A practical example of a multi-attribute decision aiding technique

The marketing and business development representatives of major construction firms operating abroad experience difficulties from being remote from their decision-making executives. Even with modern communications the physical distances involved, with their attendant time zone differences, present many problems for decision-making. One objective of these representatives is to identify construction business opportunities and pursue these through all phases including tendering competitively. A typical policy is for a major decision to be referred to ‘head-office’ which introduces delays often unacceptable to the clients and which may reduce the competitive advantage of the tendering firm. A study was undertaken in conjunction with a major contracting firm who wishes to remain anonymous. This was to derive a decision-making process for its overseas representatives which would help on-the-spot decisions to comply with corporate policies whilst a bid is being presented to the client by the due date. The firm is divisionalised and operates in overseas territories as one single division using sub-contractors, or with co-operating divisions, or at group level. As the tendering personnel are one of the firm’s scarce resources and also a most valuable resource, it is clear that they should be ‘used’ to the best advantage. This paper presents the decision aiding technique proposed by Keeney and Raiffa, in a restricted format, to illustrate how firms may better utilise their scarce marketing and business development resources and in doing so boost their chances of success in a competitive situation.