Decision Making Diary- Satisficer vs Maximizer
I think we are here at Rotman because we are all maximizers in a way. Everyone here has given up something else that they felt was inferior to the possibilities a MBA may present post graduation. Me personally, my tendencies towards satisficing or maximizing have learned towards the first in my earlier years probably because of my up-bringing and cultural background, but this has changed in the last few years where I am choosing to maximize rather than satisfice.
In the past, I was definitely a satisficer, this was shaped by early years where my family had a low income and pretty much had to settle for whatever met our needs at the cheapest price, this applied to everything from food to shelter to early education. Gradually, my parents’ finances got exponentially better but because I’ve seen all this growth first-hand and seen how hard it was, it affected me greatly to constantly remind myself that I do not need to do everything, or to see all the options, but rather when something arises that will suffice, just take it and make the best of it. My rationality is that even though I may not have examined all my options and chosen the illusive best option, I still have the ability to make the most out of the choice I did make so I will just have to take advantage of it.
A great example is when I chose where to go for my undergrad: I chose based on what would meet my immediate needs, which is to get a decent education at the cheapest price possible. So when the option came up between having a free education at Dalhousie and live at home which would allow me to be debt free at graduation, or to go to Cornell on a partial scholarship, I pretty much ignored the other factors involved and chose the cheapest option. I figured school is school, I will satisfice now and maximize while in school.
Cue during undergrad, and old habits die hard, it was time to choose a major and instead of evaluating all my options, I satisfied yet again, I went into accounting because it
In the past, I was definitely a satisficer, this was shaped by early years where my family had a low income and pretty much had to settle for whatever met our needs at the cheapest price, this applied to everything from food to shelter to early education. Gradually, my parents’ finances got exponentially better but because I’ve seen all this growth first-hand and seen how hard it was, it affected me greatly to constantly remind myself that I do not need to do everything, or to see all the options, but rather when something arises that will suffice, just take it and make the best of it. My rationality is that even though I may not have examined all my options and chosen the illusive best option, I still have the ability to make the most out of the choice I did make so I will just have to take advantage of it.
A great example is when I chose where to go for my undergrad: I chose based on what would meet my immediate needs, which is to get a decent education at the cheapest price possible. So when the option came up between having a free education at Dalhousie and live at home which would allow me to be debt free at graduation, or to go to Cornell on a partial scholarship, I pretty much ignored the other factors involved and chose the cheapest option. I figured school is school, I will satisfice now and maximize while in school.
Cue during undergrad, and old habits die hard, it was time to choose a major and instead of evaluating all my options, I satisfied yet again, I went into accounting because it