Zainab Khalifah

Multiple criteria decision-making techniques and their applications – a review of the literature from 2000 to 2014

Multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) is considered as a complex decision-making (DM) tool involving both quantitative and qualitative factors. In recent years, several MCDM techniques and approaches have been suggested to choosing the optimal probable options. The purpose of this article is to systematically review the applications and methodologies of the MCDM techniques and approaches. This study reviewed a total of 393 articles published from 2000 to 2014 in more than 120 peer reviewed journals (extracted from Web of Science). According to experts’ opinion, these articles were grouped into 15 fields. Furthermore, these articles were categorised based on authors, publication date, name of journals, methods, tools, and type of research (MCDM utilising research, MCDM developing research, and MCDM proposing research). The results of this study indicated that in 2013 scholars have published articles more than in other years. In addition, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method in the individual tools and hybrid MCDM in the integrated methods were ranked as the first and second methods in use. Additionally, the European Journal of Operational Research as the first journal with 70 publications was the significant journal in this study. Finally, energy, environment and sustainability were ranked as the first areas that have applied MCDM techniques and approaches.

Multiple criteria decision-making techniques in transportation systems: a systematic review of the state of the art literature

AbstractThe main goal of this review paper is to provide a systematic review of Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques in regard to transportation systems problems. This study reviewed a total of 89 papers, published from 1993 to 2015, from 39 high-ranking journals; most of which were related to transportation science and were extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Papers were classified into 10 main application areas and nine transport infrastructure. Furthermore, papers were categorized based on the author(s) and year, name of the journal in which they were published, technique and approach, author(s) nationality, application area and scope, study purpose, gap and research problem and results and outcome. The results of this study indicated that more papers on MCDM in 2013 than in any other year. AHP and Fuzzy-AHP methods in the individual methods and hybrid MCDM and fuzzy MCDM in the integrated methods were ranked as the first and second methods in use, respectively. The T...

Application of multiple-criteria decision-making techniques and approaches to evaluating of service quality: a systematic review of the literature

The main purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of multiple- criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques used in the assessment of service qual- ity. This study reviewed a total of 79 articles from 51 journals, published from 2001 to 2015. Articles were classified into 10 application areas and scopes. Furthermore, articles were categorised based on an author, year, application area, the nationality of the author, ‏technique, a number of criteria, research purpose, gap and research problem, results and outcome. The best criteria were determined in each article. The results of this study re- vealed that more papers on MCDM were published in 2011 than in any other year. Inte- grated techniques, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy AHP methods, were ranked as first and second methods in use, respectively. Finally, the airline industry was ranked as the first application area, in which previous studies applied MCDM techniques for the evaluation of the service quality. This research contributes to the existing literature on the service quality and MCDM. The research outputs are valuable to academics scholars and leaders of organisations and industries in the field of service quality evaluation.

Graduates’ expectation gap: the role of employers and Higher Learning Institutes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the difference between fresh graduates’ expectations and actual experiences regarding work environment. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was employed on 170 Malaysian fresh graduates. They were evaluated on the basis of their expectations and actual experiences which enabled the researcher to determine gaps. Findings – Using paired sample t-test it was found that there exist gaps regarding what fresh graduates expect and their actual experience regarding work environment. Leadership communication and decision making were found to be significantly related with job satisfaction whereas leadership was found to be related with organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications – The study used a selected sample from Malaysian graduates, the results might be different if samples are taken from a geographically different area. Practical implications – The study has implications for fresh graduates, employers and higher learnin...

Human Resource Development Intervention Towards Community Engagement: A Journey to Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper investigates employee perception of Human Resource Development intervention to promote awareness towards community engagement. A survey was conducted among 150 members from various units and department in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to get their reaction, insight and views towards public commitment. Increasing social complexity and growing responsibility to society makes training human resources essential in creating and sharing knowledge that can benefit and of value not only to the common members but also the general public. This study highlights some issues for future recommendation to foster community engagement level among the university members in order to promote positive social change.