Modelling multicriteria value interactions with Reasoning Maps

Idiographic causal maps are extensively employed in Operational Research to support problem structuring and complex decision making processes. They model means-end or causal discourses as a network of concepts connected by links denoting influence, thus enabling the representation of chains of arguments made by decision-makers. There have been proposals to employ such structures to support the structuring of multicriteria evaluation models, within an additive value measurement framework. However, a drawback of this multi-methodological modelling is the loss of richness of interactions along the means-end chains when evaluating options. This has led to the development of methods that make use of the structure of the map itself to evaluate options, such as the Reasoning Maps method, which employs ordinal scales and ordinal operators for such evaluation. However, despite their potential, Reasoning Maps cannot model explicitly value interactions nor perform a quantitative ranking of options, limiting their applicability and usefulness. In this article we propose extending the Reasoning Maps approach through a multilinear evaluation model structure, built with the MACBETH multicriteria method. The model explicitly captures the value interactions between concepts along the map and employs the MACBETH protocol of questioning to assess the strength of influence for each means-end link. The feasibility of the proposed approach to evaluate options and to deal with multicriteria interactions is tested in a real-world application to support the construction of a population health index

An Error-Proof Approach for Decision Making Using DEMATEL

Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method of Multi-Criteria Decision Making has been being used very widely in many management studies (like Operation Management) to identify causal relationships among factors and draw attention to valuable insight for decision making. The scope of this system has reached the manufacturing industry, social activities, farming, financial system, environmental science, energy, and other areas, and has solved numerous practical problems. However, the author has found that the results are misleading as and when it is applied with global (or overall) consideration or even elements/category of unequal weights. To show the serious differences in the results misguiding decision-makers, an example has been demonstrated in this study. Result of the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory from global calculation can be corrected if the calculation and analysis are done based on distinct elements (cluster wise). Grading success or failure factors as per distinct elements of a system and integrating them as per criticality found at the element level, is an added methodology to the existing knowledge of using Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory. With another example from the previous study, the new approach is justified as well. This new approach will help to find critical factors in a truly holistic way and implement any principles, policies, or system more confidently.   Keywords: DEMATEL method; multi-criteria; critical factor; decision making

Causal mapping for evaluators

Evaluators are interested in capturing how things causally influence one another. They are also interested in capturing how stakeholders think things causally influence one another. Causal mapping - the collection, coding and visualisation of interconnected causal claims - has been used widely for several decades across many disciplines for this purpose. It makes the provenance or source of such claims explicit and provides tools for gathering and dealing with this kind of data, and for managing its Janus-like double-life: on the one hand providing information about what people believe causes what, and on the other hand preparing this information for possible evaluative judgements about what causes what. Specific reference to causal mapping in the evaluation literature is sparse, which we aim to redress here. In particular, the authors address the Janus dilemma by suggesting that causal maps can be understood neither as models of beliefs about causal pathways, nor as models of causal pathways per se, but as repositories of evidence for those pathways

A constructivist model of bank branch front-office employee evaluation: an FCM-SD-based approach

The banking sector is one of the primary drivers of economic development. This sector has been affected by various crises throughout its history – most recently, the 2008 financial and economic crisis. In response, banking institutions have had to make diverse changes to their procedures and deal with new concerns related to changes within markets. One of the main recent developments in this sector is the new commercial function assigned to bank branch front-office employees, who have become responsible for selling financial products and services, as well as recruiting and retaining clients. As a result, the sector needs new employee performance evaluation methods in line with banks and staff members’ requirements. This study combined fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques and the system dynamics (SD) approach to develop a well-informed performance analysis system for assessing bank branch front-office employees. The proposed system was validated by the Business Process Management Competence Center director at Millennium BCP – a Portuguese private banking corporation. The main difference between the model constructed in the present research and current evaluation practices is that the criteria were collected directly from multiple specialists working at different commercial banks, who deal daily with this decision problem. The model’s theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multiple criteria decision analysis for HTA across four EU member states: piloting the Advance Value Framework

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) has emerged as a methodology for Health Technology Assessment (HTA). However, limited empirical evidence is available on its use by decision-makers; where available, it only comes from single-setting exercises, while cross-country comparative studies are unavailable. This study applies the Advance Value Framework (AVF), an MCDA methodology for HTA based on multi-attribute value theory, through a series of case studies with decision-makers in four countries, to explore its feasibility and compare decision-makers' value preferences and results. The AVF was applied in the evaluation of three drugs for metastatic, castrate resistant, prostate cancer (abiraterone, cabazitaxel and enzalutamide) in the post-chemotherapy indication. Decision conferences were organised in four European countries in collaboration with their HTA or health insurance organisations by involving relevant assessors and experts: Sweden (TLV), Andalusia/Spain (AETSA), Poland (AOTMiT) and Belgium (INAMI-RIZIV). Participants' value preferences, including performance scoring and criteria weighting, were elicited through a facilitated decision-analysis modelling approach using the MACBETH technique. Between 6 and 11 criteria were included in each jurisdiction's value model, allocated across four criteria domains; Therapeutic Benefit criteria consistently ranked first in relative importance across all countries. Consistent drug rankings were observed in all settings, with enzalutamide generating the highest overall weighted preference value (WPV) score, followed by abiraterone and cabazitaxel. Dividing drugs' overall WPV scores by their costs produced the lowest “cost per unit of value” for enzalutamide, followed by abiraterone and cabazitaxel. These results come in contrast with the actual country HTA recommendations and pricing decisions. Overall, although some differences in value preferences were observed between countries, drug rankings remained the same. The MCDA methodology employed could act as a decision support tool in HTA, due to the transparency in the construction of value preferences in a collaborative manner

A constructivist model of bank branch front-office employee evaluation: an FCM-SD-based approach

The banking sector is one of the primary drivers of economic development. This sector has been affected by various crises throughout its history – most recently, the 2008 financial and economic crisis. In response, banking institutions have had to make diverse changes to their procedures and deal with new concerns related to changes within markets. One of the main recent developments in this sector is the new commercial function assigned to bank branch front-office employees, who have become responsible for selling financial products and services, as well as recruiting and retaining clients. As a result, the sector needs new employee performance evaluation methods in line with banks and staff members’ requirements. This study combined fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques and the system dynamics (SD) approach to develop a well-informed performance analysis system for assessing bank branch front-office employees. The proposed system was validated by the Business Process Management Competence Center director at Millennium BCP – a Portuguese private banking corporation. The main difference between the model constructed in the present research and current evaluation practices is that the criteria were collected directly from multiple specialists working at different commercial banks, who deal daily with this decision problem. The model’s theoretical and practical implications are also discussed

Dinâmicas de causalidade no desempenho de colaboradores front-office em agências bancárias

O setor bancário é uma das principais forças de desenvolvimento de uma economia. É, também, um setor que passou por diversas dificuldades ao longo da história, sendo a mais recente a crise económico-financeira de 2007. Neste âmbito, as instituições bancárias tiveram de implementar diversas mudanças no seu campo de ação e viram surgir novas preocupações, relacionadas com as alterações dos mercados. Uma das principais evoluções deste setor foi a nova função comercial atribuída aos colaboradores front-office das agências bancárias. Por outras palavras, os colaboradores front-office têm, em adição à angariação e retenção de clientes, a função de venda de produtos e serviços financeiros. Nesta perspetiva, a sua importância é exponenciada e surge a necessidade de existirem novos métodos de avaliação que se coadunem com as necessidades do banco e do próprio colaborador. Neste sentido, a presente dissertação utiliza uma combinação de técnicas de cartografia cognitiva com a abordagem System Dynamics (SD), com o intuito de produzir um modelo mais informado, robusto e transparente para a avaliação de colaboradores front-office. A dissemelhança entre o modelo que esta dissertação se propõe a elaborar e as atuais práticas de avaliação consiste no facto de as informações recolhidas serem adquiridas, diretamente, junto de especialistas de múltiplos departamentos de bancos comerciais que lidam, numa base diária, com este tema. As implicações práticas do modelo elaborado serão, ainda, objeto de análise, discussão e consolidação.The banking sector is one of the main drivers of economic development. It is a sector that has been affected by several crisis throughout its history – most recently, the financial and economic crisis of 2007. Hence, banking institutions have to make diverse changes to their procedures and deal with new concerns related to the changes within markets. One of the main developments in this sector is the new commercial function assigned to bank branch front-office employees, who now have been given the responsibility for the sale of financial products and services, in addition to the current duties of recruiting and retaining clients. From this premise, there is a need for new evaluation methods that are in line with the needs of banks and employees. Therefore, this study uses a combination of cognitive mapping techniques with the System Dynamics (SD) approach, in order to provide a well- informed performance analysis system for bank branch front-office employees. The main difference between the model described in the present study and the current evaluation practices is that the information obtained is collected, directly, from multiple specialists from different commercial banks, who deal, on a daily basis, with this study topic. The model’s theoretical and practical implications are also discussed

Understanding participant actions in OR interventions using practice theories: a research agenda

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordPractice theory is a collective concept embodying a group of social theories that take practice, in other words actions, as the central focus of their theorising. In this paper we examine the intellectual development of practice theory, highlighting the importance of the key ideas that have shaped thinking on organisational activities and show their relevance to OR. In particular, we examine the social theories that OR researchers have adopted, what data was captured, and how it was analysed in order to establish empirical grounding in case studies involving workshops and meetings published by OR researchers. The cases thus provide a useful empirical basis for comparison to outline the prospects for the use of practice theories by OR academic researchers. Finally, we propose an agenda to advance the understanding of practice theories and their contribution to the theory and practice of OR