Decision-making model to assess organizational climate in healthcare organizations

Organizational climate impacts on the employee’s well-being, commitment and positive behavior. Most studies to assess climate in healthcare organizations use qualitative and/or statistical methods. Here, we propose a general framework, based on a multiple criteria decision making/aid (MCDM / A) method, which considers different objectives in a single problem. Such framework includes internal and external factors to assess organizational climate and presented adequate results when tested in a particular case. To assess the organizational climate, we use the ELECTRE TRI method, an outranking method that combine the decision-maker (DM) preferences and his value judgments. We conclude that MCDM methods can improve agility, provide a systemic vision on organizational climate assessment and contribute to the decision-making process

A Review of Energy Modeling Tools for Energy Efficiency in Smart Cities

Nowadays, modeling tools are a crucial part of best practice in the elaboration and implementation of a decarbonization plan in any organization, city, or country. The present review analyzes the different modeling tools available to assess energy systems in smart cities. It creates an updated overview of the modeling tools currently available, showing their capabilities and main potential outputs when considering the energy efficiency objective in the context of smart cities in Europe. A restricted set of 14 tools are identified which optimally fulfill the modeling mission of the energy sector, in a smart city context, for different time horizons. The selection considers the capability to include decarbonization assessments, namely, by considering the flexibility to use different external factors, energy policies, technologies, and mainly the implementation of Article 7 from the Energy Efficiency Directive and the “energy efficiency first” principle defined by the European Commission. The ELECTRE TRI method was used to implement a multi-criteria decision approach for sorting modeling tools, aiming at distributing the various alternatives by previously defined categories, and considering the performance criteria of each alternative modeling tool, the analysis suggests that the best options are the LEAP, MESSAGEix, and oemof tools.

Municipal Public Budget Planning with Sustainable and Human Development Goals Integrated in a Multi-Criteria Approach

Government planning has a relevant role in the human development of cities, and the local public sector acts on legal regulations and budget planning to reach high levels of sustainability and human development. However, there is a gap in local governments related to the integration of decision-making preferences considering sustainability and human development in their budget planning. This work explores how the preferences of decision-makers have been considered in published research found in high-impact journals, and how they have been used in practice or not, especially in the public budget planning for the improvement of the governance of municipalities and human quality of life. The methodology integrated a literature review (by Methodi Ordinatio) with a sorting procedure (by the ELECTRE-TRI method) to categorize the selected papers, considering the level of adherence to the theme and the most relevant contributions, and also a systematic procedure organized by lenses analysis, and Simos’ procedure to define the weights for these lenses. The results that were found can help scholars to access discussions about budget planning distribution, mainly considering the aspects related to sustainable and social goals. The research also helps local public managers to make evidence-based decisions developing the city and local governance.

Análise de riscos de projetos: Combinando métodos multicritério / Project risk analysis: Combining multicriteria methods

Este artigo é uma versão de um trabalho publicado originalmente no simpósio brasileiro de pesquisa operacional (SBPO). O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma aplicação multicritério em uma questão central na análise de riscos: a priorização. Para isso, utilizou-se como metodologia a modelagem e simulação da aplicação combinada de 2 ferramentas multicritério nos dados de um projeto real. As ferramentas multicritério utilizadas foram: Elimination Et Choix Traduisant la Réalité (ELECTRE-Tri) para a classificação; e, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) para a priorização. Nesse estudo, o resultado da aplicação das ferramentas multicritério foi comparado com o resultado real do projeto obtido pela aplicação da metodologia Project Management Institute (PMI). Como conclusão, observa-se que a abordagem multicritério teve um resultado similar ao PMI. Assim, sugere-se que a priorização de riscos do projeto, que é concebida sob uma lógica qualitativa pelo PMI, possa ser aparamentada de métodos multicritérios que apóiem a tomada de decisão. Nesse sentido, o artigo traz, como principal contribuição, uma proposta de modelo para a priorização de riscos de projetos.

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis of Sustainable Urban Public Transport Systems

Urban public transport systems must be economically efficient and additionally environmentally sustainable. Available decision support systems, including multiple criteria decision models, allow identifying which urban public transport vehicles are acceptable and those that should no longer be used in efficient and environmentally friendly cities. Previous research has ranked urban public transport vehicles by applying analytic hierarchy process multi-criteria decision-making models, from economic and non-polluting perspectives. However, until now, the types of vehicles acceptable for fleet renewal have not been identified. This study proposes a consistent combination of the ELECTRE TRI multiple criteria decision sorting method and the DELPHI procedure, the objective of which is to identify which urban public transport vehicles are acceptable, taking into consideration a suggested sustainable threshold, which includes economic and environmental strict requirements. The proposed model is based on 2020 Madrid urban public road transport data, published by Madrid City Council, which were compiled by the authors, and assessed by a panel of 20 experts to identify criteria and factors included in the model. Findings help local administrations to identify which urban public transport vehicles should be progressively replaced by those classified as economically efficient and additionally environmentally sustainable.

CATEGORIZAÇÃO DE MUNICÍPIOS PARA A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DE TERMINAIS NA HIDROVIA TOCANTINS-ARAGUAIA: UMA APLICAÇÃO UTILIZANDO O MÉTODO MULTICRITÉRIO ELECTRE TRI

Este artigo teve como objetivo categorizar os municípios com potencial de instalação de terminais na Hidrovia Tocantins-Araguaia, visando colaborar com as políticas públicas de investimento. Para tanto, aplicou-se o método ELECTRE TRI para avaliar as alternativas. O método foi implementado utilizando o software MATLAB®. Como resultado, obteve-se um conjunto de municípios que apresentaram maior adequação à implantação de terminais hidroviários. O desempenho do método foi avaliado e os resultados mostraram-se promissores. Espera-se que o modelo proposto possa colaborar com o planejamento dos investimentos em terminais hidroviários na Hidrovia Tocantins-Araguaia e em outros problemas similares.

A Novel Multi-Criteria Decision Sorting Approach based on Chebyshev's Theorem for Supplier Classification Problem

One of the interesting features of Multi-Criteria Decision Making/ Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MCDM/ MADM) is that a number of techniques that can be used to solve the same problem. In general, three common categories of decision problems are choice problem, ranking problem, and sorting problem. While, the issue of choice and ranking problems is more emphasized in MCDM/ MADM, but the literature weakly consider sorting problems. Several solutions for the above problem are suggested (i.e., Flow sort, AHP-Sort, ELECTRE Tri, etc.). Theoretically, there is no reason to be limited to these techniques. Hence, in this paper we propose a novel multi-criteria sorting method that is based on Chebyshev’s theorem. More specifically, different from other studies on MCDM sorting problems, which put more emphasis on the extension of new models, this work attempts to present a general framework using the Chebyshev’s inequality, to transform the results of conventional MCDM models from ranking format to sort mode. Finally, the proposed approach is compared with three existed models. Compared results show that the proposed method is efficient and the results are stable.

ELECTRE tree: a machine learning approach to infer ELECTRE Tri-B parameters

PurposeThis paper presents an algorithm that can elicitate (infer) all or any combination of elimination and choice expressing reality (ELECTRE) Tri-B parameters. For example, a decision maker can maintain the values for indifference, preference and veto thresholds, and the study’s algorithm can find the criteria weights, reference profiles and the lambda cutting level. The study’s approach is inspired by a machine learning ensemble technique, the random forest, and for that, the authors named the study’s approach as ELECTRE tree algorithm.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the authors generate a set of ELECTRE Tri-B models, where each model solves a random sample of criteria and alternates. Each sample is made with replacement, having at least two criteria and between 10% and 25% of alternates. Each model has its parameters optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA) that can use an ordered cluster or an assignment example as a reference to the optimization. Finally, after the optimization phase, two procedures can be performed; the first one will merge all models, finding in this way the elicitated parameters and in the second procedure, each alternate is classified (voted) by each separated model, and the majority vote decides the final class.FindingsThe authors have noted that concerning the voting procedure, nonlinear decision boundaries are generated and they can be suitable in analyzing problems of the same nature. In contrast, the merged model generates linear decision boundaries.Originality/valueThe elicitation of ELECTRE Tri-B parameters is made by an ensemble technique that is composed of a set of multicriteria models that are engaged in generating robust solutions.