Optimization methods for a stakeholder society. A revolution in economic thinking by multi-objective optimization. (Q1414365)

The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader, either managers or researchers, theorists or practitioners, into a novel type of economic thinking, based on an inevitable need of compromise and reconciliation among a number of (larger or smaller level) essential objectives, such as economic growth, employment, preservation of the ecosystem, material and immaterial quality of (individual or social) life etc. The author proposes the model of a stakeholder society with multiple (often disjunctive, sometimes contradictory, hierarchically structured) objectives, and supports the use of nonlinear methods in multi-objective optimization as a (possibly) efficient approach of the proposed society model. In the modem concept of stakeholder there are included all kinds of groups of stakeholders, such as institutional shareholders, private shareholders, investors, employees, customers and suppliers, analysts and financial journalists. When fixing the objectives of such a society, one has to take into account also the various kinds of groups such as parliament, trade unions, employer organizations, consumer organizations, ecologist associations (including the state itself as the promoter of the general interest) etc., that are going to take the decisions on the power level they are entitled to represent. The final decision is multi-objective reconciliation and compromise-based process, thus optimization, among all these power influence factors. The economic model supported within this book is that economy is not just a science for minimizing costs but also to each of the considered objective as much as possible and to satisfy each individual (and social) level, such that to approach as much as possible the human quality of life, thus happiness. The book is organized in six parts. Part 1 makes the link with the traditional economics, while Part 2 of the book shows the advent of the new economics. Analytic examples (of Tanzania and Lithuania economical politics are included). Part 3 presents to the reader the model of stakeholder society and the multiple-objective optimization approach to fulfill the aspiration of the individual and of all the stakeholders. However, despite hierarchy, filtering, indifference and dominance, objectives and alternatives could remain incomparable. Part 4 proposes the solution of Reference Point Theory as an optimization method to compare the until now incomparable alternatives. In Part 5 is presented another nonlinear approach to multi-objective optimization, namely the Multiplicative Representation. The final Part 6 discusses the Ratio Analysis as a rather separate, nonlinear control technique for (other methods of) multi-objective off. Interesting concrete examples of economical decision policies are exposed and analyzed. The audience of this book is addressed to a large public: managers and researchers, engineers and economists working in the fields of applied economics, mathematics, econometrics, (multi-)optimization theory and practice.