Example-1
The board of directors have to choose a leader for a company whose founder is
about to retire. There are three competing candidates TOM, DICK & HARRY and four
competing criteria Experience Education, Charisma and Age. Use AHP to choose the
most suitable candidate.
(The CMI, consistency index and consistency Ratio need not be calculated)
The comparison matrix for pair wise Criteria is given below
CRITERIA EXPERIENCE EDUCATION CHARISMA AGE
EXPERIENCE 1 4 3 7
EDUCATION 1/4 1 1/3 3
CHARISMA 1/3 3 1 5
AGE 1/7 1/3 1/5 1
Also, the Relative criteria for alternatives is
EXPERIENCE TOM DICK HARRY EDUCATION TOM DICK HARRY
TOM 1.00 1/4 4.00 TOM 1.00 3 1/5
DICK 4.00 1.00 9.00 DICK 1/3 1.00 1/7
HARRY 1/4 1/9 1.00 HARRY 5 7 1.00
CHARISMA TOM DICK HARRY AGE TOM DICK HARRY
TOM 1.00 5 9.00 TOM 1.00 1/3 5.00
DICK 1/5 1.00 4.00 DICK 3.00 1.00 9.00
HARRY 1/9 1/4 1.00 HARRY 1/5 1/9 1.00
Solution
Step1) Find weights for Relative (Criteria Vs Criteria)
CRITERIA EXPERIENCE EDUCATION CHARISMA AGE
EXPERIENCE 1 4 3 7
EDUCATION 1/4 1 1/3 3
CHARISMA 1/3 3 1 5
AGE 1/7 1/3 1/5 1
Column sum
Divide every element by column sum and then take row
average
CRITERIA EXPERIENCE EDUCATION CHARISMA AGE Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
CHARISMA
AGE
Page 1 of 7
Step2) Find Weights of each of the Critera (Alternative Vs Alternative)
EXPERIE TOM DICK HARRY EXPERIEN TOM DICK HARRY Avg. weight
NCE CE vector or Eigen vector
TOM 1 1/4 4 TOM
DICK 4 1 9 DICK
HARRY 1/4 1/9 1 HARRY
Col. sum
EDUCATI TOM DICK HARRY EDUCATIO TOM DICK HARRY Avg. weight
ON N vector or Eigen vector
TOM 1 3 1/5 TOM
DICK 1/3 1 1/7 DICK
HARRY 5 7 1 HARRY
Col. sum
CHARIS TOM DICK HARRY CHARISM TOM DICK HARRY Avg. weight
MA A vector or Eigen vector
TOM 1 5 9 TOM
DICK 1/5 1 4 DICK
HARRY 1/9 1/4 1 HARRY
Col. sum
AGE TOM DICK HARRY AGE TOM DICK HARRY Avg. weight
vector or Eigen vector
TOM 1 1/3 5 TOM
DICK 3 1 9 DICK
HARRY 1/5 1/9 1 HARRY
Col. sum
STEP 3) The composite impact table
WEIGHTS
Criteria --> EXPERIENCE EDUCATION CHARISMA AGE
TOM
DICK
HARRY
Composite impact of TOM =
Composite impact of DICK =
Composite impact of HARRY=
THEREFORE SOLUTION IS _____
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Example-2
BOB has four job offers. His offers came from companies A, B, C and D. He has to
consider which company to choose on criteria such as Location, Salary, current
projects and Long Term Prospects. Use AHP to help him choose the most suitable
company
(CMI, consistency index and consistency ration need not be calculated)
The comparison metric for pair wise criteria is given below
CRITERIA Location Salary Current Projects Long Term Prospects
Location 1 1/5 1/3 ½
Salary 5 1 2 4
Current Projects 3 1/2 1 3
Long Term Prospects 2 1/4 1/3 1
Also, the Relative criteria for alternatives is
Location A B C D Salary A B C D
A 1 1/2 1/3 5 A 1 1/4 3 1/9
B 2 1 1/2 7 B 4 1 2 1/4
C 3 2 1 9 C 1/3 1/2 1 3
D 1/5 1/7 1/9 1 D 9 4 1/3 1
Current A B C Long Term A B C D
Projects Prospects
A 1 9 7 1/5 A 1 4 3 7
B 1/9 1 3 1/4 B 1/4 1 1/2 1/5
C 1/7 1/3 1 2 C 1/3 2 1 3
D 5 4 1/2 1 D 1/7 5 1/3 1
Solution
Step1) Find weights for Relative (Criteria Vs Criteria)
CRITERIA Location Salary Current Long Term
Projects Prospects
Location 1 1/5 1/3 ½
Salary 5 1 2 4
Current Projects 3 1/2 1 3
Long Term Prospects 2 1/4 1/3 1
Column sum
Divide every element by column sum and then take row average
Page 3 of 7
CRITERIA Location Salary Current Long Term Avg. weight
Projects Prospects vector or Eigen
vector
Location
Salary
Current Projects
Long Term Prospects
Step2) Find Weights of each of the Critera (Alternative Vs Alternative)
Location A B C D Location A B C D Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
A 1 1/2 1/3 5 A
B 2 1 1/2 7 B
C 3 2 1 9 C
D 1/5 1/7 1/9 1 D
Column
sum
Salary A B C D Salary A B C D Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
A 1 1/4 3 1/9 A
B 4 1 2 1/4 B
C 1/3 1/2 1 3 C
D 9 4 1/3 1 D
Column
sum
Current A B C D Current A B C D Avg. weight
Projects Projects vector or Eigen
vector
A 1 9 7 1/5 A
B 1/9 1 3 1/4 B
C 1/7 1/3 1 2 C
D 5 4 1/2 1 D
Column
sum
Page 4 of 7
Long A B C D Long A B C D Avg. weight
Term Term vector or Eigen
Prospect Prospects vector
s
A 1 4 3 7 A
B 1/4 1 1/2 1/5 B
C 1/3 2 1 3 C
D 1/7 5 1/3 1 D
Column
sum
STEP 3) The composite impact table
WEIGHTS
Criteria --> Location Salary Current Long Term
Projects Prospects
A
Composite impact of A =
Composite impact of B =
Composite impact of C=
Composite impact of D=
Therefore most suitable job for Bob is in Company _____
Page 5 of 7
Example-3
Jilley Bean Co. is selecting a new location to expand its operations. The company
wants to use AHP to help it decide which location to build its new plant. Jilley Bean
Co. has four criteria they will base their decision on these are the following:
property price, distance from suppliers, the quality of the labour pool, and the cost
of labour. The weighting criteria for Price: 0.1993, Distance: 0.6535, Labour:
0.0860 and Wage: 0.0612. They have three locations to decide from.
Criteria and preferences matrices are given
Price A B C Distance A B C
A 1 3 2 A 1 6 1/3
B 1/3 1 1/5 B 1/6 1 1/9
C 1/2 5 1 C 3 9 1
Labor A B C Wages A B C
A 1 1/3 1 A 1 1/3 1/2
B 3 1 7 B 3 1 4
C 1 1/7 1 C 2 1/4 1
Solution
Step1) Find weights for Relative (Weights are given in the example)
CRITERIA/WEIGHT Weight
Price 0.1993
Distance 0.6535
Labour 0.0860
Wages 0.0612
Step2) Find Weights of each of the Critera (Alternative Vs Alternative)
Price A B C Price A B C Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
A 1 3 2 A
B 1/3 1 1/5 B
C 1/2 5 1 C
Column
sum
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Distance A B C Distance A B C Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
A A
B B
C C
Column
sum
Labour A B C Labour A B C Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
A A
B B
C C
Column
sum
Wages A B C Wages A B C Avg. weight
vector or Eigen
vector
A A
B B
C C
Column
sum
STEP 3) The composite impact table
WEIGHTS 0.1993 0.6535 0.0860 0.0612
Criteria --> Price Distance Labour Wages
A
B
C
Composite impact of A =
Composite impact of B =
Composite impact of C=
Best Solution is ___
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