Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Today the economic community of countries is becoming integrated fast, morphing into a
single economic system. National economies become cells of a global economy, thus diverse
decisions related to activities and development must be considered within a broader
context. Integration into the community of global economic structures demands for
internationally recognised and universally intelligible analysis and assessment methods, as
well as for universally intelligible requirements and assessment criteria. Use of decision
support systems can help to handle such tasks, because the systems facilitate use and
assessment of a wide range of information and data, to come up with criteria systems for
relevant factors, and to suggest solutions in line with the goals of the international
community. Globalisation demands for knowledge how decision-makers come up and make
decision in other parts of the world and how information systems (IS) may facilitate
decision-making. Analyses consider the differences between national cultures, values,
decision processes, and decision-making. “The existence of international differences in
analyzing and conceptualizing strategic decisions raises doubts about the global
applicability of IS such as decision support systems and executive information systems. The
success of knowledge management and information systems in different countries and
cultures will depend critically on how well IT applications are adapted to the decision styles
of their users“ (Martinson & Davison, 2007).
Many tasks related to economic development are multiple criteria tasks. Within the context
of sustainable development, energy is in the spotlight. The costs related to the building of
energy infrastructure, exports and imports of energy sources and refined products, and end-
user energy prices have enormous impact on the development of national economies;
therefore, it is the trends of energy-related economic indicators that point out the potential
of country's economic development. Typical economic valuation methods and decision
validation methods used in the market are the usual choice when one comes to practical
issues of the development of the energy sector and selection of energy production
technologies. These methods lack tools for integrated assessment of environmental factors,
which could determine selection of more efficient and more economically promising
technologies, as well as better environmental solutions.
The energy sector is marked by its versatile aspects, uncertainty, and the influence of
interests; therefore, to validate various operational decisions, to model the development
scenarios, and to make the decisions objective, we need methods, which would facilitate use
of several interacting indications of values, validate the decisions in the decision-making
process, and make the process more transparent. When it comes to modelling of variants
related to the development and use of energy production technologies, as well as to
management decisions, decision support system, which combines changing factors of
macro-, meso- and microenvironment, environmental factors, as well as economic and
technological indicators, would facilitate handling of practical tasks related to management
of energy systems, to selection of effective technologies, to analysis of prices, and to search
for the best development or management solutions.
4.2 Preparation of data for an automated decision support system
The selected objects operating in the energy sector were analysed using the method for
multiple criteria complex proportional assessment and multiple criteria measuring of the
utility degree and the market value, namely the COPRAS method. This method was selected
because it allows:
Search WWH ::
Custom Search