Deck 2: Business Ethics and Social Responsibility: Doing Well by Doing Good

Question 1

Marty Watkins is upset about his current salary at Right Touch Car Wash Inc. In order to increase his income, he begins charging customers more for each car wash and pocketing the difference. His actions are not unethical because Right Touch will not suffer a financial loss.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The best approach to ethical decision making is to rely on relative standards rather than universal standards.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Ben and Josh are good friends who are working on a team assignment in statistics. They had planned to work on the project last night, but Josh called at the last minute saying he had a conflict, so Ben ended up doing all of the work. The instructor is giving each student the opportunity to critique the effort of his or her partner. Ben knows Josh needs the points on the assignment in order to pass the course and would like to keep Josh as a friend. If Ben decides to say that Josh deserves equal credit, he would be using relative ethical standards.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Universal ethical standards are ethical norms that apply to people across a broad spectrum of situations.

Question 5

All acts that are illegal must also be unethical.

Question 6

Ethics and social responsibility are just two different terms that mean the same thing.

Question 7

Ethical standards are established based on guidelines provided by the Canadian government.

Question 8

Cheaters in high school are far more likely to lie as adults.

Question 9

Sally is responsible for ensuring that all equipment is placed in its proper location at the end of her work shift. She notices that one employee always leaves his equipment on the floor, but he is one of the top performers. Sally ignores the employee's negligence and stores the equipment in its proper location. Sally is displaying her individual ethics.

Question 10

An ethical dilemma is a situation in which there is a single choice that is obviously correct, but the correct choice will result in negative consequences.

Question 11

Amy works on a sales team with many male colleagues. Many times she arrives at work and hears the men speaking about sexual relations with their partners. They discuss female body parts and look at Amy and make gestures. Amy feels uncomfortable in this workplace atmosphere and has asked them to stop this behaviour many times. The men are engaging in behaviour that is both illegal and unethical.

Question 12

An individual's ethical beliefs are influenced by his or her social group and culture.

Question 13

Universal ethical standards also apply to international businesses.

Question 14

It is possible for someone's actions to be completely legal yet still be unethical.

Question 15

Business ethics is the application of right and wrong, good and bad, in a business setting.

Question 16

An ethical dilemma refers to a situation in which an individual clearly has performed some kind of misconduct.

Question 17

The easiest business challenges to address are those involving business ethics.

Question 18

Jim was low on money and had access to the coffee fund at work (employee contributions to buy more coffee for the office coffee machine). He had been with his company for over 12 years without incident. He decided to take $15 from the coffee fund, thinking that no one would notice. This is an example of an ethical lapse.

Question 19

When all is said and done, all choices and actions have definite ethical implications.

Question 20

Managers should not be expected to apply ethical guidelines to issues that directly affect their company's profits.

Question 21

The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) suggests that organizational culture influences the ethical conduct of employees.

Question 22

Some firms only operate within the legal limits of the law, and do not contribute to the well-being of their stakeholders.

Question 23

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation regularly donates money to provide vaccines for people living in third world countries, addressing the elimination of some basic childhood diseases. Their work demonstrates social responsibility.

Question 24

According to a group of residents who live in a neighbourhood a few kilometres from an Early Oil Company refinery, the plant's emissions are a likely cause of severe headaches and other health problems among young people. Since these residents are not customers, employers, or investors in the company, Early Oil has no social responsibility to these individuals.

Question 25

A corporate code of ethics guarantees that employees will not participate in unethical behaviours while at work.

Question 26

A code of ethics should be local in scope, because it is far too difficult to ensure that employees in every country understand the general principles and specific applications.

Question 27

Most writers on the topic of ethics would agree that the ethics of a firm is strongly influenced by the CEO's ethical standards.

Question 28

Whistleblowers desire to bring illegal, and sometimes unethical, company behaviour to the attention of regulators and advocacy groups.

Question 29

A manager advises his company that a vendor will offer the company a discount if contracts are renewed another 12 months. This is an example of an unethical business practice.

Question 30

The law regulates standards of behaviour; however, it does not enforce ethical norms. Therefore, companies should focus on the legality of their actions and not worry about their ethical implications.

Question 31

A written code of ethics provides guidelines for ethical behaviour in the workplace.

Question 32

A company's code of ethics gives employees the information they need to make ethical decisions across a range of situations.

Question 33

The ethical standards a company establishes should be clearly communicated to outside parties such as suppliers and customers.

Question 34

In order to make ethical decisions, it is helpful to think about several questions, including (1) who will be impacted by the decision, (2) who will benefit from the decision, and (3) who will suffer from the decision.

Question 35

Specific codes of ethics vary greatly among organizations.

Question 36

A question to ask when making a decision based on individual ethical beliefs is: Could you defend your decision on national television?

Question 37

Companies that protect whistleblowers encourage employees to be forthcoming with information that could be detrimental to the company.

Question 38

Managers of socially responsible companies are guaranteed to make ethical decisions, regardless of the situation.

Question 39

Studies have shown that as long as a company establishes a written code of ethics, it doesn't really have to actively enforce that code in order for it to be effective.

Question 40

Companies should discourage whistleblowing because it creates an atmosphere of fear and mistrust.

Question 41

Consumerism is an accepted social movement pertaining to the responsibility organizations have to customers.

Question 42

Companies typically enter into cause-related marketing programs to help a not-for-profit organization achieve a worthy cause and have little expectation that this partnership will benefit their own brand.

Question 43

The primary responsibility of any business to its investors is to ensure positive company reputation.

Question 44

Corporate responsibility refers to the contributions of money and time to help achieve socially responsible goals.

Question 45

Total Bedlam Video Games has had the number one action video game on the market for the past two years. The company is currently working on a sequel to the game, with better video and audio and several new types of missions. While the old game still works fine and should retain a loyal following, the company hopes that its new game will rapidly gain market acceptance due to its many enhancements. This represents a strategy known as planned obsolescence.

Question 46

An example of a socially responsible employer is one that responds to the ongoing employee search for a balance between work and the rest of their lives.

Question 47

Cause-related marketing dollars are not tax deductible for a company, but often enhance the company's brand.

Question 48

A company demonstrates its corporate philanthropy when it allows employees time off to volunteer at community events.

Question 49

Fast food restaurants can meet one of their social responsibilities to customers by offering menu items such as fruit, yogurt, and salads, which provide healthier choices.

Question 50

A socially responsible business might move beyond minimal safety requirements by providing employees with ergonomically correct chairs.

Question 51

Planned obsolescence designs products with limited durability in order to shorten the time between consumer purchases.

Question 52

Managers of socially responsible businesses proactively support stakeholders' needs.

Question 53

The U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires CEOs and CFOs to review the company's financial records and verify that their contents are valid.

Question 54

Sustainable development means to continually be developing new products and locations.

Question 55

When a business makes a mistake, even a sincere apology cannot restore the company's reputation.

Question 56

The U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act was created to set higher ethical standards for public corporations and accounting firms.

Question 57

Stakeholders have a personal interest in the performance and activities of an organization.

Question 58

The federal government is a core stakeholder for all businesses.

Question 59

Core stakeholder groups for most businesses are employees, customers, investors, and the broader community.

Question 60

Consumerism focuses on the right to purchase products regardless of the consumer's buying power.

Question 61

The "double bottom line" referred to in a social audit measures a firm's philanthropic activities and its hiring practices.

Question 62

Canadian companies such as Home Depot and Sears need not be concerned with child labour laws in the nations where they contract-manufacture their product lines, as long as the laws of those nations permit children to work long hours in factories.

Question 63

A social audit evaluates how well a firm is meeting its ethics and social responsibility objectives.

Question 64

The most socially responsible global companies establish codes of conduct for their vendors, setting clear policies for human rights, wages, safety, and environmental impact.

Question 65

Every January Procter & Gamble distributes special coupons for some of its leading brands and pays the Special Olympics 10 cents for every redeemed coupon. This tie-in between Procter & Gamble and the Special Olympics is an example of cause-related marketing.

Question 66

Bribery and corruption are among the most challenging ethical issues faced by individuals and companies that are involved in international business.

Question 67

The law is very clear about when a gift becomes a bribe and organizations need to know and follow the law.

Question 68

"Carbon footprint" refers to the improvements a company initiates within its community.

Question 69

A socially responsible company entrusts a watchdog group to provide solutions to unethical behaviours.

Question 70

Transparency International enforces regulations whereby organizations must publish their annual reports.

Question 71

Socially responsible companies use social audits to determine if an employee's ethical needs are to be adjusted.

Question 72

Most consumers are willing to pay significantly higher prices and accept somewhat lower performance in order to purchase goods that are environmentally friendly.

Question 73

Although cause-related marketing can help a company meet its social responsibilities, it doesn't help build the company's brands.

Question 74

By spending time and money on ergonomically enhanced facilities that promote employee health and safety, firms demonstrate socially responsible behaviour.

Question 75

Before conducting a successful social audit, a company must define socially responsible goals and determine realistic measurements for those goals.

Question 76

In most countries, "to pay a living wage" means to pay workers enough to provide for a comfortable lifestyle for their families.

Question 77

Stakeholders play an active role in keeping businesses socially responsible.

Question 78

Triple Play, an upscale club, has established a set of goals related to its social and ethical responsibilities. Triple Play's efforts are consistent with the use of a social audit.

Question 79

A business using a green marketing strategy promotes environmentally safe products in an effort to gain a competitive edge within an industry.

Question 80

Kleen Things, a mobile dry-cleaning service, provides pick-up and drop-off services to its customers. Although there is a delivery/pick-up charge, Kleen Things offers a 50% discount if customers return the hangers. This is an example of sustainable development.