Who decides?

“We can’t let politicians make decisions, they are so irresponsible!” This was the reaction by a group of academics to the suggestion that politicians should be free to allocate their own weights to various criteria (cf last post on multiple criteria decision making)

I was first introduced to multiple criteria analysis when a UK researcher presented his work on the third Heathrow runway to a university staff seminar. The presentation was enlightening – and so was the reaction of those present.  The senior public servants, who needed to get elected members focussed on the issues, were enthusiastic about the potential to present clear information not artificially constrained by dollar equivalents. But the academics  were truly horrified when the presenter argued that elected members should allocate their own weights. As the people’s representatives – it was their objectives that were key.

In the last post, I asked who should be deciding on the weights.   This is not a trick question but it is a difficult one.  It bedevils serious public servants everywhere, staffers who desire to produce good quality ‘finished staff work’, to be able to anticipate all the problems, all the issues, all the questions, that decision makers could ask, and ensure that they have been addressed.

But this can then slip into believing that, having done all the analysis,  the staffer now knows best what option should be selected and so we get the three card trick –  presenting the decision makers with only three options, two of which are obviously out of consideration for cost or other reasons, so that effectively the decision makers are forced to choose what the staffer has determined.

Multiple criteria analysis, presented honestly without weights, allows decision makers to seriously and knowledgeably to consider the issue. The final decision may not be so predictable but it is likely to have their greater long term support.

On 9 September I wrote a post “Are Politician the real decision makers?” which attracted more comment than most other posts and the commentary was good.  Have a look.

Also see Kim Geedrick’s comment   on the last post

QUESTION TODAY IS GENERAL – YOUR THOUGHTS?

 

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