An alternative calculation of the consensus degree in group decision making problems

Abstract

In a problem of group decision-making it is desirable to obtain a solution with the highest possible degree of agreement – consensus- among the participants. For this aim, it is necessary to have tools that facilitate the calculation of the degree of consensus in a reliable way. This study proposes a consensus index based on a statistical measure of variability of the preferences expressed by the experts in a group decision-making process and performs a specific comparative study between this index and several known consensus measures. The analysis shows that in this specific situation the proposed measure behaves in a similar way to the previous ones and it could play their role in a process of decision making in group.