Use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Selected Methods in the Managerial Decision-Making Process in the Context of Sustainable Development

Abstract

This article deals with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, which can be calculated in several ways. The aim of the paper is to analyze and describe the AHP method as essential for strategic managerial decision-making to determine which method is efficient for the calculation and to set the proper order of criteria. In the contribution, we show how the AHP method can be used through different techniques. In the article, there are included methods that can be used in order to calculate the matrix in the AHP process for setting criteria. This study also focused on the accuracy of various methods used to compute AHP. The paper contains the procedure of using the Saaty method through the Excel program. The results of the research show that the most accurate method is the Saaty method. In comparison with the Saaty method is the geometric mean method with the slightest deviation (CI = 0.00010), followed by the Row sum of the adjusted Saaty matrix with deviation (CI = 0.00256), reverse sums of the Saaty matrix columns (CI = 0.00852), Arithmetic mean and Row sums of the Saaty matrix (CI = 0.01261). All of these methods are easy to calculate and can be performed without major mathematical calculations. The AHP method is often used with other methods such as SWOT, FUZZY, etc. The survey was carried out through an inquiry with managers who graduated from universities in Slovakia and showed that the respondents considered the Saaty method as the most complex and the most difficult. The geometric mean and average mean methods were regarded as the simplest methods. Respondents (44%) stated that they were able to use a program to calculate the AHP. Respondents (46%) had experience with some method related to the strategic managerial decision-making process. Managers (72%) regarded this skill as important for decision-making in their managerial position. The contribution of this paper is to show the advantages of the AHP method in its wide use in various fields.