AN ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS FRAMEWORK FOR COMPARING THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING DEPARTMENTS

Many authors have suggested including nonfinancial measures, besides t raditional cost measures, in manufacturing performance measurement sys tems, in order to control the correct implementation of the manufactur ing strategy with respect to all competitive priorities (quality, time liness, flexibility, dependability, etc.). But the use of non-financia l performance measures makes it difficult to assess and compare the ov erall effectiveness of each manufacturing department, in terms of supp ort provided to the achievement of the manufacturing strategy, since t o this aim it is necessary to integrate performance measures expressed in heterogeneous measurement units. Aims to show the potential of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) for assessing and comparing the ov erall manufacturing performance of different departments. Does not rep ort the detailed analytical description of the AHP but focuses on the practical problems and managerial implications related to its applicat ion to performance measurement, pointing out also its assumptions and limitations.