satisficer

A decision-maker whose aim is to make a choice which is acceptable rather than optimal, possibly because it is impossible to locate on the maximum-profit site (because of prior occupancy, planning restrictions), logically impossible to pinpoint that site, or because the decision-maker lacks the necessary knowledge and/or ability. See behavioural matrix, for a model of the way knowledge and decision-making ability intersect.

It may be that maximization of profit is not the only goal. The decision-maker may be inclined to maximize psychic income, that is the satisfaction which may come to managers from causes other than financial ones, such as amenity. Other satisficers are loath to undertake the somewhat hazardous process of seeking the optimum because they are averse to uncertainty. Others may be guided by moral concerns.