Combining MCDA and conflict analysis: an exploratory application of an integrated approach

Abstract

The majority of personal and organizational problems are multiparty and multi-criteria in nature; that is, they involve conflicts among people and conflicts among goals. The ability to support, in a OR/MS sense, the resolution of such complex problems calls for the exploitation of the complementary features of multiple established methods.

In this exploratory paper, the authors focus on an integrated use of Drama Theory and MCDA. The aim is to develop an integrated framework for multi-actor, multicriteria decision aid that extends each of the existing methodologies and exploits their potential for synergy with a view to providing more effective decision support, on a uni-lateral or multi-lateral basis, to parties embroiled in such circumstances. The descriptive analysis of a live issue documents the approach and demonstrates the potential for such a framework and the benefits that could arise.

Keywords:

• group decision
• multi-criteria decision analysis
• conflict analysis
• drama theory

Acknowledgements

This work was partly carried out while Fabio Losa was a postdoctoral associate at the Strathclyde University. He acknowledges the financial support received from the Dipartimento dell'Istruzione e della Cultura del Cantone Ticino and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.