Papers
Decision making, scaling, and number crunching
Author(s)Thomas Saaty
Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
United States
Publication date: Jun, 1989
Journal: Decision SciencesVol.: 20- Issue: 2- Pages: 404-409
Abstract: The purpose of this note is to comment on the artificiality of using known scales of measurement (or conveniently improvised numbers) to make decisions. In particular, the pitfalls of trying to please the decision maker and of using normalization as a number crunching tool are discussed. Finally, an example is given to show what is needed to develop a workable and theoretically sound theory for multi‐criteria decisions and to show that the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) meets these demands.
Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP, Multi-criteria decision