A goal programming model for incomplete interval multiplicative preference relations and its application in group decision-making

In decision making problems, there may be the cases where the decision makers express their judgements by using preference relations with incomplete information. Then one of the key issues is how to estimate the missing preference values. In this paper, we introduce an incomplete interval multiplicative preference relation and give the definitions of consistent and acceptable incomplete ones, respectively. Based on the consistency property of interval multiplicative preference relations, a goal programming model is proposed to complement the acceptable incomplete one. A new algorithm of obtaining the priority vector from incomplete interval multiplicative preference relations is given. The goal programming model is further applied to group decision-making (GDM) where the experts evaluate their preferences as acceptable incomplete interval multiplicative preference relations. An interval weighted geometric averaging (IWGA) operator is proposed to aggregate individual preference relations into a social one. Furthermore, the social interval multiplicative preference relation owns acceptable consistency when every individual one is acceptably consistent. Two numerical examples are carried out to show the efficiency of the proposed goal programming model and the algorithms.     

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.     

Group decision-making based on heterogeneous preference relations with self-confidence

Preference relations are very useful to express decision makers’ preferences over alternatives in the process of group decision-making. However, the multiple self-confidence levels are not considered in existing preference relations. In this study, we define the preference relation with self-confidence by taking multiple self-confidence levels into consideration, and we call it the preference relation with self-confidence. Furthermore, we present a two-stage linear programming model for estimating the collective preference vector for the group decision-making based on heterogeneous preference relations with self-confidence. Finally, numerical examples are used to illustrate the two-stage linear programming model, and a comparative analysis is carried out to show how self-confidence levels influence on the group decision-making results.     

基于累积共识贡献的不确定语言共识决策方法

针对不确定加型语言偏好信息下的群决策问题,提出一种基于累积共识贡献的自适应式语言共识决策方法。首先,将不确定加型语言偏好转化为不确定二元语义偏好,定义个体一致度与个体共识偏度,并利用它们构建确定专家初始权重的优化模型;然后,利用不确定二元语义的可能度构造集结模糊评价矩阵以及方案的集结群体偏好,提出专家累积共识贡献测度和群体共识测度,通过对拥有较少合作的专家权重进行惩罚让群体自适应地达成共识,无需强迫专家修改其观点,提出一种群体共识决策方法对方案排序择优。最后,通过一个算例说明方法的可行性和有效性。     

决策偏好不确定条件下群体决策收敛一致性研究

决策个体之间交互影响是达成群体一致意见的重要因素。本文引入决策个体决策偏好的不确定性以及个体间不对称的影响权重,以此为基础建立群体决策动态观点演化模型,并进行matlab仿真。文中取决策个体的偏好不确定性为常数,作为决策个体对自身观点确定性的大致考量,并把群体中所有决策者的决策偏好不确定性分为相同和不相同两种情况来讨论。仿真实例证明:决策个体观点的不确定性是最终影响群体决策一致性的重要因素,当决策个体偏好不确定性较大时,决策群体更容易得到一致意见;当偏好不确定性较小时,决策群体难以达成一致意见,最终形成几个观点簇;在初始观点分布均匀的情况下,群体观点最终会演化出怎样的观点形态,是由群体中观点不确定性较小的群体所持有的观点决定的。研究内容有助于理解群体决策中一致观点的演化规律,能够为群体决策的引导策略提供参考和借鉴。     

Iterative algorithms for improving consistency of intuitionistic preference relations

Consistency of preference relations is an important research topic in decision making with preference information. The existing research about consistency mainly focuses on multiplicative preference relations, fuzzy preference relations and linguistic preference relations. Intuitionistic preference relations, each of their elements is composed of a membership degree, a non-membership degree and a hesitation degree, can better reflect the very imprecision of preferences of decision makers. There has been little research on consistency of intuitionistic preference relations up to now, and thus, it is necessary to pay attention to this issue. In this paper, we first propose an approach to constructing the consistent (or approximate consistent) intuitionistic preference relation from any intuitionistic preference relation. Then we develop a convergent iterative algorithm to improve the consistency of an intuitionistic preference relation. Moreover, we investigate the consistency of intuitionistic preference relations in group decision making situations, and show that if all individual intuitionistic preference relations are consistent, then the collective intuitionistic preference relation is also consistent. Moreover, we develop a convergent iterative algorithm to improve the consistency of all individual intuitionistic preference relations. The practicability and effectiveness of the developed algorithms is verified through two examples.     

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.     

Interval weight generation approaches for reciprocal relations

In this paper, we propose methods to derive interval weight vectors from reciprocal relations for reflecting the inconsistency when decision makers provide preferences over alternatives (or criteria). Several goal programming models are established to minimize the inconsistency based on multiplicative and additive consistency, respectively. Especially, if we obtain a crisp weight vector from a reciprocal relation, then it is consistent. Then, we extend the proposed methods to incomplete reciprocal relations and interval reciprocal relations and develop the corresponding models to derive interval weight vectors. Several examples are also given to compare the developed methods with the existing ones.     

语言判断矩阵的相容性和一致性研究

语言判断矩阵是决策者常给的一种偏好信息形式.提出了新的语言判断矩阵的导出矩阵、相容性和一致性等概念,在此基础上给出了基于不同粒度的语言判断矩阵的相容性的充要条件,探讨语言判断矩阵的满意一致性以及完全一致性和其导出矩阵之间的关系.     

A robust additive consistency-based method for decision making with triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations

To express uncertain information in decision making, triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations (TFRPRs) might be adopted by decision makers. Considering consistency of this type of preference relations, this paper defines a new additive consistency concept, which can be seen as an extension of that for reciprocal preference relations. Then, a simple method to calculate the triangular fuzzy priority weight vector is introduced. When TFRPRs are inconsistent, a linear goal programming framework to derive the completely additive consistent TFRPRs is provided. Meanwhile, an improved linear goal programming model is constructed to estimate the missing values in an incomplete TFRPR that can address the situation where ignored objects exist. After that, an algorithm for decision making with TFRPRs is presented. Finally, numerical examples and comparison analysis are offered.     

Multi-attribute group decision-making with multi-granularity linguistic assessment information: An improved approach based on deviation and TOPSIS

With respect to group decision-making problems with multi-granularity linguistic assessment information, a new approach is proposed. Firstly, the computational formulae are given in order to transform and unify the multi-granularity linguistic comparison matrices. Secondly, the method of standard and mean deviation is applied to determine the unknown attribute weights, and the weights of the decision makers will be determined by using the extended TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution) method. Finally, based on the LWAA (linguistic weighted arithmetic averaging) operator, information on the preference provided by each decision maker is aggregated into the comprehensive evaluation value of each alternative, and the most desirable alternative is selected. The proposed approach expands the research in multi-attribute group decision-making with multi-granularity linguistic assessment information by both considering the weights of the attributes and decision makers, and objective weighting for them. A numerical example is given to illustrate the practicability and usefulness of the proposed approach.     

区间信度环境下基于偏好熵的随机格序排列方法

针对偏好优劣关系的信度为区间值的决策偏好系统,运用熵理论提出了一种基于区间值分布偏好向量的决策分析方法。首先,将决策者对方案的偏好描述由:优于、劣于、等价和不可比这四种关系拓广为优于、劣于、等价、无法比较但有上确界、无法比较但有下确界、无法比较且有上确界又下确界、不可比七种偏好关系,并结合区间证据的概念和性质给出了决策偏好系统的区间值分布偏好向量与相对熵的概念、性质。然后,构建了基于偏好熵的证据推理非线性优化模型,通过求解模型,并结合优先原则和集结规则将个人偏好集结成群体偏好,给出了该决策方法的具体步骤,举例说明了方法的可行性。     

The OWA-based consensus operator under linguistic representation models using position indexes

When using linguistic approaches to solve decision problems, we need linguistic representation models. The symbolic model, the 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic representation model and the continuous linguistic model are three existing linguistic representation models based on position indexes. Together with these three linguistic models, the corresponding ordered weighted averaging operators, such as the linguistic ordered weighted averaging operator, the 2-tuple ordered weighted averaging operator and the extended ordered weighted averaging operator, have been developed, respectively. In this paper, we analyze the internal relationship among these operators, and propose a consensus operator under the continuous linguistic model (or the 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic representation model). The proposed consensus operator is based on the use of the ordered weighted averaging operator and the deviation measures. Some desired properties of the consensus operator are also presented. In particular, the consensus operator provides an alternative consensus model for group decision making. This consensus model preserves the original preference information given by the decision makers as much as possible, and supports consensus process automatically, without moderator.     

A Direct Approach to Group Decision Making with Uncertain Additive Linguistic Preference Relations

In this paper, we study the group decision-making problem in which the preference information given by experts takes the form of uncertain additive linguistic preference relations. We define the concept of uncertain additive linguistic preference relation, and introduce a formula based on possibility measure for comparing two uncertain linguistic preference values. We introduce some aggregation operators such as the uncertain linguistic averaging (ULA) operator and uncertain linguistic weighted averaging (ULWA) operator, etc. Based on the ULA and ULWA operators, we develop a direct approach to group decision making with uncertain additive linguistic preference relations without loss of information. Finally, an illustrative numerical example is given to verify the developed approach.     

An intuitionistic fuzzy programming method for group decision making with interval-valued fuzzy preference relations

The paper develops a new intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) programming method to solve group decision making (GDM) problems with interval-valued fuzzy preference relations (IVFPRs). An IF programming problem is formulated to derive the priority weights of alternatives in the context of additive consistent IVFPR. In this problem, the additive consistent conditions are viewed as the IF constraints. Considering decision makers’ (DMs’) risk attitudes, three approaches, including the optimistic, pessimistic and neutral approaches, are proposed to solve the constructed IF programming problem. Subsequently, a new consensus index is defined to measure the similarity between DMs according to their individual IVFPRs. Thereby, DMs’ weights are objectively determined using the consensus index. Combining DMs’ weights with the IF program, a corresponding IF programming method is proposed for GDM with IVFPRs. An example of E-Commerce platform selection is analyzed to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. Finally, the IF programming method is further extended to the multiplicative consistent IVFPR.     

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.     

群决策中语言信息与其他4种偏好信息的一致化方法

研究语言信息与其他4种偏好信息(偏好次序,效用值,互反判断矩阵,互补判断矩阵)之间的相互转换问题.首先,根据各种偏好信息的实际意义,给出语言信息与他们之间的转换公式,并从理论上证明转换公式的合理性;其次,证明了若语言判断矩阵具有完全一致性,转换后的互反判断矩阵和互补判断矩阵也具有完全一致性;最后用实例验证了转换公式的有效性.     

犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系积性一致性及其在群决策中的应用

模糊偏好关系在群决策中得到了广泛研究,针对犹豫直觉模糊集既能反映决策者偏好和非偏好的信息,又能描述其犹豫心理的特点,提出了犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系及其积性一致性的定义。为了修复不一致的犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系,先构建积性一致性指标,然后提出两种修复方法。最后,将犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系应用到群决策中,通过实例和比较说明了两种修复方法的有效性和合理性。     

基于不确定信息处理的语言群决策方法

研究了具有语言偏好信息的语言群决策问题。首先提出了一种基于不确定信息处理的二元语义混合加权平均（T—HWA）算子，并对该算子的性质进行了分析，然后给出了一种基于T—HWA算子的语言群决策（TGDM）方法。最后，通过算例对新方法的有效性进行了验证。     

Interactive group decision-making procedure using weak strength of preference

In the paper, we present an interactive decision procedure for aggregating group members’ preferences which are specified in incomplete ways. A group consensus under incomplete information is not usually reached at a single step since less-specific preferences on attribute weights and performance scores make a clear selection of best alternative more difficult. To circumvent these difficulties, a measure, indicating the strength of preference between alternatives, is derived to help each of decision makers change his/her preference structure. To make preference changes based on the measure effective, we present a solution method to convert an intractable nonlinear programme into a linear one.