Evaluation of rankings with regard to the possible number of agreements and conflicts

An interesting problem in group decision analysis is how many different agreements can occur, or conversely disagreements may exist, between two or more different rankings of a set of alternatives. In this paper it is assumed that a reference ranking has been established for the set of alternatives. This reference ranking may represent the ranking of a high authority decision maker or be just a virtual ranking to be used in determining the discrepancy between pairs of rankings. Then, the problem examined here is to evaluate the number of possible rankings when the ranking method is the number of agreements with some reference ranking. The analysis presented here illustrates that this problem is not trivial and moreover, its simple context conceals complexity in its depth. The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of the number of possible agreements in rankings given to a set of concepts, alternatives or ideas, by two or more decision makers. The number of possible agreements takes on the values 0, 1, 2,…, n − 2, or n when n concepts are compared. This paper develops a recursive closed form formula for calculating the frequencies for the various numbers of agreements.     

基于分段策略评分的冲突主体偏好排序方法及其应用

冲突中各利益主体的偏好信息对冲突局势的演变和纠纷调解具有重要影响。现有的冲突偏好排序方法主要基于决策者对冲突局势或状态、策略权重和声明信息的主观判断和理解,缺乏科学的数据来源支撑。为准确获取冲突主体的偏好信息,本文提出了一种基于调查法的分段策略冲突偏好排序方法。首先,根据决策者类别将冲突策略集合进行分段,并通过问卷、调研等方法获取每个冲突主体对所有分段策略的重要度评分信息。在此基础上,计算决策者对各个冲突状态的综合偏好评分,进而得到状态偏好的排序结果。最后以医患纠纷为例,对比分析了传统策略权重法和分段策略评分法的偏好排序和稳定性分析结果,进一步验证了所提方法的有效性。     

Multicriteria approaches for ranking of efficient units in DEA models

Data envelopment analysis models usually split decision making units into two basic groups, efficient and inefficient. Efficiency score of inefficient units allows their ranking but efficient units cannot be ranked directly because of their maximum efficiency. That is why there are formulated several models for ranking of efficient units. The paper presents two original models for ranking of efficient units in data envelopment analysis—they are based on multiple criteria decision making techniques—goal programming and analytic hierarchy process. The first model uses goal programming methodology and minimizes either the sum of undesirable deviations or maximal undesirable deviation from the efficient frontier. The second approach is analytic hierarchy process model for ranking of efficient units. The two presented models are compared with several super-efficiency models and other approaches for ranking decision making units in DEA models including definitions based on distances from optimistic and pessimistic envelopes and cross efficiency evaluation models. The results of the analysis by all presented models are illustrated on a real data set—evaluation of 194 bank branches of one of the Czech commercial banks.     

On Minimum Edge Ranking Spanning Trees

In this paper, we introduce the problem of computing a minimum edge ranking spanning tree (MERST); i.e., find a spanning tree of a given graph G whose edge ranking is minimum. Although the minimum edge ranking of a given tree can be computed in polynomial time, we show that problem MERST is NP-hard. Furthermore, we present an approximation algorithm for MERST, which realizes its worst case performance ratio where n is the number of vertices in G and Δ* is the maximum degree of a spanning tree whose maximum degree is minimum. Although the approximation algorithm is a combination of two existing algorithms for the restricted spanning tree problem and for the minimum edge ranking problem of trees, the analysis is based on novel properties of the edge ranking of trees.     

A note on DEA vs principal component analysis: An improvement to Joe Zhu's approach

This paper considers a previous article published by Zhu in the European Journal of Operational Research which describes a joint use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and principal component analysis (PCA) in ranking of decision making units (DMUs). In Zhu's empirical study, DEA and PCA yield a consistent ranking. However, this paper finds that in certain instances, DEA and PCA may yield inconsistent rankings. The PCA procedure adopted by Zhu is slightly modified in this article by incorporating other important features of ranking that Zhu has not considered. Numerical results reveal that both approaches show a consistency in ranking with DEA when the data set has a small number of efficient units. But, when a majority of the DMUs in the sample are efficient, only the modified approach produces consistent ranking with DEA.     

梯形模糊数的有序表示及中心平均排序方法

模糊数的排序在决策分析和优化问题中占有十分重要的地位,而一般模糊数均可近似分解为若干分片小梯形的叠加形式,故梯形模糊数的排序问题至关重要!本文首先引入等距分片方法对梯形模糊数实施纵向分割,进而获得梯形模糊数的有序表示。其次,依中心平均加权准则改进梯形模糊数的横向和纵向中心坐标公式,并提出新的指标排序准则。最后,通过实例分析考证了新的排序方法的有效性。     

A new method for complete ranking of DMUs

So far numerous models have been proposed for ranking the efficient decision-making units (DMUs) in data envelopment analysis (DEA). But, the most shortcoming of these models is their two-stage orientation. That is, firstly we have to find efficient DMUs and then rank them. Another flaw of some of these models, like AP-model (A procedure for ranking efficient units in data envelopment analysis, Management Science, 39 (10) (1993) 1261–1264), is existence of a non-Archimedean number in their objective function. Besides, when there is more than one weak efficient unit (or non-extreme efficient unit) these models could not rank DMUs. In this paper, we employ hyperplanes of the production possibility set (PPS) and propose a new method for complete ranking of DMUs in DEA. The proposed approach is a one stage method which ranks all DMUs (efficient and inefficient). In addition to ranking, the proposed method determines the type of efficiency for each DMU, simultaneously. Numerical examples are given to show applicability of the proposed method.     

Ranking decision making units by imposing a minimum weight restriction in the data envelopment analysis

It has been widely recognized that data envelopment analysis (DEA) lacks discrimination power to distinguish between DEA efficient units. This paper proposes a new methodology for ranking decision making units (DMUs). The new methodology ranks DMUs by imposing an appropriate minimum weight restriction on all inputs and outputs, which is decided by a decision maker (DM) or an assessor in terms of the solutions to a series of linear programming (LP) models that are specially constructed to determine a maximin weight for each DEA efficient unit. The DM can decide how many DMUs to be retained as DEA efficient in final efficiency ranking according to the requirement of real applications, which provides flexibility for DEA ranking. Three numerical examples are investigated using the proposed ranking methodology to illustrate its power in discriminating between DMUs, particularly DEA efficient units.     

权重可变条件下员工绩效排名稳健性的Hasse图分析

绩效排名是绩效考核过程中关注度最高的环节,也是引发争议的“活火山”。因此,识别排名争议和控制排名风险是提升组织公平感和员工满意度的必要手段。以权重不确定性为切入点,应用偏序集理论重构绩效评价模型,获得员工绩效排名Hasse图,直观展示员工分层聚类及不稳健排序;并讨论Hasse图分层方法与性质。实例分析表明,利用偏序集构建的绩效评价模型有助于控制考核排名中的风险点,提升员工绩效考核质量。     

On the convergence rate and some applications of regularized ranking algorithms

This paper studies the ranking problem in the context of the regularization theory that allows a simultaneous analysis of a wide class of ranking algorithms. Some of them were previously studied separately. For such ones, our analysis gives a better convergence rate compared to the reported in the literature. We also supplement our theoretical results with numerical illustrations and discuss the application of ranking to the problem of estimating the risk from errors in blood glucose measurements of diabetic patients.     

A novel technique of object ranking and classification under ignorance: An application to the corporate failure risk problem

This paper exposits a novel technique for the ranking and classification of objects to a particular state. Each object is described by measurements from a number of variables which may offer different levels of support for the individual objects to be associated with the two states, a given hypothesis and not the hypothesis. The Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence is a central component of this technique. This allows for a measure of concomitant ignorance, which may encompass the precision of the individual measurements as well as the possible ambiguity of their influence in the subsequent classification of objects. The level of ignorance present influences the utilisation of the technique as a tool for the ranking or classification of objects. A simplex plot method of representing data allows a clear visual representation (interpretation) to the degree of interaction of the support from the variables to the ranking or classification of the objects. To illustrate the proposed technique, the application considered here is the elucidation of the risk of corporate failure of a number of companies. Subsequently, each variable (financial and non-financial) may offer support for the ranking and classification of companies to between the extreme states of being a failed or non-failed company. A comparison on the ranking and classification of companies is made with a traditional multivariate discriminant analysis.     

Efficiency ranking of decision making units in data envelopment analysis by using TOPSIS-DEA method

Data envelopment analysis methods classify the decision making units into two groups: efficient and inefficient ones. Therefore, the fully ranking all DMUs is demanded by most of the decision makers. However, data envelopment analysis and multiple criteria decision making units are developed independently and designed for different purposes. However, there are some applications in problem solving such as ranking, where these two methods are combined. Combination of multiple criteria decision making methods with data envelopment analysis is a new idea for elimination of disadvantages when applied independently. In this paper, first the new combined method is proposed named TOPSIS-DEA for ranking efficient units which not only includes the benefits of both data envelopment analysis and multiple criteria decision making methods, but also solves the issues that appear in former methods. Then properties and advantages of the suggested method are discussed and compared with super efficiency method, MAJ method, statistical-based model (CCA), statistical-based model (DR/DEA), cross-efficiency—aggressive, cross-efficiency—benevolent, Liang et al.’s model, through several illustrative examples. Finally, the proposed methods are validated.     

Multicriterion analysis of a vegetation management problem using ELECTRE II

A brief review of the ELECTRE II technique based on a strong and a weak ordinal outranking relationship is given. This technique, which is applied to alternative vegetation management schemes, leads to a complete ranking of the alternatives by means of three thresholds for concordance conditions and two thresholds for discordance conditions. Specifically, six alternative schemes are evaluated with respect to seven criteria, leading to the determination of a preferred system. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the ELECTRE II ranking is fairly robust with respect to parameter changes for the conditions of the case study.     

Network-based method for ranking of efficient units in two-stage DEA models

This study presents a methodology that is able to further discriminate the efficient decision-making units (DMUs) in a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) context. The methodology is an extension of the single-stage network-based ranking method, which utilizes the eigenvector centrality concept in social network analysis to determine the rank of efficient DMUs. The mathematical formulation for the method to work under the two-stage DEA context is laid out and then applied to a real-world problem. In addition to its basic ranking function, the exercise highlights two particular features of the method that are not available in standard DEA: suggesting a benchmark unit for each input/intermediate/output factor, and identifying the strengths of each efficient unit. With the methodology, the value of DEA greatly increases.     

Ranking efficient decision making units in data envelopment analysis based on reference frontier share

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a powerful technique for performance evaluation of decision making units (DMUs). Ranking efficient DMUs based on a rational analysis is an issue that yet needs further research. The impact of each efficient DMU in evaluation of inefficient DMUs can be considered as additional information to discriminating among efficient DMUs. The concept of reference frontier share is introduced in which the share of each efficient DMU in construction of the reference frontier for evaluating inefficient DMUs is considered. For this purpose a model for measuring the reference frontier share of each efficient DMU associated with each inefficient one is proposed and then a total measure is provided based on which the ranking is made. The new approach has the capability for ranking extreme and non-extreme efficient DMUs. Further, it has no problem in dealing with negative data. These facts are verified by theorems, discussions and numerical examples.     

Interval cross efficiency for fully ranking decision making units using DEA/AHP approach

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a popular technique for measuring the relative efficiency of a set of decision making units (DMUs). Fully ranking DMUs is a traditional and important topic in DEA. In various types of ranking methods, cross efficiency method receives much attention from researchers because it evaluates DMUs by using self and peer evaluation. However, cross efficiency score is usual nonuniqueness. This paper combines the DEA and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to fully rank the DMUs that considers all possible cross efficiencies of a DMU with respect to all the other DMUs. We firstly measure the interval cross efficiency of each DMU. Based on the interval cross efficiency, relative efficiency pairwise comparison between each pair of DMUs is used to construct interval multiplicative preference relations (IMPRs). To obtain the consistency ranking order, a method to derive consistent IMPRs is developed. After that, the full ranking order of DMUs from completely consistent IMPRs is derived. It is worth noting that our DEA/AHP approach not only avoids overestimation of DMUs’ efficiency by only self-evaluation, but also eliminates the subjectivity of pairwise comparison between DMUs in AHP. Finally, a real example is offered to illustrate the feasibility and practicality of the proposed procedure.     

Random effects logistic regression model for ranking efficiency in data envelopment analysis

Ranking efficiency based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) results can be used for grouping decision-making units (DMUs). The resulting group membership can be partly related to the environmental characteristics of DMU, which are not used either as input or output. Utilizing the expert knowledge on super efficiency DEA results, we propose a multinomial Dirichlet regression model, which can be used for the purpose of selection of new projects. A case study is presented in the context of ranking analysis of new information technology commercialization projects. It is expected that our proposed approach can complement the DEA ranking results with environmental factors and at the same time it facilitates the prediction of efficiency of new DMUs with only given environmental characteristics.     

面向直觉模糊集排序能力提升的记分函数设计研究

直觉模糊集记分函数的排序能力是影响直觉模糊型多准则决策绩效的重要因素。本文以直觉模糊集记分函数的特性分析为切入点,较为系统地分析了现有各类记分函数的有界性、符合直觉性、排序能力、连续性等四类特征;其次,基于现有记分函数特征匹配状况,提出了新的直觉模糊集记分函数的分段函数并加以证明;最后,系统比较了现有记分函数与本文提出的记分函数在排序能力和区分度方面的差异,验证了本方法的优越性和合理性。     

基于质心和破碎度的模糊数排序

定义模糊数的破碎度概念,并且结合模糊数的质心给出模糊数排序的新指标。这种排序指标能够在一定程度上克服已有排序方法的某些缺陷,并且有效地实现各种模糊数的排序;文章最后通过算例分析,证明基于质心和破碎度的模糊数排序是完全可行的。     

Decision making under uncertainty with unknown utility function and rank-ordered probabilities

We consider the ranking of decision alternatives in decision analysis problems under uncertainty, under very weak assumptions about the type of utility function and information about the probabilities of the states of nature. Namely, the following two assumptions are required for the suggested method: the utility function is in the class of increasing continuous functions, and the probabilities of the states of nature are rank-ordered. We develop a simple analytical method for the partial ranking of decision alternatives under the stated assumptions. This method does not require solving optimization programs and is free of the rounding errors.