Unicriterion Model: A Qualitative Decision Making Method That Promotes Ethics

Management decision making methods frequently adopt quantitative models of several criteria that bypass the question of why some criteria are considered more important than others, which makes more difficult the task of delivering a transparent view of preference structure priorities that might promote ethics and learning and serve as a basis for future decisions. To tackle this particular shortcoming of usual methods, an alternative qualitative methodology of aggregating preferences based on the ranking of criteria is proposed. Such an approach delivers a simple and transparent model for the solution of each preference conflict faced during the management decision making process. The method proceeds by breaking the decision problem into ‘two criteria – two alternatives’ scenarios, and translating the problem of choice between alternatives to a problem of choice between criteria whenever appropriate. The unicriterion model method is illustrated by its application in a car purchase and a house purchase decision problem.