Business English Vocabulary · Lesson 13

Sound Analytical When Explaining Causes and Effects

From finding the root cause to explaining the knock-on effects: the phrases senior professionals use to analyse problems and explain why things happen – clear, precise and easy for everyone to understand.

ARead: finding the real cause

Read the text. The phrases in bold are for exercise B. The underlined phrases are for exercise C.

Why the first explanation is rarely the right one

When something goes wrong in a company, the first explanation is rarely the right one. Sales fall, and everyone blames the economy. A project fails, and everyone blames the project manager. Good leaders look deeper. They try to find the root cause – the original, underlying reason – because if you only fix the symptoms, the problem will come back.

It is not always easy to get to the bottom of a problem. In most real situations, there are many factors at play: the market, the team, the product and the competition can all influence the result at the same time.

Successes are worth analysing too. If you know where your success stems from, you can repeat it. A company might discover, for example, that most of its growth comes from one loyal group of customers, not from its expensive advertising.

When we talk about causes, the verb “cause” usually suggests something negative: bad management causes problems. A more neutral alternative is bring about, which works for both good and bad changes: a new CEO can bring about a real change in a company’s culture. If someone keeps pushing a change forward, we can call them the driving force behind it. A catalyst is slightly different: it is the event or the person that makes a change start, or happen much faster.

If something causes a process to start suddenly, we say that it triggers it: a single angry post online can trigger a crisis for a brand. And when one effect causes a second effect, which then causes a third, we call it a knock-on effect. A delay at the port has a knock-on effect on production, which then has a knock-on effect on sales.

Finally, a few phrases help you link causes and results in a professional way. Sales fell due to the bad weather. Profits rose despite higher costs. Our success stems from the fact that we listen to our clients. And the delay can be attributed to the strike.

Bold = key words (exercise B)Underlined = linking phrases (exercise C)

BKey words from the text

Based on the context of the text, choose the phrase that matches each definition. Then complete the example sentence. You may need to change the form of the phrase.

To find out the real reason for something, especially after investigating it

“Our IT team is still trying to the problem.”
An indirect result: one event causes another, which then causes another

“The strike had a on all our deliveries.”
To make something happen, especially a change

“The new CEO has huge changes in the company culture.”
The original, underlying reason for a problem

“We won’t solve this until we find the of these delays.”
To cause something to start suddenly

“The price increase a wave of complaints.”
The person or thing that keeps pushing something forward

“Maria was behind the merger.”
To be caused by something; to come from something

“Most of our complaints one faulty product.”
An event or a person that makes a change start, or happen faster

“The pandemic was a for remote working.”
Many different things influencing a situation at the same time

“It’s hard to say exactly why sales dropped – there are .”

CNoun phrase or full sentence?

Due to, despite, stem from and can be attributed to are great ways to sound professional when you explain causes. But be careful: on their own, they can only be followed by a noun phrase. Before a full sentence, add the fact that.

+ noun phrase Due to poor decisions, the economy started to crash. Despite our strong performance, profits are below expectations. Our success stems from careful preparation. The delay can be attributed to the strike.

+ the fact that + full sentence Due to the fact that the government made poor decisions, the economy started to crash. Despite the fact that we performed well, profits are below expectations. Our success stems from the fact that we prepared carefully. The delay can be attributed to the fact that the workers went on strike.

Now choose the correct option for each sentence.

DSay it better

Each sentence below is correct, but it sounds simple. Rewrite it using a phrase from this lesson, then compare your version with the model answer.

“We need to find the real reason for this problem.”

Use: root cause or get to the bottom of

Show model answer
“We need to find the root cause of this problem.” or “We need to get to the bottom of this.”
“Our problems come from poor communication.”

Use: stem from

Show model answer
“Most of our problems stem from poor communication.”
“Lots of different things are affecting our sales.”

Use: at play

Show model answer
“There are many factors at play when it comes to our sales.”
“The new manager made a big change in the team.”

Use: bring about

Show model answer
“The new manager has brought about a real change in the team.”
“One small mistake suddenly started a big crisis.”

Use: trigger

Show model answer
“One small mistake triggered a major crisis.”
“The problem at the factory also caused problems for our customers.”

Use: knock-on effect

Show model answer
“The problem at the factory had a knock-on effect on our customers.”

EKey words in a new context

Complete the business news article with the phrases from the box. You may need to change the form of some of the words.

Word box

many factors at play
get to the bottom of
stem from
root cause
trigger
knock-on effect
can be attributed to
despite
due to
the driving force
catalyst
bring about

Business newsBrightline: what went wrong – and what comes next

When Brightline, the European online furniture retailer, announced a 30% fall in profits last week, analysts were quick to blame the economy. But the company’s new CEO, Sofia Marin, says the real story is more complicated.

“There were ,” she told reporters. “But when we tried to the problem, we found that most of our difficulties one decision: moving to a new warehouse system far too quickly.”

According to Marin, the was poor planning. The new system crashed in March, which weeks of delayed deliveries. This then had a on customer reviews, and sales fell sharply as a result.

Part of the fall in profits higher shipping costs, she admitted. But the difficult market, two of Brightline’s competitors grew last year. “We can’t blame the economy,” Marin said. “Our sales fell our own mistakes.”

Marin, who joined in June, has been behind a recovery plan that includes a simpler warehouse system and a new customer service team. She hopes the crisis will be a for wider change. “A crisis like this can the kind of change that would normally take years,” she said.

Use it well

Three things professionals often mix up when they explain causes and effects.

Cause, bring about or trigger?

Cause – usually for negative results.

Bring about – for changes, positive or negative, often gradual.

Trigger – for something that starts suddenly.

The merger brought about a new culture, but the job cuts triggered a strike.

Driving force or catalyst?

A driving force keeps pushing something forward over time.

A catalyst makes a change start, or happen faster.

The new law was the catalyst; our CFO was the driving force behind the changes.

Both work with behind; catalyst also works with for: a catalyst for change.

Due to or because?

Due to and because of are followed by a noun phrase. Because is followed by a full sentence.

We were late due to the traffic. We were late because the traffic was terrible.

Due to is slightly more formal than because of.

Glossary

All the phrases from this lesson.

Finding the cause

the root causethe original, underlying reason for a problem
to get to the bottom ofto find out the real reason for something
to stem fromto be caused by something; to come from something
many factors at playmany different things influencing a situation at the same time

Causes and effects

to bring aboutto make something happen, especially a change
the driving force (behind)the person or thing that keeps pushing something forward
a catalyst (behind / for)an event or a person that makes a change start, or happen faster
to triggerto cause something to start suddenly
a knock-on effectan indirect result, where one event causes another

Linking causes and results

due to / due to the fact thatbecause of + noun phrase / + full sentence
despite / despite the fact thatalthough + noun phrase / + full sentence
to stem from the fact thatto be caused by + full sentence
can be attributed to (the fact that)is caused by + noun phrase (+ full sentence)