Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Trade-Offs - Hardcover

Keeney, Ralph L.; Raiffa, Howard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521441854 ISBN 13: 9780521441858

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1993

Synopsis

Many of the complex problems faced by decision makers involve multiple conflicting objectives. This book describes how a confused decision maker, who wishes to make a reasonable and responsible choice among alternatives, can systematically probe his true feelings in order to make those critically important, vexing trade-offs between incommensurable objectives. The theory is illustrated by many real concrete examples taken from a host of disciplinary settings. The standard approach in decision theory or decision analysis specifies a simplified single objective like monetary return to maximise. By generalising from the single objective case to the multiple objective case, this book considerably widens the range of applicability of decision analysis.

About this title

Review

'This book is a welcome and unquestionably significant contribution to the practice of decision analysis as well as to the research and teaching of its theory and application.' IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics 'A highly recommended selection by two distinguished leaders in the field ...' Journal of the American Statistical Association 'What the authors have done is, I believe, precisely what they set out to do, and they do it very well indeed. Their primary goal was to redress the neglect of the general problem of utility assessment in complex decision situations that are formulated in the (subjective) expected utility or decision analysis mode, and to illustrate the usefulness of their approach across a broad spectrum of important decision problems. The mathematical developments that are included are there because they can be used to help people think about their preferences in complex situations and to assess their utility functions - if it comes to that - and not because they are pretty mathematics. The broad experience that Keeney and Raiffa have in applying the procedures they present in Decisions adds significantly both to the value of the book and to the conviction behind it.' Choice

Book Description

This book describes how a confused decision maker, who wishes to make a reasonable and responsible choice among alternatives, can systematically probe their thoughts and feelings in order to make the critically important trade-offs between incommensurable objectives.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0521441854
• ISBN 13: 9780521441858
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 588