Group decision making : a preference mapping approach

Sisley, Jeremy David (1986) Group decision making : a preference mapping approach. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

Decision making is a significant part of every-day life which in many commercial and public sector organisations is carried out by a group of people rather than by an individual. A methodology for decision making by an individual which uses the technique of multi-dimensional scaling or `preference mapping' to place a discrete set of policies in rank order of preference has been developed and is reasonably well known. In this study an extension to the preference mapping approach is developed to include the case of multiple decision makers. The policies are still placed in rank order but it is suggested that the top three or four policies be taken as a shortlist for more detailed consideration by the decision-makers. Also developed is the use of multi-dimensional scaling to assess which decision-makers are similar to each other with regard to the decision problem, and which are not. The approach is primarily visual with similar or homogeneous decision makers being `clustered' closely together. One of the main attractions of the preference mapping approach is that it does not require the detailed information from the decision makers that many other methods need, but it utilises the experience and intuition of professional decision makers. Also, the approach makes very few assumptions about decision maker behaviour, making it very robust. (D71564/87)

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