Wertwerte

Wertwerte is a term used in German-language discussions of decision analysis and valuation to denote numerical representations of value judgments assigned to alternatives, actions, or outcomes. The plural form emphasizes multiple scores that reflect relative desirability within a given framework. Wertwerte are not a universal measure but a way to make subjective judgments more comparable and communicable in analysis and reporting.

Construction methods vary. Wertwerte may come from direct elicitation (surveys or rating scales), from models translating preferences into scores (utility functions or multi-criteria weights), or from aggregating normative judgments across criteria. In practice, scales are often ordinal, though some applications interpret scores as interval.

Applications span economics, environmental valuation, policy analysis, and ethics. For example, in environmental planning, Wertwerte can score ecosystem services to support trade-offs and budgeting. In corporate decision-making, they provide a common scoring system to compare strategic options.

Limitations include subjectivity, cultural bias, and concerns about scale validity and aggregation. Critics caution against over-precise comparisons of qualitative judgments, while proponents view Wertwerte as a transparent tool when accompanied by sensitivity analyses and clear assumptions.

See also: utility, value function, scoring, multi-criteria decision analysis, valuation.