Slavko Arsovski

An evaluation of quality goals by using fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methodology

There is no defined methodological approach that would rank the quality goals of a process in uncertain environments, which is one of the basic problems in process management. In this paper, the considered problem is stated as a multi-criteria decision problem. The criteria present performances which are defined by the knowledge and experience of the decision makers. The fuzzy rating weights of each pair of the considered criteria and uncertain criteria values for the defined quality goals are described by linguistic expressions which are modeled by triangular fuzzy numbers. The weights vector of criteria is calculated by the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process AHP. The extension of the fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution TOPSIS is applied to rank quality goals. The proposed model is illustrated by an example.

Evaluation and Ranking of Organizational Resilience Factors by Using a Two-Step Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS

We presented a novel fuzzy multicriteria decision making approach to evaluate and rank organizational resilience factors with respect to user preference orders. Due to vagueness of the decision data, the precise numerical data are inadequate for real-life business situations. Human judgements can be expressed by linguistic expressions which are modeled by fuzzy sets. The complexity of the considered problem calls for analytic methods rather than intuitive decisions. Two fuzzy multi-criteria methods are proposed for solving the treated problem: Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process (FAHP) is applied to determine the relative importance of business processes and the relative importance of organizational resilience factors under each business process, and an extension of the fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) is applied to rank the organizational resilience factors. With respect to complexity and the type of considered management problem, we introduce a modified fuzzy decision matrix. The proposed algorithm has efficiently been applied in the assessment of organizational resilience factors to small and medium enterprises of the process industry.

A model of the assessment and optimisation of production process quality using the fuzzy sets and genetic algorithm approach

In this paper, the production process is decomposed for typical manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the metrics of the defined sub processes, based on the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, are developed. The weight values of production process performance indicators are defined, using the experience of decision makers from the analysed manufacturing SMEs, and calculated using the fuzzy set approach. Finally, the developed solution, based on the genetic algorithm approach, is presented and tested on data from 112 Serbian manufacturing SMEs. The presented solution enables quality assessment of a production process, the ranking of indicators, optimisation and provides the basis for successful improvement of the production process quality. [Received 13 April 2013; Revised 7 October 2013; Accepted 5 November 2013]

Organisational resilience in a cloud-based enterprise in a supply chain: a challenge for innovative SMEs

The main idea of the paper is to analyse the organisational resilience potential of enterprises that may be modelled as a non-cloud enterprise or modelled from the perspective of being a cloud-based enterprise in a supply chain. In this manner, the model of an organisation is presented as a network of business processes. Organisational resilience factors (RFs) are assessed on the level of each business process and the overall level of organisational resilience potential is obtained for each organisation. The level of organisational resilience potential in these organisations is assessed when the enterprise is modelled, in the first place, as a non-cloud enterprise and also modelled from the perspective of being a cloud-based enterprise in a supply chain. In this way, the level of organisational resilience potential may be compared and analysed, which is a significant benchmark starting point for this research and practice domain.

Model for Selection of the Best Location Based on Fuzzy AHP and Hurwitz Methods

The problem of evaluation and selection of parking lots is a part of significant issues of public transport management in cities. As population expands as well as urban areas, solving the mentioned issues affects employees, security and safety of citizens, and quality of life in long-time period. The aim of this paper is to propose a multicriteria decision model which includes both quantitative and qualitative criteria, which may be of either benefit or cost type, to evaluate locations. The criteria values and the importance of criteria are either precise or linguistic expressions defined by trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. The human judgments of the relative importance of evaluation criteria and uncertain criteria values are often vague and cannot be expressed by exact precise values. The ranking of locations with respect to all criteria and their weights is performed for various degrees of pessimistic-optimistic index. The proposed model is tested through an illustrative example with real life data, where it shows the practical implications in public communal enterprises.

A Fuzzy Evaluation of Projects for Business Processes’ Quality Improvement

Business process improvement is essential for success of enterprises according to the quality philosophy and ISO 9000:2008. On the way to achieving this goal, a very successful approach is the employment of quality improvement projects. This chapter proposes a model for evaluation of projects for business process quality improvement. The performances of the treated type of projects are analyzed in the scope of standard ISO 215000:2015 and the results of good practice. An arranged pair (relative importance, value) is associated to each performance. The relative importance of project performances is assessed on the basis of experts’ judgments from the manufacturing industry and they are introduced by linguistic expressions which are close to human thinking. The values of project performances are determined by measurement or they are based on assessment by a project management team. Modeling of linguistic expressions is performed by fuzzy sets theory. The relative importance of each pair of business processes and project performances is determined on the level of the treated specimen of enterprises. The total score of the project is determined by using fuzzy logic . The model for evaluation of projects for business process quality improvement is verified through a case study example.

Resilience of Virtual and Networked Organizations: An Assessment

Virtual organizations (VO) represent a future paradigm of business. Having in mind different types of perturbations in business today, from the economic crisis to the earthquakes in Japan and terrorists’ actions, new business solutions have emerged in order to sustain development all over the world. As a new field in scientific research, organizational resilience needs to be investigated in the context of VOs. This paper has the intention to suggest a qualitative way to assess one dimension of organizational resilience in VOs and to establish directions for future work, emphasizing the importance of quantifying overall organizational resilience.

Determination of the effectiveness of the realization of enterprise business objectives and improvement strategies in an uncertain environment

This study determines the effectiveness of business objectives and key performance indicators KPIs of the identified business objectives for different types of enterprise. The evaluations of the relative importance of KPIs are called a fuzzy group-decision-making problem. The KPI weights are determined using the fuzzy analytic hierarchical process. The effectiveness of business objectives and KPIs is determined using the adopted Balanced Scorecard Designer Pro. Determination of the KPI rank with respect to each enterprise type is on the basis of Pareto analysis. The priority of management initiatives of the improvement strategy corresponds to the calculated rank, and it has a critical effect on the competitive advantage of any enterprise. The results discuss manufacturing, public and service enterprises, which exist in central Serbia. The proposed approach can also be adapted to different businesses.

Development of a fuzzy logic-based inherent safety index for food industries

Inherent safety is a proactive approach for loss or elimination of hazard values and risk management. Expansion of safety relating to process and production in a supply chain in an uncertain environment has a critical effect on the competitive advantage of each food industrial organization. In this article, the fuzzy rating weights of each pair of the considered hazards and uncertain hazard values are described by linguistic expressions modelled by triangular fuzzy numbers. The fuzzy extent approach for the synthetic extent values of the pairwise comparison for handling fuzzy analytic hierarchical process is used to calculate the weight vector. The proposed fuzzy model is arranged in a hierarchical structure, so that the output of one interference system is used as an input for the second interference step. In the first of interference steps, the total hazard value for each identified process is calculated using the fuzzy algebra rules. In the second interference step, the inherent safety index for each process is determined on the basis of total hazard value, using the IF–THEN fuzzy logic rules. It is shown that the proposed fuzzy model is highly suitable as a decision making tool for making decisions about the inherent safety index of food industrial processes.

The Technological Level of Equipment of Participants in the ELV Recycling Process in Serbia and the Region

The technological level of equipment used by recyclers in the process of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling depends mainly on the following four factors: legislation, desired economy of the process, socioeconomic characteristics of the surroundings, and the number of ELVs. ELV depollution technologies are strictly defined by the national and regional legislation, but technological processes of recycling depend mostly on the requested type of output. Due to that, we differ shredders with various capacities and dismantling centers that separate used parts to be placed on the market while the rest of material is prepared for melting process. This paper proposes the analysis of economical parameters that are important for the adoption of technologies that are applicable in Serbia and the Region from the economical and ecological aspects for the process of ELV depollution.