Decision-
making
March, 31st
First, let’s
check the The danger of losing touch with reality
homework
(Pages 24 &
25)
C. Find the words or phrases in
the article that are similar to or
mean the following.
Definition Word
1. changing, especially in a way that improves a situation (1, 4) moving away (from)
2. opposing change and refusing to accept new ideas (2) die-hard
3. get involved in (2) engage with
4. controlling or limiting something in order to prevent it from having a harmful effect (3) curbing
5. gradually stopping someone from doing something they do habitually (4) weaning … off
6. ready to (5) set to
7. organization responsible for making sure that companies do not do anything illegal or
watchdog
harmful (5)
8. say that something is not true (7) deny
9. draws people’s attention to something by making it easily visible (7) highlights
10. stop something from happening or developing (7) stifle
11. establishing (8) setting
12. think of an idea, answer, etc (8) come up with
Discuss these questions
In what ways
can the
in what ways
pressure on
are Helge Lund
global energy
and Statoil both
demand be
pioneers?
curbed? Which
do you favour?
In what way Do you think
does HL think energy
government companies
intervention in should be in
the energy private or public
industry is hands? What
positive? and are your
negative? reasons?
Decision-
making
Starting questions
• How often do you attend decision-making meetings?
• How easy is it generally to reach decisions in meetings?
• Do you prefer making decisions by yourself, or in a team?
B. Which of these statements best
describes what happens in meetings you
attend?
1. Decisions are already made by the managers beforehand. Most meetings are just
informative.
2. Meetings are generally the best place to take important decisions.
3. Not everyone’s opinion carries equal weight when we’re deciding issues.
4. It takes a lot of convincing for me to change my mind during a meeting.
5. Arguing is a healthy part of trying to solve problems and reach decisions.
6. It’s not always clear what decisions have been made, or who is responsible for carrying
them out.
7. Humour is a good way to release tension during heated discussions at meetings.
8. Participants are sometimes reluctant to put forward proposals because they might be
criticised.
has the reason = is right
Listening (Page 26)
• C. Listen to an extract from a meeting between three managers
at an oil company: Alain, Tony & Caroline. What has happened,
and what do they decide to do?
• D. Complete these expressions from the meeting.
be an idea put forward proposals
entirely sure stagedisagree politely/indirectly
do have to highlight a point
don’t think rush into
avoid make decision
suggestion: we could set up
put forward proposals
really concerned minor
highlight a point
3 lessons on decision-
making from a poker
champion | Liv Boeree
[Link]
cision_making_from_a_poker_champion
Let’s discuss
Luck Quantification Intuition
1. Have you achieved anything out of luck?
2. What does ‘probably’ mean?
3. When should we use our intuitions?
4. Do you make decisions at work and at home in the same way?
5. What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever made?
Writing: layout and structure of
reports (Page 27)
• Complete the report-writing tips below with the words in the
box.
plan draft
readers
register
errors
layout headings
rewrite
Check your
Discuss these questions answers on pages
146 - 147
What is the logical
order of these
headings in a report?
What is the difference
a) Recommendations between an
introduction and an
b) Conclusions
executive summary?
c) Executive
summary
What other sections
d) Introduction might be found in a
report
e) Findings
Homework
• Study units 1, 2 & 3.
• Work on pages 126 to
130.
