Decision time

(business case
study)
1
Choose the best word (A, B or C) to complete the sentences. [part 1/2]

a. Due to the crisis, travel agencies reported …….. revenues for the first half of the
year.
A) flat B) high C) more

b. The deal is that our new CEO gets a modest salary, but will begin …….. more
shares after the first year of operation.
A) accruing B) increasing C) making

c. There is a lot of speculation about the company planning to take an …….. stake
in start-ups as part of its investments.
A) equality B) equation C) equity

3
Choose the best word (A, B or C) to complete the sentences. [part 2/2]

d. Mr Jones is the company’s founder and …….. shareholder, taking all operational
decisions.
A) equitable B) majority C) minority

e. There are situations in which you should seriously consider accepting a cash
…….. as your exit strategy.
A) buy-in B) buy-out C) buy-up

f. The …….. proved very lucrative for both companies as they joined forces and
became the largest company in the industry.
A) acquisition B) merger C) takeover

4
Let’s check the answers. [part 1/2]

a. Due to the crisis, travel agencies reported …….. revenues for the first half of the
year.
A) flat B) high C) more

b. The deal is that our new CEO gets a modest salary, but will begin …….. more
shares after the first year of operation.
A) accruing B) increasing C) making

c. There is a lot of speculation about the company planning to take an …….. stake
in start-ups as part of its investments.
A) equality B) equation C) equity

5
Let’s check the answers. [part 2/2]

d. Mr Jones is the company’s founder and …….. shareholder, taking all operational
decisions.
A) equitable B) majority C) minority

e. There are situations in which you should seriously consider accepting a cash
…….. as your exit strategy.
A) buy-in B) buy-out C) buy-up

f. The …….. proved very lucrative for both companies as they joined forces and
became the largest company in the industry.
A) acquisition B) merger C) takeover

6
Complete the phrasal verbs with the correct words in the box.

aside down in off on out

a. It’s never an easy decision to close ……………..……… [= stop operating] a business you’ve been running
for many years.
b. She offered to buy ……………..…… [= buy someone’s share of a business] her partner and now she owns
the whole company.
c. He has just announced that he has decided to step ……………..………/down [= leave an important
position] as CEO of the company.
d. The company had to sell ……………..………[= sell part of a company] some of its branches to pay debts.
e. This division brings ……………..…… [= make money] millions of pounds in profit each year and it’s still
growing.
f. I think I should act ……………..…… [= take action according to] his suggestion and expand the team.
7
Let’s check the answers.

aside down in off on out

a. It’s never an easy decision to close ……………..………

down [= stop operating] a business you’ve been running
for many years.
b. She offered to buy ……………..……
out [= buy someone’s share of a business] her partner and now she owns
the whole company.
c. He has just announced that he has decided to step ……………..………/down
aside [= leave an important
position] as CEO of the company.
d. The company had to sell ……………..………[=
off sell part of a company] some of its branches to pay debts.
e. This division brings ……………..……
in [= make money] millions of pounds in profit each year and it’s still
growing.
f. I think I should act ……………..……
on [= take action according to] his suggestion and expand the team.
8
 Discuss the questions.

➔ What problems might start-ups face?

➔ Why do some companies experience flat revenues at some
point?
➔ When is a merger a good idea?
➔ In what situations is it advisable for a CEO to step aside?
➔ When could a buy-out be a smart exit strategy?

10
In a moment, you’ll watch a video about a company named:

2 Proud Pups
What products might this company sell?
Watch the first part of the video (to 01:41) and complete the missing
information.

Company name 2 Proud Pups

Product

The reasons behind

setting up the business

Funding

Problems the business

faces

The decision to be
taken

12
Let’s check the answers.

Company name 2 Proud Pups

Product All-natural dog care products

She hadn't liked any of the existing dog shampoos.

The reasons behind setting up the They were full of chemicals that irritated her puppies’
business
skin.

Funding Her own money and loans

Flat revenues. The founder is also burnt out and is

Problems the business faces
going to have a baby.

The decision to be taken To hire a new CEO or sell the company

13
 Watch the rest of the video (to 04:10) and then discuss the
questions.

➔ What are the pros and cons of each option?

➔ Which option do you think Elena should go for and

why?
➔ Do you think she has other options?

➔ Do you agree with the statement that a founder of a

company might not be the right person to take it
into the future?
➔ What was the last difficult work-related decision
you had to take? What were your options? What did
you decide to do?
14
Let’s learn some vocabulary
Read the texts and complete with the correct prepositions. [part 1/3]

1
After three years of operations, Candor Corp. has started to experience flat revenues. The situation
has lasted for more than six months now. One of the partners thinks that they are not putting
enough resources into marketing activities. His idea is to hire an agency which would create and
be in charge of all marketing campaigns. Acting …………… his suggestion could bring
…………… more money as more customers will discover their products. Unfortunately, not all
partners see eye …………… eye and they don’t all want to invest money at this stage. They’ve
been …………… two minds for a few months now and it’s high time they made a decision.

16
Let’s see the correct prepositions. [part 1/3]

1
After three years of operations, Candor Corp. has started to experience flat revenues. The situation
has lasted for more than six months now. One of the partners thinks that they are not putting
enough resources into marketing activities. His idea is to hire an agency which would create and
on
be in charge of all marketing campaigns. Acting ………… his suggestion could bring
…………… more money as more in customers will discover their products. Unfortunately, not all
to
partners see eye …………… eye and they don’t all want to invest money at this stage. They’ve
in
been …………… two minds for a few months now and it’s high time they made a decision.

In your own words, explain what the underlined expressions mean.

17
Read the texts and complete with the correct prepositions. [part 2/3]

2
There are two partners in Alphabetworks and they do everything connected with
their business, from customer service through to website development and product design. The
workload has started to take its toll …………… their well-being and both of
them feel that this might lead …………… burnout and affect their company’s operations.
The solution is to expand their team. However, they feel split …………………… this because
the recruitment and onboarding process would take a lot of time. What’s more, they think it’s
going to be hard to find people who will believe in their products and
click ………………… them immediately.

18
Let’s see the correct prepositions. [part 2/3]

2
There are two partners in Alphabetworks and they do everything connected with
their business, from customer service through to website development and product design. The
on
workload has started to take its toll …………… their well-being and both of
to
them feel that this might lead …………… burnout and affect their company’s operations.
about
The solution is to expand their team. However, they feel split …………………… this because
the recruitment and onboarding process would take a lot of time. What’s more, they think it’s
going to be hard to find people who will believe in their products and
with
click ………………… them immediately.

In your own words, explain what the underlined expressions mean.

19
Read the texts and complete with the correct prepositions. [part 3/3]

3
Bravura Inc. is growing, which means they’ll soon need to hire more people, find a larger office
and get more space for their products. But that all means their business also has to bring
…………… more money. They can’t sit …………… the fence any longer and
have to decide on their next steps. They’re considering two options: selling …………… part
of their business in return for cash, or raising money through bank loans. The problem
is that the partners are not …………… the same page about what to do and they are unable to
find common ground.

20
Let’s see the correct prepositions. [part 3/3]

3
Bravura Inc. is growing, which means they’ll soon need to hire more people, find a larger office
and get more space for their products. But that all means their business also has to bring
in on
…………… more money. They can’t sit …………… the fence any longer and
off
have to decide on their next steps. They’re considering two options: selling …………… part
of their business in return for cash, or raising money through bank loans. The problem
is that the partners are not ……………on the same page about what to do and they are unable to
find common ground.

In your own words, explain what the underlined expressions mean.

21
Let’s talk!
Discuss the situations below. Weigh up the possible options and say what
decisions you would take when faced with such challenges. [part 1/3]

1
After three years of operations, Candor Corp. has started to experience flat revenues. The
situation has lasted for more than six months now. One of the partners thinks that they are not
putting enough resources into marketing activities. His idea is to hire an agency which would
create and be in charge of all marketing campaigns. Acting on his suggestion could bring in more
money as more customers will discover their products. Unfortunately, not all partners see eye to
eye and they don’t all want to invest money at this stage. They’ve been in two minds for a few
months now and it’s high time they made a decision.

23
Discuss the situations below. Weigh up the possible options and say what
decisions you would take when faced with such challenges. [part 2/3]

2
There are two partners in Alphabetworks and they do everything connected with their business,
from customer service through to website development and product design. The workload has
started to take its toll on their well-being and both of them feel that this might lead to burnout and
affect their company’s operations. The solution is to expand their team. However, they feel split
about this because the recruitment and onboarding process would take a lot of time. What’s more,
they think it’s going to be hard to find people who will believe in their products and click with
them immediately.

24
Discuss the situations below. Weigh up the possible options and say what
decisions you would take when faced with such challenges. [part 3/3]

3
Bravura Inc. is growing, which means they’ll soon need to hire more people, find a larger office
and get more space for their products. But that all means their business also has to bring in more
money. They can’t sit on the fence any longer and have to decide on their next steps. They’re
considering two options: selling off part of their business in return for cash, or raising money
through bank loans. The problem is that the partners are not on the same page about what to do
and they are unable to find common ground.

25
Thanks!