Problem Solving

Problem Solving

Decision making within an organization is a crucial function that helps an organization in tackling the challenges it faces and ensuring it stays relevant while competing within the industry.  Several intangible elements are always involved in decision making while addressing a problem within an organization. These intangible elements always a trade-off with measurable, tangible elements in ensuring the best solution is arrived at (Khan et al.2018). Fast Food Company recently witnessed a decline in its sales volume, which has been attributed to poor design and software malfunction within. As a manager of the sales department, I have to solicit the causes of this problem and generate the viable solutions in tackling the same and arrive at the best possible solution, in doing so I will have to involve everyone within my department. Analytic hierarchy process is a multicriteria decision-making tool that will I will utilize in this case to address the problem.

Analytic hierarchy process is a multicriteria decision-making process which utilizes pairwise comparison judgment in ranking the available alternatives. The comparison made in an Analytic hierarchy process uses a scale of absolute judgments that represents how much more, one element dominates another with respect to a given attribute (Damjan, 2016). It is a powerful tool in solving problems that interact and correlate with different goals and objectives within an organization. It takes into account opinions from experts involved who are essentially the team members.  Analytical hierarchy process acknowledges the existence of inconsistency in judgments and fir this reason the process gives room for such and a means of measuring the inconsistency to improve decision making. Analytical hierarchy process involves the following steps in generating a viable solution to a problem

Definition of objective

This is the first step, and at this stage, the problem to be addressed must be clearly defined in terms of scope and depth. Defining the problem gives room for identification of the overall objective to be achieved.

Identification of criteria and sub-criteria for selecting a maintenance policy

This stage involves a hierarchy abstraction of the problem to be addressed. The decision hierarchy is to be structured from the top while prioritizing on the alignment of each decision to the overall objective to be achieved (Vargas, 2010). The subsequent element involved will form the base of structuring the objectives on a broader perspective. There are always different maintenance policies which include failure based maintenance policy, preventive maintenance policy, and condition-based maintenance policy (Shen & Tzeng, 2018). Condition-based maintenance policy (CBM) involves actual monitoring of assets to decide on when and what maintenance is needed.  It involves a condition monitoring system which utilizes historical and current measuring parameters in determining when maintenance is needed and vibration-based maintenance which has a vibration monitoring system that plans and perfume maintenance action. Preventive maintenance is maintenance activity done after a specific period of time, while failure based maintenance policy involves maintenance upon failure of machine.

Construction of pairwise comparison matrices

After constructing the hierarchy framework involving the criteria and sub-criteria, the next step is establishing the relative importance among criteria and sub-criteria, which involves conducting a pairwise comparison. The experts are involved at this stage in which they are required to carefully compare criteria of each hierarchy level by assigning relative scales in a pairwise fashion with respect to the goal of the study (Michailidis & Banks, 2016). Using a geometric mean approach, the experts’ judgments are then compiled to arrive at the corresponding census of each hierarchy. In attaining the experts’ judgments, a rational scale containing numbers is always used. The scale helps in ascertaining the number of times a dominant element is prioritized over another.

Performing a consistency test

Analytic hierarchy process always utilizes the consistency ration in discerning whether a criterion can be utilized in decision making (University of Cambridge, 2019). A judgment matrix is considered to be consistent if the consistency ratio is below 10%. On the other hand, if the consistency ratio exceeds 10%, then the possible causes of such inconsistency are to be established.

Sensitivity analysis

After completing the consistency test, an analysis is performed to determine the effect of altering the different parameters involved in the selection of the maintenance policy. To ensure the effectiveness of the process in addressing the problem, additional sensitivity analysis is to be performed on the impact of changing the priority of the criteria on the alternatives’ ranking.

Justification

The analytic hierarchy process is a multicriteria decision-making tool that has been used in addressing problems that involve multiple criteria in multiple levels. It decomposes problem involved in hierarchical factors which gives room for critical analysis of all the elements involved in the problem. The pairwise comparison simplifies the task the experts are to perform by laying out a simplified grading scale in which the experts are to utilize in making their judgments. Additionally, the analytical hierarchy process in decision making acknowledges the possibility of inconsistency in the judgment matrix in which it measures through the consistency ratio and allows for soliciting the possible causes of inconsistency.

References

Vargas, R. V. (2010). Using the analytic hierarchy process (ahp) to select and prioritize projects in a portfolio. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2010—North America, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute retrieved from https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/analytic-hierarchy-process-prioritize-projects-6608

University of Cambridge. (2019). Analytical Hierarchy Process. Retrieved from https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/dstools/analytical-hierarchy-process/

Shen, K. Y., & Tzeng, G. H. (2018). Advances in multiple criteria decision making for sustainability: Modeling and applications.

Michailidis, E., & Banks, A. P. (2016). The relationship between burnout and risk-taking in workplace decision-making and decision-making style. Work & Stress, 30(3), 278-292.

Damjan M., Lasrado F., & Maletic M. (2016, August 31). Analytic Hierarchy Process Application in Different Organizational Settings. Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/books/applications-and-theory-of-analytic-hierarchy-process-decision-making-for-strategic-decisions/analytic-hierarchy-process-application-in-different-organisational-settings

Khan, A., Chaabane A., & Dweiri F. (2018, June 27). Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods Application in Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review. Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/books/multi-criteria-methods-and-techniques-applied-to-supply-chain-management/multi-criteria-decision-making-methods-application-in-supply-chain-management-a-systematic-literatur