Chapter 9 Multicriteria Decision Making

1) The different objectives in a goal programming problem are referred to as goals.

Answer: TRUE

2) A negative deviational variable is the amount by which a goal level is exceeded.

Answer: FALSE

4) The objective function in a goal programming model seeks to minimize the deviation from
goals in the order of the goal priorities.
Answer: TRUE
6) Goal constraints can include all deviational variables.
Answer: TRUE

9) One goal is never achieved at the expense of another higher-priority goal.

Answer: TRUE
14) In a pairwise comparison, two alternatives are compared according to a criterion and one is
preferred.
Answer: TRUE

16) On a preference scale for pairwise comparisons, the number "1" indicates that two objects
are equally preferred.
Answer: TRUE

22) In scoring models, the two alternatives with the highest scores are compared to make the
final decision.
Answer: FALSE

23) At least one or both deviational variables in a goal constraint must equal ________.
Answer: zero

24) Consider the following constraint: 2x1 + 3x2 = 60. Assume that we convert this constraint
into a goal constraint with the value of x1 = 15 and the value of x2 = 15. Then the values of d1+
and d1- are ________ and ________, respectively.
Answer: 15; 0

28) A(n) _______ measures the degree of inconsistency in pairwise comparisons.

Answer: consistency index
29) A(n) ________ vector is the average of the values in each row of the normalized matrix in
the AHP process.
Answer: preference

30) If the CI/RI ratio is more than ________, then there are probably serious inconsistencies in
the AHP results.
Answer: .10

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32) In a facility location problem, if location A receives a score of 45 for the criteria "traffic
congestion," which has a weight of .30; a score of 50 for the criteria "labor force," which has a
weight of .45; and a score of 60 for "utilities," which has a weight of .25, the overall score for
location A is ________.
Answer: 51

37) Deviation variables:

A) represents the actual value of the function part of a goal constraint.
B) represent the difference between the target and actual values.
C) must sum to 1.
D) equal the difference between actual and predicted values of the decision variables.
Answer: B
38) The objective function min P1d1-, P2d2+:
A) attempts to avoid being below target for the priority 1 goal.
B) attempts to avoid being below target for the priority 2 goal.
C) will not have any feasible solutions.
D) will have a solution only if P1 > P2.
Answer: A

41) The objective function in a goal programming model seeks to ________ the deviation from
goals in the order of the goal priorities.
A) free
B) even out
C) maximize
D) minimize
Answer: D
43) Deviational variables in a goal programming model constraint represent the:
A) underachievement or overachievement of a goal level.
B) resource constraint as defined by the linear model.
C) probability of an optimal solution.
D) probabilistic variables in the objective constraints.
Answer: A

44) Two or more goals at the same priority level can be assigned weights to indicate their
relative:
A) meaning.
B) slack.
C) difference.
D) importance.
Answer: D

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55) If the constraint 3x1 + 4x2 + (d1-) - (d1+) = 250 measures hours, then:
A) 3x1 + 4x2 is equal to the actual time spent.
B) if d1- is equal to 25, then 3x1 + 4x2 must equal 25.
C) overtime could be represented by d1-.
D) hours can take only an integer value.
Answer: A

56) A company has a goal to maintain the current employment level, but places more importance
on laying employees off than on hiring new employees. In other words, the company would
rather hire than lay off employees. If the company assigns a "penalty weight" of 4 for the amount
under the employment goal (goal 2) and a weight of 2 for the amount over the employment goal,
how would this be expressed in the objective function?
A) Min 4P2d2- + 2P2d2+
B) Min 2P2d2- + 4P2d2+
C) Max 4P2d2- + 2P2d2+
D) Min 4P2d2+ + 2P2d2-
Answer: A

66) If choice A is strongly preferred to choice B and choice B is moderately preferred to choice
C, and the decision maker says choice C is equally preferred to choice A, what conclusion can be
drawn?
A) The decision maker is consistent.
B) The decision maker is inconsistent.
C) The pairwise comparison matrix is symmetric.
D) The decision maker has already synthesized.
Answer: B

67) In synthesization, decision alternatives are prioritized ________ criteria/ion.

A) within some
B) among some
C) among all
D) within each
Answer: D

70) The analytic hierarchy process:

A) optimizes procedures with a single goal.
B) requires no pairwise comparison.
C) uses both qualitative and subjective assessment.
D) does not require the input of a decision maker.
Answer: C

73) Values with an acceptable consistency ratio are values:

A) less than or equal to 0.1.
B) greater than 0.5 but less than 0.6.
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C) less than 1 but greater than 0.5.
D) greater than 0.2 but less than 0.5.
Answer: A

74) Assume that a decision maker has to make a choice between three types of cars. Chevy,
Honda, and Ford. Based on three criteria: comfort, MPG, and style.

The row averages for criteria is summarized in the following column vector:

The first row of the following matrix represents Chevy, the second row represents Honda, and
the third row represents Ford.

The preference matrix for the three types of cars is given as follows:

Compute the overall score for each decision alternative (car). Which choice does the decision
maker prefer?
A) Chevy
B) Honda
C) Ford
D) Honda and Chevy are equally preferred.
Answer: B

75) Assume that a plant manager has to decide where to locate its warehouse The decision has
been narrowed down to choices among the following three cities: Detroit, Cleveland, and St.
Louis. The following pairwise comparison matrix summarizes the preferences of the plant
manager.

Detroit Cleveland St. Louis

Detroit 1 1/3 1/4
Cleveland 3 1 1/2
St. Louis 4 2 1

Which choice does the decision maker prefer?

A) Detroit
B) Cleveland
C) St. Louis
D) Cleveland and St. Louis are equally preferred.
Answer: C

80) In synthesization, dividing each value in each column of the pairwise comparison matrix by
the corresponding column sum, we obtain the ________ matrix.
A) pairwise

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B) normalized
C) preference
D) criteria
Answer: B

107) Assume that a decision maker using analytical hierarchy process generated the following
pairwise comparison matrix.

Calculate the normalized matrix.

Answer: normalized matrix:

108) Using the normalized matrix given below, calculate the row averages.

Answer: row average

109) Patrick Bateman has a choice among three activities: return videotapes, make a reservation
at Dorsia, or make some new friends. Based on three criteria: expense, personal satisfaction,
avoiding unwanted entanglements.

The row averages for criteria is summarized in the following column vector:

The preference matrix for the three activities is given as follows:

Compute the overall score for each activity.

Answer: Video 0.2887; Dorsia 0.2047; Friends 0.5066

115) A business is trying to decide which restaurant to hold its annual awards banquet. Use the
information below to determine the best choice.

Criteria Weight A B C
Reputation 0.25 50 60 65
Service 0.25 70 75 65
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Atmosphere 0.15 65 45 75
Proximity to headquarters 0.1 85 95 70
Quality of food 0.25 75 75 70

Answer: A score = 67, B score = 68.75, C score = 68.25.

Select B

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