ON MAXIMIZING DISCRIMINATION IN MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING

We examine an LP/DEA-based technique for establishing an overall ranki ng of alternatives that are ranked on multiple criteria, which themsel ves are ranked. This two-stage process involves one LP in the first st age, and N LPs in the second stage to rank N alternatives. We find tha t the information from N + 1 LPs can be obtained by solving two LPs. I n many cases, the solution of one LP, which can be done by inspection, is almost as informative as the two-stage procedure. We also indicate when the second stage would be redundant. If maximum technical discri mination between the alternatives is sought, we consider how this migh t be achieved by aggressive cross-evaluation via N LPs. We also show h ow to identify a subset of the alternatives that would be ranked in th e first place under any ordering of the criteria, and thus play an imp ortant role in the evaluation procedure.