Goal Programming for Utility Functions

Goal programming has been, and still is, the most widely used technique for solving multiple-criteria decision problems and multiple-objective decision problems in finding a set of satisficing solutions. However, the major limitation of goal programming is the aspiration level with scalar value for some multiple objective problems. This paper proposes a new concept of level achieved in the utility functions to replace the aspiration level with scalar value in classical goal programming for multiple objective problems. According to this idea, it is possible to add the skill of GP with utility functions to solve multi-objective problems. The major contribution of using the utility functions in goal programming is that it can be used as a decision aid to help decision makers make the best / appropriate policy corresponding to their goals with highest level of utility achieved. In addition, the above properties can improve the practical utility of goal programming to solve more real-world decision / management problems.

Project ID:PF9806-0967
External Project ID:NSC98-2410-H182-004-MY2