A fuzzy model for assessment of organization vulnerability

Abstract

There are many factors that can make an organization and its business unsafe and endanger its sustainable development. Exposure of an organization to existing risks may vary and it can be studied from different perspectives, but undoubtedly increased vulnerability of an organization can lead to disaster. This paper investigates the general vulnerability of an organization and proposes a model for its assessment. The process approach has been employed to define the model of an organization, as well as the fuzzy approach for mathematical modeling of uncertainties. An assessed value of organization vulnerability is obtained by using linguistic expressions which are close to human thinking. The mathematical model of organization vulnerability is solved through fuzzy sets with input data defined by a management team. The model for vulnerability assessment is verified through an illustrative example. The obtained results represent an input for future research which should include a good benchmark base for the tested organizations and their continuous improvement. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.