Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory With the Analytic Hierarchy Process (Analytic Hierarchy Process Series, Vol. 6) [Paperback]

Thomas L. Saaty (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0962031763 | ISBN-13: 978-0962031762 | Publication Date: June 1, 2000 | Edition: 1st

This book is a comprehensive summary, primarily of the author's own thinking and research, about the Analytic Hierarchy Process and decision making. It includes advanced mathematical theory and diverse applications. Fundamentals of Decision Making has all the latest theoretical developments in the AHP and new theoretical material not published elsewhere. We consider this book to be the replacement for the original book on the subject, The Analytic Hierarchy Process that was published by McGraw Hill Publishers, New York.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This work is the outcome of many years research into a very practical, yet simple way to facilitate group decision making. This book is about making decisions the natural way which we call the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). There are two kinds of decisions: intuitive and analytical. Intuitive decisions are not supported by data and documentation and may appear arbitrary. A surprising amount of corporate decision making is of the intuitive type. The person charged with making the decision accumulates a lot of information, probably biased by his own values, goes in a room and comes out with a decision. This model is a poor basis from which to operate a large corporation. Analytical decision making, when used collectively in a corporation, leads to shared values. Decisions that are required by corporations metamorphose from individual to strategic to portfolio decisions. The Analytic Hierarchy Process is the way to introduce analytical decision making in! your organization.

About the Author

Thomas Saaty, Ph.D. in Mathematics from Yale University, holds the Chair of University Professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. He was a professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for ten years before coming to the University of Pittsburgh during which time he developed the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for multicriteria decision-making, and its generalization to decisions with feedback and dependence, the Analytic Network Process (ANP). His current research is in decision-making, planning, conflict resolution and neural synthesis in the brain. He is currently involved in negotiations between participants in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict using the AHP to arrive at feasible tradeoffs among packages of concessions that offer the best hope for a lasting peace. He is on the Board of the DecisionLens Corporation which specializes in commercial AHP web-enabled software. He has written more than 300 articles and 33 books on mathematics, operations research and decision-making. Recent books include "The Mathematical Principles of Decision Making [with AHP]", Group Decision Making: Drawing Out and Reconciling Differences" and he has so far produced 3 volumes of "The Encyclicon: A Dictionary of Complex Decisions using the Analytic Network Process". He has consulted for many corporations and governments. In 2005 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering; in 2008 he received the Impact Award from the INFORMS society for his seminal work on the Analytic Hierarchy Process and for its deployment and extraordinary impact. In 2011 he received the prestigious Honoris Causa Doctor degree from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 477 pages
• Publisher: RWS Publications; 1st edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962031763
• ISBN-13: 978-0962031762
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas L. Saaty is the creator of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a theory for how to establish measures for intangibles most often used in decision making. It has been generalized to the Analytic Network Process (ANP) for decision making with feedback and dependence in networks. The AHP/ANP is particularly useful in group decision making and for handling large-scale multi-criteria decision problems common in business, industry, and government. He holds the chair of Distinguished University Professor at the Pitt Graduate School of Business of the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2008 the Institute of Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS)recognized him with its Impact Award: "The AHP has revolutionized how we resolve complex decision problems." In 2007 he was awarded the Akao Prize from the International Society of Quality Function Deployment. In 2005 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering: "For the development and generalization of the analytic hierarchy process and the analytic network process in multicriteria decision-making." The International Society of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (ISAHP.org) was established in 1988 and meets every two years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The original treatment of the subject. Sub-par formatting of text., March 11, 2009

By 

Dr. Ram - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory With the Analytic Hierarchy Process (Analytic Hierarchy Process Series, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

If you want to really get deep into the fundamentals of the AHP - such as, for example, understanding the mathematical foundations for the use of the eigenvector method for arriving at priorities, this is the best book for you. For example, Saaty provides proof of why the eigenvector method is the only one that guarantees the so-called order-preserving property.

If you want the method presented in a ready-to-apply form, or applications or case studies that are useful for and readable by nonmathematical folks, look elsewhere. This book does not pretend to do any of that. Unfortunately some of the math is not very well elucidated so you will have to "fill in the blanks" yourself. An example is the presentation of the Compatibility Index which seems rather hurried. Saaty refers you for more details to his ANP book but I thought that was not a substitute for a better explanation.

What disappointed me was the formatting of the book. Looks almost like RWS publishers needs a better word processor. For example, at a few places the subtitle is the same font as the following text, which is rather amateurish to say the least. Some subtitles are underlined (!). The figures might have looked better drawn by hand.

Overall the only book you will purchase if you need to get to the bottom of it, and an inappropriate book if you want a prescriptive text that gets you to the task quickly.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good, February 8, 2008

By 

Shijun Chen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory With the Analytic Hierarchy Process (Analytic Hierarchy Process Series, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

a good book to learn AHP, but the explanation is not very clear, not very easy to understand.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory With the Analytic Hierarchy Process (Analytic Hierarchy Process Series, Vo, November 22, 2007

By 

Luke the Physicist (Grass Valley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory With the Analytic Hierarchy Process (Analytic Hierarchy Process Series, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

i am using mathematical support in reference on my own modeling thesis. It provides exactly the mathematical depth I need to complete my thesis.
Well done.