An approach to group decision making based on interval multiplicative and fuzzy preference relations by using projection

This paper presents a consensus model for group decision making with interval multiplicative and fuzzy preference relations based on two consensus criteria: (1) a consensus measure which indicates the agreement between experts’ preference relations and (2) a measure of proximity to find out how far the individual opinions are from the group opinion. These measures are calculated by using the relative projections of individual preference relations on the collective one, which are obtained by extending the relative projection of vectors. First, the weights of experts are determined by the relative projections of individual preference relations on the initial collective one. Then using the weights of experts, all individual preference relations are aggregated into a collective one. The consensus and proximity measures are calculated by using the relative projections of experts’ preference relations respectively. The consensus measure is used to guide the consensus process until the collective solution is achieved. The proximity measure is used to guide the discussion phase of consensus reaching process. In such a way, an iterative algorithm is designed to guide the experts in the consensus reaching process. Finally the expected value preference relations are defined to transform the interval collective preference relation to a crisp one and the weights of alternatives are obtained from the expected value preference relations. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the models and approaches.     

Derivation of intuitionistic fuzzy weights based on intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations

This paper proposes linear goal programming models for deriving intuitionistic fuzzy weights from intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations. Novel definitions are put forward to define additive consistency and weak transitivity for intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations, followed by a study of their corresponding properties. For any given normalized intuitionistic fuzzy weight vector, a transformation formula is furnished to convert the weights into a consistent intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation. For any intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation, a linear goal programming model is developed to obtain its intuitionistic fuzzy weights by minimizing its deviation from the converted consistent intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation. This approach is then extended to group decision-making situations. Three numerical examples are provided to illustrate the validity and applicability of the proposed models.     

A method based on similarity measures for interactive group decision-making with intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations

In this paper, we study the group decision-making problem in which the preference information given by experts takes the form of intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations, and the information about experts’ weights is completely unknown. We first utilize the intuitionistic fuzzy weighted averaging operator to aggregate all individual intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations into a collective intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation. Then, based on the degree of similarity between the individual intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations and the collective one, we develop an approach to determine the experts’ weights. Furthermore, based on intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations, a practical interactive procedure for group decision-making is proposed, in which the similarity measures between the collective preference relation and intuitionistic fuzzy ideal solution are used to rank the given alternatives. Finally, an illustrative numerical example is given to verify the developed approach.     

A chi-square method for obtaining a priority vector from multiplicative and fuzzy preference relations

Decision makers (DMs)’ preferences on decision alternatives are often characterized by multiplicative or fuzzy preference relations. This paper proposes a chi-square method (CSM) for obtaining a priority vector from multiplicative and fuzzy preference relations. The proposed CSM can be used to obtain a priority vector from either a multiplicative preference relation (i.e. a pairwise comparison matrix) or a fuzzy preference relation or a group of multiplicative preference relations or a group of fuzzy preference relations or their mixtures. Theorems and algorithm about the CSM are developed. Three numerical examples are examined to illustrate the applications of the CSM and its advantages.     

Note on “Some models for deriving the priority weights from interval fuzzy preference relations”

Deriving accurate interval weights from interval fuzzy preference relations is key to successfully solving decision making problems. Xu and Chen (2008) proposed a number of linear programming models to derive interval weights, but the definitions for the additive consistent interval fuzzy preference relation and the linear programming model still need to be improved. In this paper, a numerical example is given to show how these definitions and models can be improved to increase accuracy. A new additive consistency definition for interval fuzzy preference relations is proposed and novel linear programming models are established to demonstrate the generation of interval weights from an interval fuzzy preference relation.     

Some models for deriving the priority weights from interval fuzzy preference relations

Interval fuzzy preference relation is a useful tool to express decision maker’s uncertain preference information. How to derive the priority weights from an interval fuzzy preference relation is an interesting and important issue in decision making with interval fuzzy preference relation(s). In this paper, some new concepts such as additive consistent interval fuzzy preference relation, multiplicative consistent interval fuzzy preference relation, etc., are defined. Some simple and practical linear programming models for deriving the priority weights from various interval fuzzy preference relations are established, and two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the developed models.     

Group decision making based on intuitionistic multiplicative aggregation operators

Preference relations are the most common techniques to express decision maker’s preference information over alternatives or criteria. To consistent with the law of diminishing marginal utility, we use the asymmetrical scale instead of the symmetrical one to express the information in intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations, and introduce a new kind of preference relation called the intuitionistic multiplicative preference relation, which contains two parts of information describing the intensity degrees that an alternative is or not priority to another. Some basic operations are introduced, based on which, an aggregation principle is proposed to aggregate the intuitionistic multiplicative preference information, the desirable properties and special cases are further discussed. Choquet Integral and power average are also applied to the aggregation principle to produce the aggregation operators to reflect the correlations of the intuitionistic multiplicative preference information. Finally, a method is given to deal with the group decision making based on intuitionistic multiplicative preference relations.     

Aggregation of fuzzy preference relations to multicriteria decision making

Weighted aggregation of fuzzy preference relations on the set of alternatives by several criteria in decision-making problems is considered. Pairwise comparisons with respect to importance of the criteria are given in fuzzy preference relation as well. The aggregation procedure uses the composition between each two relations of the alternatives. The membership function of the newly constructed fuzzy preference relation includes t-norms and t-conorms to take into account the relation between the criteria importance. Properties of the composition and new relation, giving a possibility to make a consistent choice or to rank the alternatives, are proved. An illustrative numerical study and comparative examples are presented.     

A method of fuzzy preference relation to authorize the worldwide interoperability for microwave access license in Taiwan

This study proposes a preference relation based evaluation framework to help the National Communication Commission (NCC) in Taiwan authorize a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) license under a fuzzy environment where the uncertainty, subjectivity and vagueness are dealt with linguistic variables parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers. This study applies the fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach to determine the importance weights of evaluation criteria and consolidate the performance ratings of possible alternatives. Aggregated the evaluators’ opinions toward the criteria and alternatives, the fuzzy preference relation approach is utilized to obtain the non-dominated degree of each alternative for the decision makers to make a final decision. Simultaneously, an empirical case involving sixteen quantitative and fifteen qualitative evaluation criteria, thirteen telecommunication applicants assessed by twelve specialists from various fields of telecommunication industry in Taiwan is solicited to demonstrate the proposed approach.     

An integrated model-based interactive approach to FMAGDM with incomplete preference information

Incomplete fuzzy preference relations, incomplete multiplicative preference relations, and incomplete linguistic preference relations are very useful to express decision makers’ incomplete preferences over attributes or alternatives in the process of decision making under fuzzy environments. The aim of this paper is to investigate fuzzy multiple attribute group decision making problems where the attribute values are represented in intuitionistic fuzzy numbers and the information on attribute weights is provided by decision makers by means of one or some of the different preference structures, including weak ranking, strict ranking, difference ranking, multiple ranking, interval numbers, incomplete fuzzy preference relations, incomplete multiplicative preference relations, and incomplete linguistic preference relations. We transform all individual intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices into the interval decision matrices and construct their expected decision matrices, and then aggregate all these expected decision matrices into a collective one. We establish an integrated model by unifying the collective decision matrix and all the given different structures of incomplete weight preference information, and develop an integrated model-based approach to interacting with the decision makers so as to adjust all the inconsistent incomplete fuzzy preference relations, inconsistent incomplete linguistic preference relations and inconsistent incomplete multiplicative preference relations into the ones with acceptable consistency. The developed approach can derive the attribute weights and the ranking of the alternatives directly from the integrated model, and thus it has the following prominent characteristics: (1) it does not need to construct the complete fuzzy preference relations, complete linguistic preference relations and complete multiplicative preference relations from the incomplete fuzzy preference relations, incomplete linguistic preference relations and incomplete multiplicative preference relations, respectively; (2) it does not need to unify the different structures of incomplete preferences, and thus can simplify the calculation and avoid distorting the given preference information; and (3) it can sufficiently reflect and adjust the subjective desirability of decision makers in the process of interaction. A practical example is also provided to illustrate the developed approach.     

A new method for ranking fuzzy numbers and its application to group decision making

In this paper, a new method for comparing fuzzy numbers based on a fuzzy probabilistic preference relation is introduced. The ranking order of fuzzy numbers with the weighted confidence level is derived from the pairwise comparison matrix based on 0.5-transitivity of the fuzzy probabilistic preference relation. The main difference between the proposed method and existing ones is that the comparison result between two fuzzy numbers is expressed as a fuzzy set instead of a crisp one. As such, the ranking order of n fuzzy numbers provides more information on the uncertainty level of the comparison. Illustrated by comparative examples, the proposed method overcomes certain unreasonable (due to the violation of the inequality properties) and indiscriminative problems exhibited by some existing methods. More importantly, the proposed method is able to provide decision makers with the probability of making errors when a crisp ranking order is obtained. The proposed method is also able to provide a probability-based explanation for conflicts among the comparison results provided by some existing methods using a proper ranking order, which ensures that ties of alternatives can be broken.     

On Compatibility of Interval Fuzzy Preference Relations

This paper defines the concept of compatibility degree of two interval fuzzy preference relations, and gives a compatibility index of two interval fuzzy preference relations. It is proven that an interval fuzzy preference relation B and the synthetic interval fuzzy preference relation of interval fuzzy preference relations A ₁,A ₂,...,A _s are of acceptable compatibility under the condition that the interval fuzzy preference relation B and each of the interval fuzzy preference relations A _l,A ₂,...,A _s are of acceptable compatibility, and thus a theoretic basis has been developed for the application of the interval fuzzy preference relations in group decision making.     

区间直觉模糊判断矩阵群决策中的逆判问题

研究了区间直觉模糊判断矩阵的群决策问题.定义了两种区间直觉模糊集相似度公式,给出两种与决策群体意见一致性程度最高的理想区间直觉模糊判断矩阵构造优化方法.利用矩阵对不同专家判断矩阵中相同位置元素的一致性进行分析,并对不同专家的判断信息进行整体相似程度分析,最后通过算例说明了该方法的有效性和实用性.     

On consistency measures of linguistic preference relations

Inspired by the concept of deviation measure between two linguistic preference relations, this paper further defines the deviation measure of a linguistic preference relation to the set of consistent linguistic preference relations. Based on this, we present a consistency index of linguistic preference relations and develop a consistency measure method for linguistic preference relations. This method is performed to ensure that the decision maker is being neither random nor illogical in his or her pairwise comparisons using the linguistic label set. Using this consistency measure, we discuss how to deal with inconsistency in linguistic preference relations, and also investigate the consistency properties of collective linguistic preference relations. These results are of vital importance for group decision making with linguistic preference relations.     

Consistency analysis of triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations

In order to simulate the uncertainty associated with impression or vagueness, a decision maker may give her/his judgments by means of triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations in the process of decision making. The study of their consistency becomes a very important aspect to avoid a misleading solution. Based on the reciprocity property, this paper proposes a new definition of consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations. The new definition is different from that reduced by consistent fuzzy reciprocal preference relations proposed by Buckley (1985). The properties of consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations in the light of the new definition are studied in detail. In addition, the shortcomings of the proof procedure of the proposition given by Wang and Chen (2008) are pointed out. And the proposition is reproved by using the new definition of consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations. Finally, using the (n − 1) restricted comparison ratios, a method for obtaining consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations is proposed, and an algorithm is shown to make a consistent decision ranking. Numerical results are further calculated to illustrate the new definition and the obtained algorithm.     

几种模糊传递关系的收敛性

本文对几种模糊传递关系进行比较 ,从一个侧面说明了用于构造偏好关系的模糊关系应是互逆关系 .文中证明了对任意的 n阶互逆传递模糊关系 R,必有 Rn=Rn+1 .     

Normalizing rank aggregation method for priority of a fuzzy preference relation and its effectiveness

The aim of this paper is to show that the normalizing rank aggregation method can not only be used to derive the priority vector for a multiplicative preference relation, but also for the additive transitive fuzzy preference relation. To do so, a simple functional equation between fuzzy preference’s element and priority weight is derived firstly, then, based on the equation, three methods are proposed to prove that the normalizing rank aggregation method is simple and effective for deriving the priority vector. Finally, a numerical example is used to illustrate the proposed methods.     

The Arrow paradox with fuzzy preferences

This note considers a new factorization of a fuzzy weak binary preference relation into its asymmetric and symmetric parts. Arrow’s General Possibility Theorem is then examined within the resulting framework of vague individual and social preferences. The outcome of this exercise is compared with some earlier results available in the literature on the Arrow paradox with fuzzy preferences.     

Approaches to collective decision making with fuzzy preference relations

Recent experimental studies show that the predictive accuracy of many of the solution concepts derived from the collective decision making theory leaves much to be desired. In a previous paper the author attempted to explain some of the inaccuracies in terms of the fuzzy indifference regions of the individuals participating in the voting game. This paper gives straightforward generalizations of the solutions concepts in terms of the fuzzy social or individual preference relations. It turns out that some of these new solution concepts cotain their nonfuzzy counterparts as subsets. Others, in turn, are subsets of their nonfuzzy counterparts. We also discuss a method of aggregating individual nonfuzzy preferences so as to get a fuzzy social preference relation and, furthermore, a nonfuzzy social choice set.     

加型一致性毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系

在模糊偏好关系两种等价的加型一致性概念基础上,通过简单的数学证明,分析了区间值模糊偏好关系、直觉模糊偏好关系的相应的两种加型一致性并不是等价的.然后,在加型一致性直觉模糊偏好关系的启发下,构造了可以与毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系相互转换的两个区间值模糊偏好关系,并利用它们的加型一致性,定义了加型一致性毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系,并分析了其与杨艺等定义的加型一致性毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系的关系.其次,研究了加型一致性毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系的性质以及毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系的满意一致性,并给出满意一致性毕达哥拉斯模糊偏好关系下的方案优劣排序算法.最后,通过两个计算实例说明了排序算法可行有效.