Personnel selection represents a valuable decision-making process that determines, in some way, the competitiveness and performance of an organization. The essential elements of the personnel selection task are the position requirements and the accessible information related to candidates. In this paper, the personnel selection task is modeled as a multicriteria decision-making problem, considering varied competencies and skills to assess the applicants for a specific position. We used this multicriteria model to solve personnel selection cases using sadgage, a decision support system that solves examples of the multicriteria ranking problem in decreasing order based on the preferences of the decision-maker. The electre-iii method is embedded in the software in order to construct a fuzzy outranking relation and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to exploit such relation and generate a ranking as a recommendation. This work presents a practical application to a personnel selection problem that evaluates a group of applicants to a software developer job in an enterprise based in northwestern Mexico. We show how the proposed multicriteria procedure offers a recommendation to the decision-maker about the applicants in decreasing order of preferences.

Human capital management is a strategic element for companies in a globalized world. Therefore, they must use strategies and methods to recruit and select personnel assertively to focus their training, strengthening, and business growth efforts. Personnel selection can be seen as a decision problem and can be addressed in a multi-criteria decision-making context. This work aims to present the selection process of a barista in a Mexican coffee shop. The baristas could be the face of the company to customers, and they could significantly impact their overall experience. The personnel selection process included eleven candidates and three criteria. This process was performed using the ELECTRE-III to model the preferences of a decision-maker and RP2-NSGA-II+H, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm that exploits fuzzy outranking relations to derive multi-criteria rankings. The ordering obtained with the algorithm did not have any inconsistency concerning the integral preference model, and it allowed for the selection of a candidate to occupy the barista position. The results show the relevance of combining preference modeling with multi-criteria analysis methods for decision-making and artificial intelligence techniques.

Multicriteria clustering problem has been studied and applied scarcely. When a multicriteria clustering problem is tackled with an outranking approach, it is necessary to include preferences of decision makers on the raw dataset, e.g., weights and thresholds of the evaluation criteria. Then, it is necessary to conduct a process to obtain a comprehensive model of preferences represented in a fuzzy or crisp outranking relation. Subsequently, the model can be exploited to derive a multicriteria clustering. This work presents an exhaustive search approach using a credibility similarity measure to exploit a fuzzy outranking relation to derive a multicriteria clustering. The work includes two experimental designs to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. Results show that the proposed method has good performance exploiting fuzzy outranking relations to create the clusterings.

The eggplant is a short shelf-life vegetable whose export in Mexico generates significant incomes for horticultural companies. However, when the market’s price is down, or its quality does not fulfill the market’s requirements, eggplant is not exported, and demand is low in the domestic market. This situation generates financial problems for companies, unemployment for people, and environmental problems, among others. To reduce eggplant loss is necessary to understand the elements around the issue, structure the problem, and generate solution alternatives. In this work, the Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) methodology was applied in a horticultural farm in Sinaloa, Mexico, to obtain values from a decision-maker to structure the eggplant loss problem, objectives of the farm and generate solution alternatives. This article presents a structured problem about eggplant loss, which includes one strategic objective, five fundamental objectives, and nine means-ends objectives as well as twenty-seven solution alternatives such as applying protected agriculture technology, selling waste as food for livestock and designing a new product based on eggplant. Through the results of the application of VFT methodology, the decision-maker had a better understanding of the eggplant loss problem and its value, which is going to be reflected in benefits for the horticultural farm. Keywords: Eggplant loss, problem structuring, creating alternatives, value-focused thinking. JEL classification: D46, D81 Received: 10/06/2020. Accepted: 06/11/2020. Published: 01/12/2020

Objetivo: identificar productos potenciales de mango como una alternativa para la producción de mango de comercialización limitada en la zona sur de Sinaloa. Metodología: se implementaron dos primeras etapas: (1) Generación de alternativas de productos. (2) Selección de un producto. Resultados: en la Etapa 1 se identificaron: galleta rellena, ate y barra, por su facilidad de compra, contenido funcional e ingredientes naturales, siendo barra el producto con mayor potencial de éxito. En la Etapa 2, barras en presentaciones de amaranto, mezcla de frutos secos con chocolate y mezcla de cereales con yogurt, resultaron las más preferidas. Limitaciones: la identificación de atributos mediante encuestas puede ser subjetiva, por lo cual, se recomienda realizar pruebas sensoriales con consumidores. Conclusiones: podemos anotar que los tres productos potenciales, y sus atributos, identificados fueron: (1) Barra de mezcla de frutos secos con chocolate fue preferida debido a su aporte de energía, facilidad de compra e ingredientes naturales. (2) Barra de amaranto resultó preferida por sus aportes de proteínas, carbohidratos, fibra, ingredientes naturales y precio. Finalmente, (3) Barra de mezcla de cereales con yogurt es preferida por remplazar una comida, contenido de fibra y contribución a la salud.