Question 1

Jack flipped a coin five times and each time it came up heads.His friend Atmel saw this and bet Jack that the next flip would come up tails.Atmel figured that it was overdue for a tails and so tails was a more likely outcome in the next flip.Atmel has fallen prey to:

Accepted Answer

The belief that independent prior outcomes affect future outcomes is called a gambler's fallacy.It can lead to wrong conclusions and bad decision making by managers,who wrongly attribute success to various causes.

Question 2

"Your decision will be better for your firm and other stakeholders if you consider your selfish interest." Considering that this statement is true,which of the following prescribed guidelines for ethical decision making should you focus on?

Accepted Answer

At least two reasons explain why you can and should consider your own interest yet act ethically for your firm.First,as the decision maker,you are impacted by the decision.Second,and more important,reason to consider your own interest is that your decision may be better for your firm and other stakeholders if you also consider your selfish interest.

Question 3

Bob DeSlob,CEO of Westlake Inc. ,had supported the development and distribution of the Super Widget,a product that is expensive to make.The Super Widget failed to meet its expected sales.Bob,now,decides to invest more resources to produce and aggressively market the Super Widget,rationalizing that if he did not invest more in the product,what he has invested would be lost.Bob is engaging in:

Accepted Answer

Sunk cost fallacy is an attempt to recover invested time,money,and other resources by spending still more resources.Bob is wasting resources in an attempt to do something that he failed in the first attempt.

Question 4

Guilty by association is a form of:

Accepted Answer

Guilty by association is an argumentum ad hominem in which a speaker is attacked for his/her association with something unpopular.

Question 5

Carol,an Acme Co.employee,regularly takes pens,paper,and other office supplies from the Acme office supply cabinet and brings them home for her husband to use in his home office.Carol defends this action by saying that: "I don't get paid enough,and besides,no one will miss the supplies." This statement is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A non sequitur is a conclusion that does not follow from the facts or premises that one sets out and the speaker comes to an irrelevant conclusion.The point here is not whether the Carol is getting paid enough or not,it is simply whether she is right in bringing office stationery home.

Question 6

An "argumentum ad populum" used in an argument is a wrong conclusion:

Accepted Answer

Argumentum ad populum means argument to the people.It is an emotional appeal to popular beliefs,values,or wants.The fallacy is that merely because many or all people believe something does not mean it is true.

Question 7

What two conditions must be met if profit-maximization is to maximize utility?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What two conditions must be met if...

Question 8

How can a corporation improve its corporate governance and corporate responsibility?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How can a corporation improve its corporate...

Question 9

Which of the following attacks the speaker for his argument,not his reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Argumentum ad hominem means "argument against the man." This tactic attacks the speaker,not his reasoning.

Question 10

Which of the following critical thinking errors is likely to occur among the subordinates if a leader is unethical?

Accepted Answer

No one can lead ethically who does not attempt and mostly succeed in behaving ethically in her business and personal life.Few underlings respect an unethical leader,and many will be tempted to rationalize their own unethical conduct when they see their leaders acting unethically.They fall prey to the bandwagon fallacy,arguing for example that since the CFO is doing something wrong,so may they.

Question 11

Bennett is in the process of making an important decision for his firm.Which of the following actions strengthens the argument that Bennett is a utilitarian?

Accepted Answer

A utilitarian would choose the alternative that promises the highest net welfare to society as a whole.

Question 12

A _____ argument states that we should or should not do something merely because one or more other people or firms do or do not do it.

Accepted Answer

The bandwagon fallacy is similar to argumentum ad populum.A bandwagon argument states that we should or should not do something merely because one or more other people or firms do or do not do it.

Question 13

The last tactic to adopt in resisting a request to act unethically is to:

Accepted Answer

Preparing to lose the job should be a person's last tactic in resisting a request to act unethically,this is because by quitting or losing your job you are deprived of your ability to help the firm make ethical decisions.

Question 14

Bill,a senior manager at Bizlaw Inc. ,instructs Kim,a mid-level manager,to make false statements on the performance evaluation of Gloria,one of Kim's employees,who recently filed a discrimination claim against Bill.Bill tells Kim,"Look around you.Every manager makes up stories about employees Bizlaw wants to get rid of." Bill's argument illustrates:

Accepted Answer

A bandwagon argument or fallacy states that we should do or not do something merely because others are doing it.The mere fact that others are doing it does not make an action correct or ethical.

Question 15

Which of the following is also called the slippery slope fallacy?

Accepted Answer

Reductio ad absurdum carries an argument to its logical end,without considering whether it is an inevitable or probable result.This is often called the slippery slope fallacy.

Question 16

Debra asks Alex,her stock broker,if she can trust his advice to purchase the stocks for Acme Co.Alex replies,"Of course you can." Debra asks,"Why should I trust you?" Alex says,with a smile,"Because I am a trustworthy person." Alex is engaging in:

Accepted Answer

Alex is engaging in circular reasoning because he merely restates what Debra is saying,although in different words.He does not actually answer her question properly.

Question 17

Speedster is an automobile manufacturing company that has a factory in Seattle,Washington.It has placed Keith McShane,the operations head of the factory,in charge of investigating the firm's decision whether to move the factory to Qingdao,China.Keith is against the idea of the factory relocating to Qingdao because his fellow Americans will lose their jobs to the Chinese.Therefore,he is desperately searching for information that favors Seattle over Qingdao.Which of the following prescribed guidelines for ethical decision making will Keith need to focus on to make an unbiased,ethical decision?

Accepted Answer

Many people enter a decision-making process biased in favor of a particular option.As a result,they look only for facts that support that option.Keith should search for all the facts that are related to Seattle and Qingdao and make an unbiased decision based on the information favoring either Seattle or Qingdao.

Question 18

Trisha has been given the responsibility of making an important decision for her firm.Which of the following actions strengthens the argument that Trisha is a justice theorist?

Accepted Answer

A justice theorist would choose the alternative that allocates society's benefits and burden most fairly.This requires the decision maker to consider whether everyone is getting what he deserves.

Question 19

A "non sequitur" used in an argument is a wrong conclusion:

Accepted Answer

A non sequitur is a conclusion that does not follow from the facts or premises one sets out.The speaker is missing the point or coming to an irrelevant conclusion.

Question 20

What three things are seen in the corporate scandals of 2002,such as Enron and WorldCom?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What three things are seen in the...

Quiz 4: Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance, and Critical Thinking