Linguistic-labels aggregation and consensus measure for autocratic decision making using group recommendations

Group decision making is a common and important activity in everyday life. In many cases, due to inherent uncertainty, experts cannot express their score or preference using exact numbers. The use of linguistic labels makes expert judgment more reliable and informative for decision-making. One of the problems of group decision making in fuzzy domains is aggregating experts' opinions, expressed using linguistic labels, into a group opinion. This aggregation allows the group to select the most "preferred" alternative from a finite set of candidates. The aggregation of individual judgments into a group opinion requires a measured level of consensus. In this paper, by introducing a new linguistic-labels aggregation operation, we present a procedure for handling an autocratic group decision-making process under linguistic assessments. The methodology presented results in two consequent outcomes: a group-based recommendation, and a score for each expert, reflecting the expert's contribution towards the group recommendation. By changing the weights of the experts based on their contributions, we increase the consensus and reinforce the common decision, without forcing the experts to modify their opinions. This methodology allows an autocratic decision maker to use a diversified group of consultants for a succession of decisions reaching a high level of consensus.     

Extension of the VIKOR method for group decision making with extended hesitant fuzzy linguistic information

Group decision-making approaches are very important due to the complexity and uncertainty of many real-world decision-making problems. Some of the decision-making problems are defined in qualitative frameworks. Extended hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set (EHFLTS) is proposed as a new and powerful tool for elicitation of hesitant qualitative information in group decision-making process. In this paper, we first introduced the comparison laws and a family of distance and similarity measures for extended hesitant fuzzy linguistic terms (EHFLTs) and EHFLTSs, respectively. Next, we developed the extended hesitant fuzzy linguistic (EHFL)-VIKOR method as a qualitative multi-attributes group decision-making approach based on the EHFLTS distance measures to deal with the qualitative hesitancy in group decision making. Finally, we presented an application example about selection of suitable telecommunications service provider of small- and medium-sized enterprises to verify applicability and validation of proposed method in the process of qualitative group decision making.

     

Fuzzy group decision-making for multi-format and multi-granularity linguistic judgments in quality function deployment

As a customer-driven tool, quality function deployment (QFD) is widely used in product planning or improvement to achieve higher product performance and customer satisfaction. QFD uses a matrix called the house of quality (HoQ) to translate customer requirements (CRs) into engineering characteristics (ECs). Constructing the HoQ, which includes determining the importance weights of CRs, the correlation matrix among ECs and the relationship matrix between CRs and ECs, is an important issue in the application of QFD. However, decision-makers (DMs) participating the construction of HoQ tend to give their individual judgments in multi-format or multi-granularity depending on their different knowledge, experience, culture and circumstance. Furthermore, these judgments are more difficult to assess with the precise quantitative forms due to the vagueness and uncertainty existed in the early stage of new product development. In this paper, a group decision-making approach incorporating with two optimization models (i.e. logarithmic least squares model and weighted least squares model) is proposed to aggregate these multi-format and multi-granularity linguistic judgments. Fuzzy set theory is utilized to address the uncertainty in the decision-making process. The proposed method is illustrated with a real-world case of horizontal directional drilling machine. The application indicates that the group decision-making method may be a promising tool for constructing the HoQ.     

Intelligent multi-criteria fuzzy group decision-making for situation assessments

Organizational decisions and situation assessment are often made in groups, and decision and assessment processes involve various uncertain factors. To increase efficiently group decision-making, this study presents a new rational–political model as a systematic means of supporting group decision-making in an uncertain environment. The model takes advantage of both rational and political models and can handle inconsistent assessment, incomplete information and inaccurate opinions in deriving the best solution for the group decision under a sequential framework. The model particularly identifies three uncertain factors involved in a group decision-making process: decision makers’ roles, preferences for alternatives, and judgments for assessment-criteria. Based on this model, an intelligent multi-criteria fuzzy group decision-making method is proposed to deal with the three uncertain factors described by linguistic terms. The proposed method uses general fuzzy numbers and aggregates these factors into a group satisfactory decision that is in a most acceptable degree of the group. Inference rules are particularly introduced into the method for checking the consistence of individual preferences. Finally, a real case-study on a business situation assessment is illustrated by the proposed method.     

基于犹豫度和相似度的专家权重确定方法及其应用

针对属性评价值为语言变量、专家权重未知的供应商选择决策问题,提出一种综合考虑评价犹豫度和相似度的专家权重确定方法.首先,根据专家评价的犹豫度差别改进语言变量转化标准,将语言变量转换为更符合决策实际的直觉模糊数;然后,从评价信息的犹豫度和相似度两个方面集成专家权重,得到集结后的综合评价矩阵;最后,运用逼近理想解排序法(TOPSIS)对供应商进行排序,通过算例验证所提方法的可行性和有效性.敏感性分析及对比分析结果表明,决策者对专家评价确定性和一致性的不同偏好会影响最终的决策结果,当专家因认知局限和个人偏好对属性评价的犹豫度存在差别时,采用考虑犹豫度差别的语言变量转化方法能够降低评价信息不确定性对评价结果产生的不合理影响,有利于提高评价结果的可信度.     

Applying fuzzy hierarchy multiple attributes to construct an expert decision making process

The main objective of this paper is to propose an approach within the AHP framework for tackling the uncertainty and imprecision of service evaluations during pre-negotiation stages, where the expert’s comparison judgments are represented as fuzzy triangular numbers. A fuzzy prioritization method, which derives crisp priorities from consistent and inconsistent fuzzy comparison matrices, is described. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP)-based decision-making method can provide decision makers or buyer a valuable reference for evaluating software quality. A case study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Importantly, the proposed scheme can assist decision makers in assessing the feasibility of digital video recorder system to management public space, making it highly applicable for academic and commercial purposes.     

Make-to-order or make-to-stock decision by a novel hybrid approach

This paper presents a strategic decision-making structure to determine whether a particular product should be produced under make-to-order (MTO) or make-to-stock (MTS) strategy. A novel hybrid methodology consisting of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is proposed. Utilizing AHP in SWOT analysis diminishes one of the main deficiencies of this strategic approach that is the restriction of employing quantitative calculation to evaluate the factors that affect the decision. AHP method improves the quantitative information basis of strategic decision-making processes. The traditional AHP requires exact judgments, but due to the complexity and uncertainty involved in real world decision problems, it is sometimes unrealistic or even impossible to require exact judgments. Consequently, a commonly used decision-making method, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is suggested. FAHP’s connection to SWOT yields a novel hybrid method for partitioning of MTO/MTS products. At the end, the proposed fuzzy AHP-SWOT methodology is validated through a real case study.     

Improving Communication in E-democracy Using Natural Language Processing

E-democracy, the design and development of new techniques for improving communication between public administration and citizens, is a major application field for natural language processing and language engineering. Helping citizens access information in a friendly, intuitive way is the primary objective of a global e-democracy framework. The E-democracy European Network project (EDEN) aimed at discovering whether a particular NLP (natural language processing) approach could further e-democracy by increasing citizens' participation in the decision-making process. The goal was twofold: to test whether e-democracy requirements could be meet using advanced linguistic technology and to test whether augmented phrase structure grammars (APSGs) were robust and well-assessed enough to use in a real-world environment. Also, the aim is to develop two toolsets to improve communication between PAs and citizens in the context of urban planning: a set of NLP-based tools to simplify access to information and knowledge and a set of forum and polling devices     

犹豫模糊语言PROMETHEE方法在川酒品牌评价中的应用

基于犹豫模糊语言集理论,提出一种犹豫模糊语言信息环境下的PROMETHEE多属性决策方法,并应用于川酒品牌评价决策问题中.研究表明,犹豫模糊语言集能够很好地描述和处理复杂定性信息环境下的川酒品牌评价与决策问题;所提出的犹豫模糊语言PROMETHEE算法简便, 且改进的偏好函数允许决策者根据其对方案的严格优于偏好对参数进行选择,可保证决策过程的科学性和决策结果的准确性.     

基于语言判断矩阵的专家群体判断一致性分析

针对群决策中基于语言判断矩阵的专家群体判断一致性问题,提出了一种分析方法．首先给出有关语言判断矩阵,导出矩阵和相客性的若干定义,得出了语言判断矩阵具有完全一致性或满意一致性的充要条件,其相应的导出矩阵也具有同样的结论;然后通过定义有关专家群体判断各个方案以及专家群体判断的一致性指标,给出了专家群体判断一致性的判别方法及专家群体判断不一致的调整方法;最后通过一个算例说明了所提出方法的有效性。     

Extension of the DEMATEL method in an uncertain linguistic environment

The decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method is a useful tool for analyzing correlations among factors using crisp values. However, the crisp values are inadequate to model real-life situations due to the fuzziness and uncertainty that are frequently involved in judgments of experts. The aim of this paper is to extend the DEMATEL method to an uncertain linguistic environment. In this paper, the correlation information among factors provided by experts is in the form of uncertain linguistic terms. A formula is first presented to transform correlation information from uncertain linguistic terms to trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Then, we aggregate the transformed correlation information of each expert into group information using the operations of trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. The importance and classification of factors are determined via fuzzy matrix operations. Furthermore, a causal diagram is constructed to vividly show the different roles of factors. Finally, an example is used to illustrate the procedure of the proposed method.     

Large group decision-making based on interval rough integrated cloud model

Since different uncertainties exist in the large group decision-making (LGDM) process, such as randomness, diversity and fuzziness, a single method may be insufficient to address LGDM. Hence, this paper proposes a hybrid model that a new similarity calculation method for cloud model, the netting clustering and interval rough integrated cloud (IRIC) are combined to solve LGDM in uncertain linguistic environment. First, a new similarity method for cloud model is presented, based on which a netting clustering method is provided. The similarity calculation method has higher differentiation degree and has overcome some shortcomings of previous ones. Second, two hybrid-weighting methods are utilized respectively to calculate expert weights and attribute weights for making the decision-making process more credible and scientific. Finally, the IRIC method is applied to LGDM for dealing with the randomness and uncertainty. In addition, an example is offered to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach. According to a time-consuming test, the proposed method is more suitable to address LGDM in the big data environment.     

Linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations and their application to multi-criteria decision making

Linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy sets can be regarded as a qualitative form of intuitionistic fuzzy sets. This type of fuzzy sets uses a linguistic membership degree and a linguistic non-membership degree to represent the qualitative preferred and non-preferred judgments of decision makers. Preference relation is a useful and efficient tool for decision making that only requires the decision makers to compare two objects at one time. Taking the advantages of linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy sets and preference relations, this paper introduces linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations (LIFPRs) and studies their application to decision making. To ensure the ranking of objects reasonably, an additive consistency concept is introduced, and several of its desirable properties are discussed. To cope with inconsistent and incomplete LIFPRs, programming model-based methods to derive additively consistent LIFPRs and determine missing values are constructed, respectively. Subsequently, an approach to multi-criteria decision making with LIFPRs is offered, and the application of the new approach is illustrated by using a decision-making problem about evaluating mobile phones.     

基于犹豫模糊语言的多阶段多属性决策方法

针对不确定语言条件下的决策问题,考虑专家偏好的阶段性差异,提出基于犹豫模糊语言的多阶段多属性决策方法。首先为了更准确地表达专家在决策过程中的犹豫性,采用犹豫模糊语言来表达专家的评估信息;其次考虑阶段权重的波动性,运用基于专家阶段性偏好的信息熵方法构建阶段权重优化模型确定阶段权重;然后利用最大化偏差法来求解属性权重,并采用基于平均解距离评价(EDAS)方法对备选方案进行排序;最后以某企业选取物流商问题为例,验证该方法的有效性和可行性。     

Enhancing decision-making flexibility by introducing a new last aggregation evaluating approach based on multi-criteria group decision making and Pythagorean fuzzy sets

Uncertainty is an important factor in any decision-making process. Different tools and approaches have been introduced to handle the uncertain environment of group decision making. One of the latest tools in dealing with uncertainty is Pythagorean fuzzy sets (PFSs). These sets extend the concept of intuitionistic fuzzy sets. To show the advantages of these new sets, this paper offers a novel last aggregation group decision-making process for weighting and evaluating. The methodology employs a new approach in computing the weight of decision makers. Moreover, the concept of entropy is applied to address the fuzziness of weights of evaluation criteria in the process. The method develops a new index in ranking the alternatives. Finally, the proposed method is last aggregation, which means it will be more precise in situations with high variations in decision makers’ judgments. To show the applicability of the method, an example from the literature is adopted and solved for internet companies.     

Multicriteria decision making in energy planning using a modified fuzzy TOPSIS methodology

Energy planning is a complex issue which takes technical, economic, environmental and social attributes into account. Selection of the best energy technology requires the consideration of conflicting quantitative and qualitative evaluation criteria. When decision-makers’ judgments are under uncertainty, it is relatively difficult for them to provide exact numerical values. The fuzzy set theory is a strong tool which can deal with the uncertainty in case of subjective, incomplete, and vague information. It is easier for an energy planning expert to make an evaluation by using linguistic terms. In this paper, a modified fuzzy TOPSIS methodology is proposed for the selection of the best energy technology alternative. TOPSIS is a multicriteria decision making (MCDM) technique which determines the best alternative by calculating the distances from the positive and negative ideal solutions according to the evaluation scores of the experts. In the proposed methodology, the weights of the selection criteria are determined by fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices. The methodology is applied to an energy planning decision-making problem.     

考虑碳限额的制造/再制造混合系统生产优化决策

针对属性权重部分未知且专家权重完全未知的多粒度语言大群体决策问题,提出一种基于云模型的决策方法.首先,构建一种基于信任关系的专家权重求解模型来计算专家权重;其次,将多粒度语言转换为云模型并进行聚类;然后,构建一致性优化模型来求解属性权重,从而得到各个方案的综合评价值并对方案进行排序.所构造的专家赋权模型可以有效解决大群体决策过程中决策人数众多、无法客观给出专家权重信息的问题,而且通过定义的直觉信任函数,还可以对专家之间的信任关系进行刻画,充分挖掘专家之间的信息;将多粒度语言转换为云模型,可以有效刻画语言信息的模糊性和随机性,从而避免信息的丢失和失真.     

六元语言值直觉模糊的金融决策推理方法

为了处理金融决策中的不确定性信息,采用直觉格值的方法来表达语言值。基于语言真值直觉格值系统,改进了一个个人金融决策辅助系统模型。该系统的推理方法是将直觉模糊逻辑近似推理方法进行扩展,通过使用相似度的方法来处理模糊问题,实现了一种较为理想的不确定性推理方法。最后给出了一个实例,结果表明所提出的方法可以灵活有效地处理金融决策问题。