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Jargonbuster: Satisficing

Jargonbuster: Satisficing

Satisficing describes decision making that takes the short cut of defining a set of aspirations and then settles on some alternative that meets the minimum requirements.

What it means: Satisficing describes decision making that takes the short cut of defining a set of aspirations and then settles on some (usually the first) alternative that meets the minimum requirements.

The origin: Nobel laureate Herbert Simon coined the term now used mostly by HR professionals when hiring staff or talking about optimising choices.

How it can be used: A firm such as Google doing a survey may ask someone “are your web searches satisficing”?