Title

What if Utility Functions do not Exist?

Creator

Roberts, Fred S.

Date

1970

Identifier

AD0712762

AD0712762

Abstract

The document discusses alternatives to the strict decisionmaking goal of ranking all alternatives or, equivalently, obtaining a utility function. For many military problems, the best information available is the combined judgements of experts. Often, however, the preferences of decisionmakers are too inconsistent or ambiguous to permit a complete ranking of alternatives or a utility function. Optional methods for dealing with such a situation include finding a procedure through which preferences can be modified to obtain a utility function; using the utility assignment that best approximates a utility function; or modifying the demands on utility functions. The study emphasizes the third alternative, and describes it in terms of techniques from the theory of measurement, recently developed by behavioral scientists, that facilitate decisionmaking where no utility functions exist.

Date Issued

1970-09

Extent

35

Corporate Author

RAND Corporation

Corporate Report Number

R-528-ARPA

Contract

DAHC15 67 C 0141

Distribution Conflict

No

Access Rights

THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE AND SALE; ITS DISTRIBUTION IS UNLIMITED.

Photo Quality

Not Needed

Distribution Classification

1

DTIC Record Exists

Yes

Report Availability

Full text available by request

Provenance

Borg-Warner

Type

report

Format

35 pages ; 28 cm.