Managing Interacting Criteria: Application to Environmental Evaluation Practices

The need for organizations to evaluate their environmental practices has been recently increasing. This fact has led to the development of many approaches to appraise such practices. In this paper, a novel decision model to evaluate company’s environmental practices is proposed to improve traditional evaluation process in different facets. Firstly, different reviewers’ collectives related to the company’s activity are taken into account in the process to increase company internal efficiency and external legitimacy. Secondly, following the standard ISO 14031, two general categories of environmental performance indicators, management and operational, are considered. Thirdly, since the assumption of independence among environmental indicators is rarely verified in environmental context, an aggregation operator to bear in mind the relationship among such indicators in the evaluation results is proposed. Finally, this new model integrates quantitative and qualitative information with different scales using a multi-granular linguistic model that allows to adapt diverse evaluation scales according to appraisers’ knowledge

A methodology for the selection of new technologies in the aviation industry

The purpose of this report is to present a technology selection methodology to quantify both tangible and intangible benefits of certain technology alternatives within a fuzzy environment. Specifically, it describes an application of the theory of fuzzy sets to hierarchical structural analysis and economic evaluations for utilisation in the industry. The report proposes a complete methodology to accurately select new technologies. A computer based prototype model has been developed to handle the more complex fuzzy calculations. Decision-makers are only required to express their opinions on comparative importance of various factors in linguistic terms rather than exact numerical values. These linguistic variable scales, such as ‘very high’, ‘high’, ‘medium’, ‘low’ and ‘very low’, are then converted into fuzzy numbers, since it becomes more meaningful to quantify a subjective measurement into a range rather than in an exact value. By aggregating the hierarchy, the preferential weight of each alternative technology is found, which is called fuzzy appropriate index. The fuzzy appropriate indices of different technologies are then ranked and preferential ranking orders of technologies are found. From the economic evaluation perspective, a fuzzy cash flow analysis is employed. This deals quantitatively with imprecision or uncertainties, as the cash flows are modelled as triangular fuzzy numbers which represent ‘the most likely possible value’, ‘the most pessimistic value’ and ‘the most optimistic value’. By using this methodology, the ambiguities involved in the assessment data can be effectively represented and processed to assure a more convincing and effective decision- making process when selecting new technologies in which to invest. The prototype model was validated with a case study within the aviation industry that ensured it was properly configured to meet the

Comparison of different Multiple-criteria decision analysis methods in the context of conceptual design: application to the development of a solar collector structure

At each stage of the product development process, the designers are facing an important task which consists of decision making. Two cases are observed: the problem of concept selection in conceptual design phases and, the problem of pre-dimensioning once concept choices are made. Making decisions in conceptual design phases on a sound basis is one of the most difficult challenges in engineering design, especially when innovative concepts are introduced. On the one hand, designers deal with imprecise data about design alternatives. On the other hand, design objectives and requirements are usually not clear in these phases. The greatest opportunities to reduce product life cycle costs usually occur during the first conceptual design phases. The need for reliable multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) methods is thus greatest at early conceptual design phases. Various MCDA methods are proposed in the literature. The main criticism of these methods is that they usually yield different results for the same problem. In this work, an analysis of six MCDA methods (weighed sum, weighted product, Kim & Lin, compromise programming, TOPSIS, and ELECTRE I) was conducted. Our analysis was performed via an industrial case of solar collector structure development. The objective is to define the most appropriate MCDA methods in term of three criteria: (i) the consistency of the results, (ii) the ease of understanding and, (iii) the adaptation of the decision type. The results show that TOPSIS is the most consistent MCDA method in our case

Информационная поддержка анализа навыков и умений контингента студентов высшего учебного заведения

In the below article, the application of the fuzzy logical conclusion method is considered as decision-maker in the process of analyzing the students skills and abilities based on the requirements of potential employers, in order to reduce the time of the first interview for potential candidates on a vacant position. When analyzing the results of the assessment of the competence of university students, a certain degree of fuzziness arises. In modern practice, fuzzy logic is used in many different assessment methods, including questioning, interviewing, testing, descriptive method, classification method, pairwise comparison, rating method, business games competence models, and the like. Each of the methods has its advantages and disadvantages, but they are effective only as part of a unified personnel management system. As a method for implementing a systematic approach to the assessment of the contingent of students, it is proposed to use fuzzy logic, a mathematical apparatus that allows you to build a model of an object based on fuzzy judgments. The use of fuzzy logic, the mathematical apparatus of which allows you to build a model of the object, based on fuzzy reasoning and rules. The most important condition for creating such a model is to translate the fuzzy, qualitative assessments used by man into the language of mathematics, which will be understood by the computer. The most used are fuzzy inferences using the Mamdani and Sugeno methods. In a fuzzy inference of the Mamdani type, the value of the output variable is given by fuzzy terms, in the conclusion of the Sugeno type, as a linear combination of the input variables. Research in the field of application of fuzzy logic in socio-economic systems suggests that it can be used to assess the competencies of university students.В данной работе рассмотрено использование метода нечеткого логического вывода для поддержки принятия решения в задачах анализа навыков и умений контингента студентов исходя из требований потенциальных работодателей, с целью уменьшения времени на первичную обработку информации касательно потенциальных кандидатов на вакантную должность. При анализе результатов оценки компетентности студентов вузов возникает определенная степень нечеткости. В современной практике нечеткая логика применяется во многих различных методах оценки, в том числе анкетирование, интервью, тестирование, описательный метод, метод классификации, парное сравнение, рейтинговый метод, деловые игры модели компетентности и тому подобное. Каждый из методов имеет свои преимущества и недостатки, но эффективны они только в составе единой системы управления персоналом. Как метод для реализации системного подхода к оценке контингента студентов предложено использовать нечеткую логику, математический аппарат, который позволяет построить модель объекта, основанную на нечетких суждениях. Использование нечеткой логики, математический аппарат которой позволяет построить модель объекта, основываясь на нечетких рассуждениях и правилах. Важнейшее условие создания такой модели заключается в том, чтобы перевести нечеткие, качественные оценки, применяемые человеком, на язык математики, которая будет понятна вычислительной машине. Наиболее используемыми являются нечеткие выводы с помощью способов Мамдани и Сугено. В нечетком выводе типа Мамдани значение выходной переменной задаются нечеткими термами, в заключении типа Сугено – как линейная комбинация входных переменных. Исследования в области применения нечеткой логики в социоэкономических системах позволяют говорить о возможности ее использования для оценки компетенций студентов вузов

Exploring fuzzy cognitive mapping for IS evaluation: A research note

Existing IS Evaluation (ISE) techniques tend to focus on modeling individuals, teams, organization, or systems, in relation to process and environmental boundaries. Whilst such approaches are noteworthy and of merit, they do not necessarily provide insights into those causal interdependencies that are inherent within decision-making task. As has been noted by the extant literature in the field, the ISE task is dependent upon many factors – the resulting outputs of which may be tangible or intangible. The implicit level of uncertainty associated with modeling such decision-making tasks and behaviors, are therefore difficult to comprehend and impart via wholly Quantitative and / or Qualitative analyses. The authors therefore present and propose supporting and on-going research into the application of Fuzzy Logic, in the guise of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) simulations, as a means to model tangible/intangible aspects of the ISE decision-making task. Such a Fuzzy Information Systems Evaluation (F-ISE) is shown via the application of the FCM technique, in terms of three models of investment appraisal that are aligned to an ISE task within a UK manufacturing organization. In doing so, it is anticipated that such a technique may be a useful addition to the plethora of ISE techniques available to both researcher and practitioner alike