Applications And Theory Of Analytic Hierarchy Process

The purpose of this book is to provide an introduction to the theory and applications in the field of decision making, especially focused on Analytic Hierarchy Process, a structured technique for organizing and analyzing complex decisions, based on mathematics and psychology. It was developed by Prof. Thomas L. Saaty in the 1970s and has been extensively studied and refined since then. The idea of the book is to expand the reader's consciousness to deal with problems regarding the decision making. This book presents some application examples of Analytic Hierarchy. It contains original research and application chapters from different perspectives, and covers different areas such as supply chain, environmental engineering, safety, and social issues. This book is intended to be a useful resource for anyone who deals with decision making problems.

Management science is a di scipl ine dedicated to the development of techniques that enable decision makers to cope with the increasing complexity of our world. The early burst of excitement which was spawned by the development and successful applications of linear programming to problems in both the public and private sectors has challenged researchers to develop even more sophisticated methods to deal with the complex nature of decision making. Sophistication, however, does not always trans 1 ate into more complex mathematics. Professor Thomas L. Saaty was working for the U. S. Defense Department and for the U. S. Department of State in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In these positions, Professor Saaty was exposed to some of the most complex decisions facing the world: arms control, the Middle East problem, and the development of a transport system for a Third World country. While having made major contributions to numerous areas of mathematics and the theory of operations research, he soon realized that one did not need complex mathematics to come to grips with these decision problems, just the right mathematics! Thus, Professor Saaty set out to develop a mathematically-based technique for analyzing complex situations which was sophisticated in its simplicity. This technique became known as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and has become very successful in helping decision makers to structure and analyze a wide range of problems.

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and its generalization to dependence and feedback, the Analytic Network Process (ANP), are methods of relative measurement of tangibles and intangibles. Being able to derive such measurements is essential for making good decisions. This book is based on the Analytic Network Process and lays out a new approach for making decisions in light of their benefits, opportunities, costs and risks (BOCR) shows how to include the strategic criteria of the decision-maker that must be satisfied regardless of the particular decision being undertaken. This book includes all the important background material from the earlier book, The Analytic Network Process: Decision Making with Dependence and Feedback, published in 2001, and goes farther with new examples of estimating market share of companies based on the intangibles of customer perception, and new applications involving Benefits, Opportunities, Costs and Risks.

This fully revised and updated second edition includes five new chapters addressing the nature of the eigenvector and its applications, including selected uses of the analytic hierarchy process in economic, social, political, and technological areas.

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a prominent and powerful tool for making decisions in situations involving multiple objectives. Models, Methods, Concepts and Applications of the Analytic Hierarchy Process, 2nd Edition applies the AHP in order to solve problems focused on the following three themes: economics, the social sciences, and the linking of measurement with human values. For economists, the AHP offers a substantially different approach to dealing with economic problems through ratio scales. Psychologists and political scientists can use the methodology to quantify and derive measurements for intangibles. Meanwhile researchers in the physical and engineering sciences can apply the AHP methods to help resolve the conflicts between hard measurement data and human values. Throughout the book, each of these topics is explored utilizing real life models and examples, relevant to problems in today’s society. This new edition has been updated and includes five new chapters that includes discussions of the following: - The eigenvector and why it is necessary - A summary of ongoing research in the Middle East that brings together Israeli and Palestinian scholars to develop concessions from both parties - A look at the Medicare Crisis and how AHP can be used to understand the problems and help develop ideas to solve them.

This book is about how to make decisions using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The basics of the theory are described in a clear, non-technical manner with many examples. It is suitable for business leaders and also is probably the best book for introducing the AHP to students at the college and graduate level. In this fifth printing of the book the reader will find a new appendix containing real-life applications that validate the use of the fundamental scale of the AHP.

This book is a comprehensive summary, primarily of the author's own thinking and research, about the Analytic Hierarchy Process and decision making. It includes advanced mathematical theory and diverse applications. Fundamentals of Decision Making has all the latest theoretical developments in the AHP and new theoretical material not published elsewhere. We consider this book to be the replacement for the original book on the subject, The Analytic Hierarchy Process that was published by McGraw Hill Publishers, New York.