A dynamic objective–subjective structure for forest management focusing on environmental issues

In this paper a decision-making process is applied to a Chilean forestry firm that must deal with a host of environmental variables as well as profit making. At the core of this process is a ‘dynamic objective–subjective structure’ founded on the approach that decision making is about comprehending the preferences of the various parties involved and expanding the set of alternatives open to the decision makers. This is in contrast to many models that aim at finding the ‘best alternative’ and to decision analysis approaches that focus on presenting preferences via value functions. The paper describes in chronological order, following the sessions of a decision-making process, how the various components of the structure emerged. In doing so it demonstrates how the process led to an understanding of the real effects of dealing with the environment and how comprehending the preferences led to the introduction of new decision variables.