Linking the fuzzy set theory to organizational routines: a study in personnel evaluation in a large company

The authors discuss the application of fuzzy set theory to a personnel evaluation procedure. The effectiveness of fuzzy concepts and methods depends on the approach used for the analysis of organizational issues. The current process for evaluating potential candidates for higher positions in the company hierarchy is managed by a procedure which comprises three important aspects: organizational relationships, rating sheets, and operating rules. The goal of the present research was to modify neither the organizational aspects nor the rating sheet, but to focus only on the meaning of the ratings. Fuzzy concepts and operators are used to interpret the meanings attributed to the items by each evaluator and to propose a procedure for rating aggregation. The main result is a multiple ranking. The decision-maker can use the multiple ranking of the candidates to choose the most appropriate criterion according to the strategy of the company and to the specific management issues. In this way the decision-maker can easily adapt the criterion of ideal candidate to different environmental situations