Deck 10: Business Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability

Question 1

More and more firms believe that ethics training and an ethics culture

A) are socially irresponsible.
B) are admirable but damage a firm's competitive positioning.
C) are costly and provide no practical benefit to the company.
D) create strategic advantage.
E) can tarnish the reputation of a firm.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A clear code of business ethics is a key ingredient in the establishment of an ethics culture.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Dumping banned or flawed products in foreign markets is considered to be an unethical business practice.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Simply having a code of ethics

A) will ensure ethical business behavior.
B) eliminates the need for periodic ethics workshops.
C) is all that is necessary to sensitize people to workplace circumstances in which ethics issues may arise.
D) is insufficient to guarantee that employees behave in an ethical manner.
E) secures an ethics culture in the workplace.

Question 5

Which of the following business actions is considered to be unethical?

A) Having satisfactory product or service safety
B) Selling products in foreign markets
C) Providing equal opportunities for women and minorities
D) Filing expense accounts
E) Misleading labeling

Question 6

Business ethics can be defined as principles of conduct within organizations that guide decision making and behavior.

Question 7

________ are the individuals primarily responsible for ensuring that high ethical principles are espoused and practiced in an organization.

A) Non-management employees
B) Mid-level managers
C) Shareholders
D) Strategists such as CEOs and business owners
E) Governmental regulatory bodies

Question 8

All of the following business actions are considered to be unethical EXCEPT

A) dumping banned or flawed products in foreign markets.
B) preventing environmental harm.
C) overpricing.
D) sexual harassment.
E) insider trading.

Question 9

Bad ethics can ________ strategic plans.

A) derail all but the best
B) derail even the best
C) derail only poorly-intentioned
D) derail only ill-conceived
E) never affect

Question 10

Bad ethics can derail all but the best strategic plans.

Question 11

Good ethics is not a prerequisite for good strategic management.

Question 12

According to a study by the Institute of Business Ethics, companies that do not display ethical conduct consistently outperform companies that show a clear commitment to ethical conduct.

Question 13

Firms can align ethical and strategic decision making by

A) omitting ethical considerations from long-term planning.
B) excluding ethical decision making from the performance appraisal process.
C) discouraging whistle-blowing.
D) monitoring departmental and corporate performance regarding ethical issues.
E) All of the above

Question 14

Responsibility for encouraging ethical decision making and ensuring ethical behavior in a firm lies

A) only with a firm's strategists.
B) only with a firm's managers.
C) only with a firm's shareholders.
D) with both a firm's strategists and its managers.
E) with neither a firm's strategists nor its managers.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a way that companies can help create an ethical culture in their organization?

A) Outlining ethical expectations
B) Giving examples of ethical situations that commonly occur in their businesses
C) Providing code-of-conduct manuals
D) Creating interactive exercises that pose hypothetical ethical dilemmas
E) Discouraging whistle-blowing

Question 16

Many people consider it unethical for a firm to be socially irresponsible.

Question 17

A well written code of ethics ensures ethical business behavior.

Question 18

Periodic ethics workshops can help sensitize people to workplace circumstances in which ethics issues may arise.

Question 19

CEOs and business owners should delegate the responsibility for ensuring that high ethical principles are espoused and practiced in an organization.

Question 20

A rising tide of consciousness about the importance of business ethics is sweeping the United States and the rest of the world.

Question 21

Discuss a code of business ethics and its role in an organization.

Question 22

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and a new provision in the Dodd-Frank financial regulation-law allows company employees who bring cases of financial fraud, such as bribery, to the government's attention to receive ________ percent of any sum recovered.

A) less than 10
B) exactly 20
C) up to 30
D) about 40
E) at least 50

Question 23

Integrating ethical decision making into the performance appraisal process is one way that firms can align ethical and strategic decision making.

Question 24

Monitoring departmental and corporate performance regarding ethical issues can cause firms to misalign ethical and strategic decision making.

Question 25

History has proven that the lower the trust and confidence of people in the ethics of an institution or society, the greater its economic strength.

Question 26

Primary responsibility for ensuring ethical behavior rests with middle- and low-level managers, since they are in a position to influence many employees.

Question 27

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, ________ percent of all firms sampled had no restrictions on boss-subordinate love affairs at work.

A) 5
B) 13
C) 24
D) 39
E) 80

Question 28

The United Kingdom's new Bribery Law

A) is less stringent than the similar U.S. FCPA.
B) carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence for those convicted of bribery.
C) allows foreign companies doing business in the United Kingdom to bribe officials if that is their national convention.
D) stipulates that failure to prevent bribery is an offense.
E) All of the above

Question 29

Bribery involves

A) bestowing a gift to influence the recipient's conduct.
B) requiring employees to report any unethical violations they discover or see in the firm.
C) prohibiting love affairs between bosses and their subordinates.
D) encouraging firms to play a role in curing society of its ills.
E) forcing companies to take responsibility for the impact their actions have on society.

Question 30

Within an organization, who is responsible for providing ethics leadership?

Question 31

A bribe is a gift bestowed to influence a recipient's conduct.

Question 32

Three individuals received $170 million for helping investigators obtain a record $16.65 billion penalty against Bank of America for inflating the value of mortgage properties and selling defective loans to investors.

Question 33

________ refers to refers to employees reporting any unethical violations they discover or see in the firm.

A) Whistle-blowing
B) Bribery
C) Adultery
D) Sustainability
E) Stewardship

Question 34

In order to be considered bribery, the gift offered must be either money or a physical item.

Question 35

Whistle-blowing refers to employees reporting unethical behavior that they discover or see in the firm.

Question 36

More and more firms believe that ethics training and an ethics culture create strategic advantage.

Question 37

Discuss how business ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability are interrelated.

Question 38

Describe how organizations can create an ethics "culture."

Question 39

In some foreign countries, paying bribes and kickbacks has historically been acceptable.

Question 40

Most firms warn managers and employees that reporting an ethical violation by others could cause them to be discharged.

Question 41

Workplace romance and sexual harassment are synonymous.

Question 42

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and a new provision in the Dodd-Frank financial regulation-law allows company employees who bring cases of financial fraud, such as bribery, to the government's attention to receive at least 30 percent of any sum recovered.

Question 43

European firms are increasingly adopting explicit, American-style sexual harassment laws.

Question 44

Business ethics, ________, and sustainability issues are interrelated and impact all areas of the comprehensive strategic-management model.

A) social responsibility
B) social networking
C) fiscal irresponsibility
D) cultural indifference
E) None of the above

Question 45

Ralph Nader believes that big firms like ExxonMobil have an obligation to help society cure its many ills.

Question 46

A Wall Street Journal article reported that 80 percent of all firms sampled had no restrictions on relationships between a supervisor and a subordinate.

Question 47

All of the following are reasons that workplace romance can be detrimental to workplace morale and productivity EXCEPT

A) favoritism complaints can arise.
B) personal arguments can lead to work arguments.
C) whispering secrets can lead to tensions and hostilities among coworkers.
D) increased quality and quantity of work can occur.
E) sexual harassment charges may ensue, either by the involved female or a third party.

Question 48

Some strategists agree with Ralph Nader, who asserts that organizations have no obligation to do any more for society than is legally required.

Question 49

Workplace romance

A) is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
B) is defined as illegal by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
C) should be strictly forbidden by organizations.
D) simply happens so organizations should determine how to best manage the phenomenon.
E) is an intimate relationship between two employees, one of whom is not consenting.

Question 50

According to the text, the first social responsibility of any business is to

A) make enough profit to cover the costs of the future, because if this is not achieved then no other social responsibility can be met.
B) avoid laying off employees so as to protect the employees' livelihood, even if that decision may force the firm to liquidate.
C) engage in social activities that have no economic benefits, to avoid the appearance of a public relations gimmick.
D) offer courses and training in environmental management.
E) None of the above

Question 51

Japan's prescription for dealing with problems associated with an aging society includes

A) relying on large-scale immigration.
B) providing incentives for its elderly to retire at ages 55 to 60.
C) reversing the old-fashioned trend of keeping women at home.
D) enacting laws against discrimination based on age.
E) phasing in a shift from age 55 to age 60 as the date when a person may begin receiving a pension.

Question 52

Explain why it is important to encourage whistle-blowing in a firm.

Question 53

Which is a rule from the Wall Street Journal article "The New Rules of Flirting"?

A) Do not flirt within a relationship that you want to strengthen.
B) Flirt with someone you know is looking for a relationship if you are not interested in a new relationship.
C) Flirt to make your partner jealous.
D) Flirting between power differences, such as boss and employee, is usually fine.
E) Do not make physical contact with the person you are flirting with, unless it is within a desired relationship.

Question 54

Why should companies have policies addressing workplace romance?

Question 55

In Europe, romantic relationships at work are frowned upon, and most firms have policies prohibiting the practice.

Question 56

The "United Kingdom Bribery Law" is more stringent than the similar U.S. FCPA.

Question 57

The percentage of persons age 65 or older exceeds 20 percent in Japan, Italy, and

A) Germany.
B) the United States.
C) France.
D) China.
E) all of the above

Question 58

Japan is suffering from a decline in overall economic production

A) due to its growing population.
B) related to the declining age of its workforce.
C) because of a surge in the number of its taxpaying workers.
D) since worker productivity increases are not able to offset declines in number of workers.
E) because more and more women are working outside the home.

Question 59

Firms should strive to engage in social activities that

A) have economic benefits.
B) have no economic benefits.
C) are detrimental to economic growth.
D) drain financial resources.
E) garner goodwill only, not profits.

Question 60

Social policy can best be defined as

A) the responsibilities a firm has to employees, consumers, environmentalists, minorities, communities, shareholders, and other groups.
B) a document providing behavioral guidelines that cover daily activities and decisions within a firm.
C) an SEC mandate to report any unethical behavior.
D) the legal requirement to reveal how a firm's operations impact the natural environment.
E) mandatory technical standards that result in an environmental management system.

Question 61

In Japan, Italy, and Germany the percentage of the population age 65 or older exceeds 20 percent.

Question 62

Japan is providing incentives to work until ages 65-75.

Question 63

Unlike Japan, the United States has no law against discrimination based on age.

Question 64

A document that discloses to shareholders information about a firm's labor practices, product sourcing, energy efficiency, environmental impact, and business ethics practices is known as

A) a code of ethics.
B) a sustainability report.
C) an EMS.
D) ISO 14000.
E) green terminology.

Question 65

Which state generates the greatest number of megawatts of wind power?

A) Texas
B) Iowa
C) California
D) Minnesota
E) New Jersey

Question 66

The first social responsibility of any business must be to make enough profit to cover the costs of the future because if this is not achieved, no other social responsibility can be met.

Question 67

Social responsibility refers to actions an organization takes that are legally required to protect or enhance the well-being of living things.

Question 68

Orphan drugs offer pharmaceutical companies no economic incentive for profitable development and distribution.

Question 69

The percentage of persons age 65 or older will reach 20 percent in the United States in 2018.

Question 70

If a firm has a bad sustainability record this will

A) help a firm in the market.
B) improve a firm's standing in the community.
C) increase investor scrutiny of the firm.
D) deflect the scrutiny of a firm by environmentalists.
E) release the firm from governmental reporting obligations.

Question 71

After decades of debate and struggle, the business community has finally definitively determined the appropriate social policies.

Question 72

Unlike the United States, Japan has no law against discrimination based on age.

Question 73

Like the United States, Japan is eager to rely on large-scale immigration to bolster its workforce.

Question 74

Contrast Ralph Nader's and Milton Friedman's positions on social responsibility. With whose view do you agree?

Question 75

Discuss how Japan is dealing with problems associated with an aging and shrinking workforce.

Question 76

Social policy concerns the responsibilities the firm has to employees, consumers, environmentalists, minorities, communities, shareholders, and other groups.

Question 77

Corporate social policy should be reaffirmed or changed during strategy implementation.

Question 78

Firms should strive to engage in social activities that have no economic benefits, to avoid their being viewed as public relations ploys.

Question 79

Corporate social policy should be designed and articulated during strategy formulation.

Question 80

Microsoft, Verizon, and Apple are among the ten best companies in the world for social responsibility according to Forbes.