Decision-making: Concepts, Methods and Techniques

This book presents a comprehensive and updated account of concepts, methods and techniques of decision-making. It has derived strength from advances in several branches of knowledge including mathematics, computer science, behavioural economics, logic and related areas, besides statistical decision theory. The reader will find here an integrated picture of concepts, methods and analytics to aid decision-making in a wide array of situations, ranging from classical optimization to computational social choice and organizational responses to emergency and stress.  Decision-making: Concepts, Methods and Techniques lucidly presents the decision-making tools aided and strengthened by decision theory in all its domains and dimensions, at the same time emphasizing the role of human behaviour in all its diversity.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction Prologue Decisions and decision-making Ubiquity of Decisions Rationality and Bounded Rationality Hierarchy of Decisions Group Decisions Social Choice Decisions Decision-making and Problem-solving Descriptive and Normative Decision Theory Case-based Decision Theory Decision Theory and Decision-making Decision-making Process Some Generalities Strategies States of Nature Criteria for Choice Utility and Its Measurement Regret Optimality Principle Establishing Trade-Off’s Types of Decision Problems Elaborating Some Examples Sequential and Dynamic Decision-making Robustness of Decisions Representation of Decision Problems Decision Environment Decision Matrix Influence Diagram Decision Trees Influence Diagram and Decision Tree Decision Analytic Network Gantt Chart Network Diagrams Decisions under Certainty and Uncertainty Introduction Decision-making under Uncertainty Info-gap Decision Analysis Interval Programming Problem Decision-making under Certainty Unstructured Decision Problems Mathematical Programming Decision-making under Risk Introduction Approaches to Decision-making under Risk Stochastic Optimization Stochastic Linear Programming Probabilistic Dynamic Programming Fuzzy Decision-making Prospect Theory Priority Heuristic Decision-making under Evidence Theory Decisions under Competition Games and Decisions Matrix Games Solving Matrix Games Polymatrix Games Prisoners’ Dilemma Evolutionary Games Analysis of Meta-Games Co-operative Games Stackelberg Games Statistical Decision Theory Introduction Beginning from Classical Statistics Statistical Decision Process Some Examples The Optimality Principle Derivation of Minimax and Bayes Estimators Admissibility Completeness The Bayesian Paradigm Prolongation of the Bayesian Paradigm Multiple Decision Functions Sequential Decision Theory Design of Clinical Trials Robust Decision-making Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Introduction Classification of MCDM Methods Essentials in MCDM VIKOR Analytic Hierarchy Process Analytic Network Process Data Envelopment Analysis TOPSIS Combinations of DEA, AHP and TOPSIS Co-Co-So Model OCRA PROMETHEE and GAIA MACBETH Multi-MOORA Stochastic Multi-Criteria Acceptability Analysis Fuzzy MCDM Challenges Ahead Social Choice Problems Introduction Distinctive Features of Social Choice Preference Aggregation Axioms and Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem Consistency of Social Choice Functions Probabilistic Social Choice Functions Social Choice and Social Network The Nudge Theory Computational Social Choice Decision-making Models Preliminaries Approaches in Managerial Decision-making Qualitative Decision-making Models Models Using Quantitative Methods Models for Problem-Solving Paired Comparison Analysis Theory of Constraints Alternatives and Constraints Introduction Issues in Optimization Desiderata for Alternatives Development of Alternatives Pooling Expert Opinions Domain Knowledge in Designing Alternatives Probabilities as Alternatives Alternatives in Evolutionary Algorithms Rules and Procedures as Alternatives Alternatives for Organizational Decisions Constraints in Real-Life Decisions Using Infeasible Solutions Figuring out States of Nature Post-implementation Feasibility Check Generation of Criteria Introduction Criterion versus Objective Function Alternative-Criterion Interaction Criterion versus Rule for Choice Characteristics of a Criterion Aggregate as a Criterion Criteria in group Decision-Making Points to Ponder Paired Comparison, Ranking and Scaling Introduction Paired Comparison Aggregating Paired Comparison Results Ranking of Units Aggregation of Ranking Data Concordance among Multiple Rankings Consensus Ranking Scaling of Alternatives Rank Reversal Role of Information Introduction Search for Information Value of Information Decisions in Fuzzy Environments Information to Identify Feasible Options Information in Social Choice Problems A Peep into Gray Areas Are There Gray Areas? Impact of Uncertainty Concern for Computational Complexity Information Over-load and Option Deluge Infirmities in Decision-Making The Paradox of Choice Can We Conclude? References and Suggested Readings Index