ABSTRACT
We consider first the situation where one decision maker has to choose some alternatives among a set of given and predetermined alternatives in the presence of multiple attributes. This corresponds to multiple-attribute decision making (MADM).
Information providing a basis for preferring one alternative to others in a decision situation may be given in various ways. In some instances, such information may have the form of utility functions and these functions are compared with each other by aggregating them to obtain a global utility. In other situations, the information is given in the form of a number of binary preference relations on the set of alternatives.
MADM is studied with reference to scoring methods based on evaluation/objective compatibilities and also to pairwise comparisons based on aggregation of binary relations followed by an exploitation procedure to determine the subset of best alternatives (choice problem).
Multiperson or group decision making consists of choosing a best option from among a set of given and feasible options when a set of individuals provides their preferences over the options in terms of binary preference relations. Solutions to that problem are given in terms of a core (as in game theory) or a consensus winner.
