4. Value functions can be used where:

A) The attribute does not have a natural numeric scale

B) The attribute does have a natural numeric scale

C) All options are equally preferred on an attribute

D) Some options are regarded as infinitely good or bad

5.

A company has to choose a new computer system. The most important objective is to buy a system with the lowest average downtime. This attribute can correctly be given the lowest swing weight in SMART because:

A) Monetary attributes should always be given higher weights

B) There are large differences in the average downtimes of the different systems

C) The greater the average downtime then the less attractive a system will be

D) The average downtime of the systems being considered is very similar

6.

The following swing weights are obtained for the four attributes that are being considered in a car purchasing decision: Fuel economy: 100; Reliability: 80; Safety: 60; Top speed: 10. The normalized weight for Reliability will be:

A) 25.0

B) 32.0

C) 80.0

D) 62.5

7.

The normalized weights for the three attributes in a decision on which notebook computer to purchase are: battery life: 60; screen size: 25; and lightness: 15. A Supertraveller notebook has scores of 100, 0 and 20 on these attributes, respectively. Its weighted aggregate benefit score will be:

A) 120

B) 40

C) 63

D) 21

8.

A company has to choose a new location for its call center. The costs and benefit scores for the three options are as follows: Bradfield: cost, $7 million, benefit score, 30; Cardron: cost $11 million, benefit score 65; Delton: cost $4 million, benefit score 40. The locations on the efficient frontier will be:

A) Bradfield, Cardron and Delton

B) Bradfield and Cardron

C) Cardron and Delton

D) Bradfield and Delton

9.

Sensitivity analysis can be used in SMART:

A) To check that a value tree provides an adequate representation of a decision problem

B) To test the robustness of a model’s results to changes in one of the weights

C) To examine the effect of changing all of the weights simultaneously

D) To detect errors in the calculations that were used to obtain the aggregate benefit scores

10.

If a requisite decision model is obtained this means that:

A) The decision maker has enough guidance to reach a decision

B) The model provides an exact representation of a decision maker’s preferences

C) An optimum solution has been obtained

D) The decision maker’s intuitive preferences have been shown to be wrong

11.

SMARTER is a simplification of SMART because:

A) It avoids the need to compare the swings between the worst and best performing options on each attribute

B) It dispenses with the need to construct value trees

C) The importance of the swings between the worst and best performing options on each attribute only need to be ranked

D) Values measuring the performance of the options on the attributes can be inferred once the performances have been ranked

12.

A company has to choose a conference location. The importance of the swings between the worst and best performances on the four relevant attributes are ranked as follows: 1. Attraction of the city; 2. Cost; 3. Suitability of conference hotel; and 4. Closeness to airport. The rank sum weight for “Cost” will be:

A) 10

B) 30

C) 20

D) 40

13.

A purchaser has to choose between two PCs: a Deskgem and an Electrospace. The Deskgem has a processor speed of 1.66GHz, a hard disk capacity of 120 gigabytes, and a screen size of 43 centimeters. The purchaser would prefer a computer which has the largest value on these three attributes. The values for the Electrospace are, respectively, 1.66GHz, 90 gigabytes, and 40 centimeters. Which of these statements is true?

A) The Deskgem dominates the Electrospace

B) The Electrospace dominates the Deskgem

C) The Deskgem only practically dominates the Electrospace

D) It is impossible to determine which computer will be preferred until trade-offs that are acceptable to the decision maker have been identified

15.

Which of these statements about Even Swaps is correct?

A) It involves a direct comparison of the importance of the different attributes

B) It exploits the fact that, if all options perform equally on an attribute, that option can be removed from consideration in the decision

C) It automatically provides checks on the consistency of the decision maker’s judgments so that these inconsistencies can be resolved

D) It results in a ranking of the attractiveness of the options that are available

16.

Which of these statements about the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is not correct?

A) The options available to the decision maker appear in the hierarchy along with the attributes

B) It cannot deliver a ranking of the attractiveness of the options that are available

C) It automatically provides checks on the consistency of the decision maker’s judgments

D) If a verbal scale is used the largest ratio that can be obtained is 9:1

18.

Three alternative routes for a new road, X, Y and Z, are being compared for their impact on the local environment using the AHP. On this attribute, X is 3 times more preferable than Y, but is only half as preferable as Z. To be perfectly consistent:

A) Z should be 1/6th as preferable as Y

B) Z should be 1.5 times more preferable than Y

C) Z should be 6 times more preferable than Y

D) Y should be 6 times more preferable than Z