the exchange of one thing or value in return for another, usually the loss of one benefit for the gain of a different benefit —note tradeoffs commonly involve weighing many different factors in the decision-making process, including how equity will be distributed among those who might gain or lose, costs of the tradeoff, time required to realize benefits and losses, and whether the proposed tradeoff will meet or assist in meeting management goalsThis definition last updated 10/01/2008