it a strategic topic for studies on the decision-making process. In light of this, the purpose of this paper is to present a decision aiding methodology used to support R&D management in the technology-based company, specialised in refrigeration solutions and world leader in the hermetic compressor market. Design/methodology/approach – It is an exploratory study and has deductive-inductive logic and uses a quail-quantitative approach. It uses the Knowledge Development Process Constructivist (ProKnow-C) to systemically revise the literature surrounding the theme in order to identify research opportunities in the subject and adopts the Multi-Criteria Decision Aiding Constructivist (MCDA-C) methodology as an instrument of organisational performance evaluation to fulfil the research opportunities identified. Findings – In the theoretical aspect, this research fulfilled the opportunities observed in recent and qualified literature about R&D performance evaluation. The paper also offers practical implications for the performance evaluation in R&D, since the methodology allowed the R&D manager to build knowledge to understand the consequences of his decisions in the criteria deemed important by himself. Originality/value – The importance of this work covers academic and practical interests, as it documents the application of MCDA-C and increases knowledge concerning R&D management, whilst developing a recurrent tool of decision aiding in the context of the company studied.

Multi-Criteria decision aid methodology applied to highway truck selection at a mining company

In all mining projects, transportation costs influence net profit, justifying economic feasibility studies before transport fleet acquisition or replacement. These studies can provide the best loading and hauling equipment combination to meet production demands at lower costs by evaluating the alternatives available in the market. When there is more than one solution with similar costs and technical specifications, decision-making technics were considered to be used. Herein is presented the case of selecting hauling trucks used to transport run of mine (ROM) ore at a bauxite mining company, located in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using the Multi-Criteria Decision Aid methodology (MCDA).

Towards a Holistic Approach for Mutual Fund Performance Appraisal

There is a growing literature that employs nonparametric frontier methods in order to evaluate the performance of investment funds. This paper proposes an integrated approach for analyzing the efficiency and performance of mutual funds. The methodology combines data envelopment analysis (DEA) with a multicriteria decision aid methodology. DEA is employed to assess the relative efficiency of mutual funds in terms of their return, capital flow, gross expense ratio, turnover rate, and risk. In a second stage, a multicriteria approach is employed to develop an overall performance measure on the basis of the DEA efficiency results. The resulting model evaluates all mutual funds in a common basis and enables comparisons over time. The methodology is applied to a sample of more than 500 US equity mutual funds over the period 2003---2010. The analysis is implemented under three different time-window periods (one, three, and five year evaluations). The results obtained for portfolios constructed on the basis of our global performance measure, Sharpe ratio and Morningstar rating system are useful since they provide significant economic evidence in favor of our global performance measure. Our results entail practical implications for both investors and fund managers in terms of fund selection and efficient portfolio management respectively.

Avaliação de desempenho de motoristas usando metodologia multicritério: caso de estudo numa empresa de transportes rodoviários

A avaliação de desempenho apresenta cada vez mais um papel fulcral em qualquer ambiente organizacional. Na área dos transportes, os motoristas são a imagem da empresa e por este motivo é importante proceder à sua avaliação, quer para motivar a melhoria do desempenho, quer para descortinar necessidades de formação.Com esse intuito, este trabalho visa a construção de um modelo de avaliação de desempenho de motoristas com recurso à metodologia de apoio à decisão multicritério. A metodologia MMASSI (Metodologia Multicritério para Apoio à Seleção de Sistemas de Informação) foi adaptada ao contexto da empresa de transporte de mercadorias em estudo. O processo de avaliação envolveu todos os motoristas, os seus supervisores e a gestão da organização.O output final é um ranking baseado na performance dos motoristas para cada um dos cenários experienciados.

Rating Mutual Funds Through an Integrated DEA-Based Multicriteria Performance Model: Design and Information Content

There is a growing literature that employs nonparametric frontier methods in order to evaluate the performance of investment funds. This paper proposes an integrated approach for analyzing the efficiency and performance of mutual funds. The methodology combines data envelopment analysis (DEA) with a multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) methodology. DEA is employed to assess the relative efficiency of mutual funds in terms of their return, size, gross expense ratio, turnover rate, and risk. In a second stage, a multicriteria approach is employed to develop an overall performance measure on the basis of the DEA efficiency results. The resulting model evaluates all mutual funds in a common basis and enables comparisons over time. The methodology is applied on a large sample of more than 500 US mutual funds over the period 2003-2010. The analysis is implemented under three different time-window periods (one, three, and five year evaluations) and the results are compared against the fund ratings provided by Morningstar.

Using a multi-criteria decision aid methodology to implement sustainable development principles within an organization

The implementation of Sustainable Development (SD) within an Organization is a difficult task. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to deal with conflicting and incommensurable aspects such as environmental, economic and social dimensions. In this paper we have used a Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methodology to cope with these difficulties. MCDA methodology offers the opportunity to avoid monetary valuation of the different dimensions of the SD. These dimensions are not substitutable for one another and all have a role to play. There is an abundance of possible aggregation procedures in MCDA methodology. In this paper we have proposed an innovative method to choose a suitable aggregation procedure for SD problems. Real life case studies of the implementation of an outranking approach (i.e., ELECTRE) and of a mono-criterion synthesis approach (i.e., MAUT approaches based on the Choquet integral) were done to respectively rank 22 SD strategic actions within an expertise Institute and rank 20 practical operational actions to control energy consumption of the Institute’s buildings.

Multi-source energy systems analysis using a multi-criteria decision aid methodology

In this article, an original multi-criteria approach is applied to multi-source systems used for the design and the choice of the optimal alternative. The high number of alternatives and potential solutions when dealing with multi-source systems require a decision support method to be implemented and easy to use. Information data on the economic variables, energy performance and impact on the environment of the systems are presently data which analysis and quantification is difficult. To deal with this high level of complexity and uncertainty, an evaluation approach is needed. The multi-criteria decision support methodology concept is described (ELECTRE III) and then applied for a case study. The decision support algorithm has its bases on the developed models and makes the outranking of possible solutions. It is also shown that multi-criteria analysis can provide a technical–scientific decision-making support that is capable to justify the clearly rank of the alternatives in the renewable energy sector. The use of multi-criteria decision aid for assessing the multi-source systems showed encouraging results and interesting insights.

Detecting falsified financial statements: a comparative study using multicriteria analysis and multivariate statistical techniques

Falsifying financial statements involves the manipulation of financial accounts by overstating assets, sales and profit, or understating liabilities, expenses or losses. This paper explores the effectiveness of an innovative classification methodology in detecting firms that issue falsified financial statements (FFS) and the identification of the factors associated to FFS. The methodology is based on the concepts of multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) and the application of the UTADIS classification method (UTilités Additives DIScriminantes). A sample of 76 Greek firms (38 with FFS and 38 non-FFS) described over ten financial ratios is used for detecting factors associated with FFS. A jackknife procedure approach is employed for model validation and comparison with multivariate statistical techniques, namely discriminant and logit analysis. The results indicate that the proposed MCDA methodology outperforms traditional statistical techniques which are widely used for FFS detection purposes. Furthermore, the results indicate that the investigation of financial information can be helpful towards the identification of FFS and highlight the importance of financial ratios such as the total debt to total assets ratio, the inventories to sales ratio, the net profit to sales ratio and the sales to total assets ratio.

Employee selection under anti-discrimination law: implications for multi-criteria group decision support

In a legal environment that prohibits discrimination in hiring, employee selection decisions should generally not be discriminatory in either the process or the final choice. Multi-criteria group decision support offers methodology to committees involved in hiring decisions that can improve the chances for non-discriminatory selection processes. The legal requirements for non-discriminatory hiring decisions raise new challenges for both multi-criteria decision aid methodology and the way it is applied in a group setting. We investigate these issues in the context of an actual faculty selection decision at a major university in the USA. Our observations can be generalized to committee-based employee selection decisions where laws apply that forbid discrimination in hiring. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Combining multicriteria decision aid and system dynamics for the control of socio-economic processes. An iterative real-time procedure

The paper presents the elements of a new methodology to control complex and hypercomplex socio-economic structures. The control process is iterative, combining the principles of System Dynamics, Control theory and the PROMETHEE Multicriteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methodology. It consists of three main stages: setting up and calibration of a quantitative model, definition of long-term strategies and short-term control. The purpose is to define within a panel of decision makers appropriate strategies towards long-term goals, and to implement suitable control measures. These should in particular help cope with progressive and catastrophic variations in the behaviour of the system.

The PROMCALC & GAIA decision support system for multicriteria decision aid

PROMCALC & GAIA is the last development of the interactive decision support system based on the PROMETHEE and GAIA methodology. In the first section, the fundamental characteristics of multicriteria problems are recalled and requisites are formulated for an appropriate multicriteria decision aid methodology. Based on these requisites, the PROMETHEE methods are then introduced, including newer developments such as PROMETHEE V (multicriteria optimization under constraints) and the GAIA visual modelling method. The actual implementation of the proposed methodology in the PROMCALC & GAIA software is then detailed and a numerical example is developed to illustrate the possibilities of the system.