Deck 2: "The Check Is in the Mail": Honesty and Trust in Business

Question 1

Is it ever morally acceptable to lie? If so, when? If not, why not? Use the text in your response.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Why do people lie? Write a list of as many reasons for lying as possible (come up with at least ten). Are there some goals that can only be accomplished by lying?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

What are good reasons to bluff? Why could bluffing be bad in business? Explain your own view on bluffing in business. Do you view "bullshitting" in business in the same way?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Explain why consultants and gurus might find themselves encouraged to lie or otherwise dissemble. Why are lies told by consultants harmful? What is useful feedback and content?

Question 5

According to Machiavelli, when should a prince break faith and when should a prince keep faith? What are Machiavelli's arguments for why a prince is not always bound to keep faith? Which of those arguments do you find most persuasive?

Question 6

Explain why lies fail.

Question 7

What are the differences between "simple trust," "blind trust," and "authentic trust"? Give three examples of each that are drawn from your own life or your knowledge of the workplace.

Question 8

What is the difference between bullshitting and lying? Which is morally worse?

Question 9

Should companies test for honesty? What might be some problems with this practice? What about business schools?

Question 10

Do you expect to have to lie to succeed in business? Why or why not? What does your answer tell you about your understanding of the business world?

Question 11

Aristotle, Kant, and Mill have different reasons, but all agree that:

A) Lying is useful.
B) Lying is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.
C) Lying is sometimes necessary, as in the case of art.
D) Lying is wrong if it has bad consequences.
E) Lying is wrong and truthfulness is right.

Question 12

Carr argues that business bluffing is:

A) Really not ethical
B) Ethical when one is overseas
C) Good, as we must play to win in business
D) Objectively evil
E) Useless

Question 13

Carr argues that __________ is/are ethical in business.

A) bluffing
B) lying
C) cheating
D) none of the above
E) b and c

Question 14

Carr compares business with the game of:

A) Hide-and-seek
B) Football
C) Chess
D) Poker
E) Bear-baiting

Question 15

Carr points out that Rockefeller once claimed that __________ gave him his money.

A) the people
B) God
C) his parents
D) capitalism
E) none of the above

Question 16

Conflicts over secrecy, Bok argues, are conflicts over:

A) Truth
B) Power
C) Belief
D) Friendship
E) None of the above

Question 17

Bok claims that secrecy is importantly linked to:

A) Personhood
B) Privacy
C) Solitude
D) Consistency
E) Morality

Question 18

Bok argues that lying is prima facie wrong but __________ need not be.

A) deception
B) secrecy
C) bluffing
D) cheating
E) all of the above

Question 19

For Bok, secrecy overlaps with:

A) Privacy
B) Lying
C) The sacred
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 20

For Harry Frankfurt, bullshit is essentially:

A) False
B) True
C) Phony
D) Inferior to lies
E) Superior to lies

Question 21

According to Frankfurt, the difference between a liar and a bullshitter is:

A) The liar lies about something important, but the bullshitter just wants to entertain.
B) The liar says something known to be false, but the bullshitter doesn't care if the story is true or false.
C) The liar says something known to be false, but the bullshitter always tells the truth.
D) The liar is more likely to get away with it, but the bullshitter will probably get caught.
E) The liar lies for personal gain, but the bullshitter is just using imagination.

Question 22

In The Prince, Machiavelli refers to which of the following animals as a metaphor for cleverness and the ability to detect deception?

A) lion
B) centaur
C) wolf
D) fox
E) monkey

Question 23

Which of the following is not a quality Machiavelli says a good prince should project?:

A) frugality
B) humility
C) humanity
D) mercifulness
E) fidelity

Question 24

Ekman and Frank believe that lies fail for two basic sorts of reasons:

A) Thinking clues and planning mistakes
B) Emotional clues and physical clues
C) Physical clues and thinking clues
D) Thinking clues and emotional clues
E) Lie detectors and honesty tests

Question 25

Which of these is a "thinking clue" according to Ekman and Frank?

A) Showing signs of guilt while telling lies
B) Being afraid of getting caught
C) Narrowing your lips when angry
D) Feeling shame when someone catches you lying
E) Being inconsistent because you forgot the lie you told

Question 26

Lying about feelings is especially hard because:

A) People naturally want to be honest about their feelings.
B) It is hard to falsely portray emotion.
C) You may not have time to prepare a lie in advance.
D) There are no reliable behavioral signs of emotions.
E) Lie detectors will catch these lies.

Question 27

Solomon and Flores argue that trust is misunderstood because:

A) It is really the same thing as control.
B) It is a process, not a "thing."
C) It is not as important as people think.
D) It is more important than people think.
E) It simply happens and does not need to be discussed.

Question 28

A business tries to increase trust among employees and customers for the sole purpose of increasing efficiency and profitability. Solomon and Flores would say that:

A) The business is wrong, because trust decreases efficiency.
B) The business is being cynical, and no one will trust them.
C) The business does not understand trust.
D) The business is right, because trust should be considered a business tool.
E) The business is right, because the intention of trust is to increase efficiency.

Question 29

Authentic trust, according to Solomon and Flores, has which of these qualities?

A) It has been reflected on and understood .
B) It is stubborn and naïve.
C) It does not need to be discussed.
D) It is simple and unquestioned.
E) It always creates greater business efficiency.

Question 30

Frankel says that our attitude toward dishonesty has changed in what way?

A) There is more fraud and dishonesty now than in the past.
B) We are more likely to accept and justify dishonesty.
C) We are more trusting of and vulnerable toward dishonest people.
D) We are more likely to condemn and punish even small cases of dishonesty.
E) We are more likely to sue dishonest or deceitful people.

Question 31

Frankel mentions an alternative to trust, which is:

A) Culture
B) Morality
C) Honesty
D) Verification
E) Efficiency

Question 32

Frankel's article mentions three mechanisms that can support trust. These are:

A) Honesty, verification, and culture
B) Honesty, morality, and the law
C) Morality, the law, and the market
D) Morality, verification, and social habits
E) The law, the market, and the culture

Question 33

An analogy with poker is sometimes used to defend the notion of bluffing in business.

Question 34

Carr believes that businesspeople should not be expected to be completely honest.

Question 35

Lying and secrecy are two distinct concepts; they never overlap.

Question 36

Conflicts over secrecy are conflicts over power.

Question 37

"Bullshit" is essentially phony.

Question 38

According to Machiavelli, having the quality of honesty and always being truthful is useful for a prince.

Question 39

Machiavelli says a prince is not bound to keep faith with other princes because other princes are themselves likely to break faith.

Question 40

In Frankfurt's example, Simpson's father advocated lying at all costs.

Question 41

There are two basic reasons why lies fail-one that involves thinking, and one that involves emotions.

Question 42

If you want to pretend to be angry, the behavioral signs such as narrowing the lips are easy to fake.

Question 43

Solomon and Flores argue that control is an important part of trust.

Question 44

Solomon and Flores describe how to build trust and why it matters.

Question 45

Trust should be understood as a lubricant to make your business more efficient.

Question 46

Frankel shows that trust is needed when verification is difficult or impossible.

Question 47

Carr argues that __________ in business is an "integral part of the game."

Question 48

Bluffing and other forms of deception can undermine ________________.

Question 49

__________ argues that business bluffing is ethical.

Question 50

Bok explains the importance and dangers of __________.

Question 51

______________ is being protected from unwanted access by others.

Question 52

Intentional concealment is _________________.

Question 53

For Frankfurt, lying and bluffing are both modes of ____________.

Question 54

Frankfurt argues that the bullshitter has much more __________ than a liar.

Question 55

According to Machiavelli, it is not necessary for a prince to always actually be honest, but it is necessary for a prince to ___________ to be honest.

Question 56

According to ancient Greek mythology, children destined to be princes were given to _____________ for training, so they could learn to make use of both their human and animal natures.

Question 57

Ekman and Frank explain why __________ often fail.

Question 58

Solomon and Flores claim that there is a danger that __________ is being oversold.

Question 59

According to Solomon and Flores, talking about ____________ is the way to create it.

Question 60

___________ habits are the ways people expect themselves and others to behave.

Question 61

Frankel says that our moral feelings can be strengthened or weakened by _______________.

Question 62

An accountant is sued for dishonest behavior and loses his license. This is an example of the ______________ regulating dishonesty.

Question 63

A financial planner gets a reputation for dishonesty and loses most of her clients. This is an example of the ???______________ regulating dishonesty.