Deck 4: Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Question 1

To the extent that values vary among people,we can expect different interpretations of what behaviour is ethical or unethical in a given situation.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The six pillars of character include trustworthiness,respect,responsibility,fairness,caring,and citizenship.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Ethics reflects)the code of moral principles that sets standards as to what is "good" versus "bad" or "right" versus "wrong" in people's conduct,and thereby guides their moral choices and behaviours.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Interactional justice is the degree to which policies and rules are fairly administered in an organization.

Question 5

In contemporary organizations,the moral-rights view concerns the protection of employees with respect to their rights to privacy,due process,free speech,free consent,health and safety,and freedom of conscience.

Question 6

Variation in values among people has little,if any,impact on differences in people's interpretations of behaviour as being ethical or unethical in a given situation.

Question 7

The justice view of ethical behaviour focuses on treating people impartially and fairly according to guiding rules and standards.

Question 8

Results-oriented performance criteria are consistent with the utilitarian view of ethics.

Question 9

Most ethical problems in the workplace arise when people are asked to do or are about to do something that challenges their terminal and instrumental values.

Question 10

Ethical behaviour refers to what is considered to be "good" or "right" behaviour as opposed to what is "bad" or "wrong" behaviour in the context of the governing moral code.

Question 11

Instrumental values are preferences regarding desired ends.

Question 12

"When in Rome,do as the Romans do" is a classic example of the ethical perspective of cultural relativism.

Question 13

The individualism view of ethical behaviour focuses on the pursuit of long-term self-interests.

Question 14

The utilitarian view of ethical behaviour focuses on treating people impartially and fairly in accordance with guiding rules and standards.

Question 15

A person who adopts the perspective of cultural relativism assumes that ethical standards should apply absolutely across cultures and national boundaries.

Question 16

The individualism view is supposed to promote personal enrichment but in business practice it may actually result in organizational enrichment.

Question 17

An individual whose ethical behaviour protects and respects the fundamental rights of all human beings is practising the moral-rights view of ethics.

Question 18

Self-respect,freedom,happiness,inner harmony,and family security are examples of terminal values;and courage,imagination,ambition,self-discipline,and honesty are examples of instrumental values.

Question 19

The concept of procedural justice is concerned that policies and rules are fairly applied.

Question 20

Taking several pens from the office and giving them to family members is an example of living up to the "letter of the law".

Question 21

When some action must be taken but there is not a clear "right" or "wrong" approach,a person is faced with an ethical dilemma.

Question 22

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act created the mechanism for governmental supervision of the liquidation of Enron and Arthur Andersen.

Question 23

A survey of Harvard Business Review subscribers revealed that many ethical dilemmas involve conflicts with superiors,subordinates,and customers.

Question 24

A manager who operates in a foreign country with the premise that ethical behaviour is always determined by its cultural context is adopting a perspective of universalism.

Question 25

Making sure that everyone knows wrongdoing will be punished whenever it is discovered is an appropriate method for dealing with the rationalization that "no one will ever know about the unethical behaviour."

Question 26

A key issue in dealing with whether a situation is ethical or not is the risk of public disclosure.

Question 27

The conditions that raise the ethics intensity of a situation include the magnitude,probability,and immediacy of any potential harm,the proximity and concentration of the effects,and social consensus.

Question 28

Ethical imperialism is the attempt to externally impose one's ethical standards on others.

Question 29

The virtues of honesty,fairness,integrity,and self-respect provide ethical frameworks that help people make correct decisions even when circumstances are ambiguous and situational pressures are difficult.

Question 30

Factors influencing ethical managerial behaviour include the person,the employing organization,and the external environment.

Question 31

Ethics intensity or issue intensity indicates the degree to which an issue or situation is recognized to pose important ethical challenges.

Question 32

An ethical framework is a personal rule or strategy for making ethical decisions.

Question 33

The behaviour of supervisors and the expectations of peers are organizational factors that influence ethical behaviour.

Question 34

Keeping a safe workplace;creating a corporate culture that values employees,customers,and suppliers;and producing safe products and services are universal core values that respect human dignity.

Question 35

Environmental factors that affect the ethical standards of an organization and its employees include social norms and values,competition within an industry,and governmental laws and regulations.

Question 36

Core values or "hyper-norms" that transcend cultural boundaries focus on human dignity,basic rights,and good citizenship.

Question 37

Ethical dilemmas frequently involve conflicts of interest,issues of customer confidence,or use of organizational resources,but seldom concern discrimination or sexual harassment.

Question 38

The results of a Harvard Business Review survey indicated that the ethical issue most frequently encountered by the magazine's subscribers involved dishonesty in communication with subordinates.

Question 39

Personal factors such as religious values and family influences have little effect on managerial ethics,whereas personal standards and needs have a great deal of impact on managerial ethics.

Question 40

An ethical dilemma occurs when there is a situation that offers potential benefit or gain and is also unethical.

Question 41

An amoral manager is one who fails to consider or disregards the ethical implications of his or her behaviour.

Question 42

Moral managers are leaders who possess ethics mindfulness.

Question 43

A moral manager is one who considers the ethical implications of his or her behaviour and actions.

Question 44

Exposure to a multi-step process for dealing with ethical dilemmas is an appropriate component of an ethics training program.

Question 45

Housing and job training for the homeless,bringing technology to poor families,improving literacy among disadvantaged youth,and making small loans to start minority-owned businesses are all examples of social entrepreneurship.

Question 46

An immoral manager is one who fails to consider or disregards the ethical implications of his or her behaviour.

Question 47

Codes of ethical conduct can guarantee ethical conduct.

Question 48

Impaired career progress and various retaliatory actions,up to and including termination,are among the potential risks faced by people who act as whistleblowers.

Question 49

Amoral and immoral leaders can be just as influential as moral leaders.

Question 50

Unethical behaviour seldom occurs as a result of excessive pressure by management for the accomplishment of very difficult or complex goals.

Question 51

Organizational barriers to whistle blowing include a strict chain of command,strong work group identities,and ambiguous priorities.

Question 52

To set the proper ethical tone for the organization,top management should communicate expectations for ethical behaviour throughout the organization,reinforce ethical behaviour,and be role models of ethical behaviour.

Question 53

Only top management needs to act as ethical role models.

Question 54

Moral leaders are more influential than either amoral or immoral leaders.

Question 55

A whistleblower is a person who exposes the misdeeds of others in an attempt to divert attention from his or her own unethical behaviour.

Question 56

The mission of social entrepreneurship is to solve pressing social problems.

Question 57

Codes of ethics may identify expected behaviours in terms of general organizational citizenship,the avoidance of illegal or improper employee behaviour,and customer relations.

Question 58

Formal codes of ethics are usually concerned with expressing how employees may be expected to behave in terms of customer-supplier relationships,political contributions,confidentiality of corporate information,and response to bribes and kickbacks.

Question 59

An immoral manager is one who makes a conscious decision to behave in an unethical manner.

Question 60

Ethics mindfulness is a state of awareness that causes a person to behave in an ethical manner from one situation to another.

Question 61

A firm is meeting its legal responsibility when it voluntarily conforms to legal as well as broader values and moral expectations of society.

Question 62

The socioeconomic view of social responsibility holds that management's only responsibility in managing a business is to maximize profits.

Question 63

An organization that is following a proactive social responsibility strategy would both take preventive action to avoid adverse social impacts from company activities and take a leadership role in identifying and responding to emerging social issues,thereby satisfying economic,legal,ethical,and discretionary responsibilities.

Question 64

Advocates of corporate social responsibility assert that businesses have the resources and obligation to act in socially responsible ways,and that it decreases the need for restrictive government regulation,improves the public image of business,and may improve or determine long-run profits.

Question 65

Organizational stakeholders are the persons,groups,and other organizations directly affected by the behaviour of an organization and holding a stake in its performance.

Question 66

When corporate social performance focuses on acting to create positive impact,the company's actions are driven by compliance.

Question 67

A social responsibility audit is a systematic assessment and reporting of an organization's accomplishments in various areas of corporate social responsibility.

Question 68

Discretionary responsibility occurs when an organization voluntarily moves beyond basic economic,legal,and ethical expectations to provide leadership in advancing the well-being of individuals,communities,and society as a whole.

Question 69

The value of an ethics code relies on the organization's underlying human resource foundation.

Question 70

Corporate governance is defined as the way that governments regulate corporations.

Question 71

The defensive strategy involves a corporate social responsibility commitment that meets economic and legal responsibilities,and seeks to protect the organization by doing the minimum legally required to satisfy expectations.

Question 72

From the perspective of a stakeholder model,any organization has a social responsibility to serve the interests of its many stakeholders.

Question 73

Corporate governance is defined as the oversight of the actions and decisions of top management of an organization by the board of directors.

Question 74

A whistleblower is someone who exposes the misdeeds of others in an organization in an attempt to preserve ethical standards and protect against wasteful,harmful,or illegal acts.

Question 75

The effectiveness of corporate governance has been criticized because ethical failures and scandals have raised concerns about executives' commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Question 76

Corporate governance typically involves hiring,firing,and compensating the chief executive officer CEO);assessing strategy;and verifying financial records.

Question 77

According to its opponents,corporate social responsibility will raise business costs,reduce business profits,dilute the purpose of business,and give business too much social power.

Question 78

The classical view of social responsibility maintains that the organization must be concerned with the broader social welfare and not just with corporate profits.

Question 79

An organization is meeting its ethical responsibility when it is in compliance with the law and requirements of various external regulations.

Question 80

The obstructionist strategy involves a corporate social responsibility commitment that reflects mainly economic concerns and meets the organization's economic responsibility.