Deck 4: Managing Ethical and Social Responsibility Challenges in Multinational Companies

Question 1

According to the FCPA,U.S.managers are criminally liable

A) Only for bribes that they pay directly to a foreign official.
B) Only for bribes paid in the U.S.and not in other countries where it is common practice in business dealings.
C) For all bribes by employees or agents of the U.S.company even if the U.S.managers do not know about them.
D) For bribes paid by foreign agents,if managers know about them.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Stealing a loaf of bread to feed a hungry family can be justified by which ethical theory?

A) Social responsibility ethical theory
B) Deontological ethical theory
C) Moral languages
D) Utilitarianism

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to the text,the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights is an example of which of the following?

A) Convenient imperialism
B) Transnational ethics
C) European codes
D) Moral language

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following statements are true about teleological ethical theories?

A) The morality of an act comes from its consequences.
B) Utilitarianism is one of the most popular teleological theory.
C) Actions by themselves have a good or bad morality regardless of their consequences.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 5

Moral languages include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Virtue and vice.
B) Self-control.
C) Avoiding harm.
D) Being ethical.

Question 6

Moral languages

A) Are a form of deontological ethical theory.
B) Focus on the consequences of actions rather than their worth.
C) Describe the ways people think about general issues.
D) Are used to explain ethical choices.

Question 7

Ethical convergence

A) Is similar to ethical relativism.
B) Refers to basic universal moral principles.
C) Is a form of ethical universalism.
D) Refers to the growing pressures for multinational companies to follow the same rules in managing ethical behavior and social responsibility.

Question 8

Proscriptive rules in codes of conduct:

A) Tell multinational companies or managers what they should do.
B) Are forms of moral language.
C) Tell multinational companies or managers what they cannot do.
D) All of the above

Question 9

The reason to know provisions of the FCPA is that it

A) Is the easiest to enforce and observe.
B) Probably encourages foreign bribery.
C) Is a tricky component for US companies.
D) Emphasizes the reasonable person concept.

Question 10

Which of the following payments would the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act allow?

A) Payments made under duress to avoid injury or violence
B) Small payments to encourage officials to do their legitimate and routine jobs
C) Payments that are considered lawful in the country
D) All of the above are allowed

Question 11

Pressures for ethical convergence include all of the following EXCEPT

A) The growth of international trade and trading blocs.
B) Increased interaction between foreign trading partners.
C) The need to have unique norms and values to manage their employees differently.
D) All of the above are true

Question 12

Which of the following statements about bribes or questionable payments are true?

A) Bribes to expedite government actions or to gain business advantages are common in international business.
B) Most countries have formal laws forbidding bribes or questionable payments.
C) Enforceability of ethics varies in different countries.
D) All of the above

Question 13

The ethical philosophies that consider actions as good or bad regardless of their outcomes are

A) The teleological ethical theories.
B) Utilitarianism.
C) Deontological theories of ethics.
D) None of the above

Question 14

Utilitarianism,as a form of ethical philosophy,

A) Argues that what is good or moral comes from acts that produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
B) Argues that actions by themselves have a good or bad morality regardless of their consequences.
C) Is one form of deontological ethical theory.
D) Is a moral language proposed by Donaldson.

Question 15

Multinationals that provide fair wages to their local employees are following which type of moral language?

A) Avoiding harm
B) Ethical behavior
C) Rights and duties
D) Social contract

Question 16

Prescriptive rules in codes of conduct

A) Tell multinational companies or managers what they should do.
B) Are forms of moral language.
C) Tell multinational companies or managers what they cannot do.
D) All of the above

Question 17

Ethical dilemmas are usually

A) Easy to resolve.
B) Clear and unambiguous.
C) Unclear and ambiguous.
D) Removed with a formal code of ethics.

Question 18

Written ethical codes may include which of the following?

A) Contracts
B) International laws
C) Laws of a country
D) All of the above

Question 19

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE regarding social responsibility?

A) Social responsibility is not linked with business ethics.
B) Refers to the idea that businesses have certain responsibilities to society beyond making profits.
C) Means that a company has to take into consideration various stakeholders when making decisions.
D) Is concerned with the ethical consequences of policies and procedures of the company as an organization.

Question 20

International business ethics

A) Present problems similar to domestic business ethics.
B) Pertain to the rules and values that determine actions that companies should follow when dealing with other companies.
C) Pertain to those unique ethical problems faced by managers conducting business across countries.
D) None of the above

Question 21

When companies use the logic of ethical relativism to behave any way they please,this is known as

A) Prescriptive ethical management.
B) Proscriptive ethical management.
C) Convenient relativism.
D) Universal ethics applications.

Question 22

Which act was proposed by the Securities Exchange Commission in reaction to the accounting scandals at companies like Enron and Worldcom?

A) Sarbanes-Oxley
B) WTO
C) Corruption Perception Index
D) The Ethisphere Institute

Question 23

When facing an ethical question,the manager who uses legal analysis criteria

A) Is primarily interested in the decision that is best for the company's profits.
B) Focuses on only meeting the laws of the country in which the company is operating.
C) Focuses on meeting the needs of other constituents beyond stakeholders.
D) Focuses on doing the right things.

Question 24

The argument that there are basic moral principles that transcend cultural and national boundaries is supported by

A) Ethical relativism.
B) Moral languages.
C) Ethical universalism.
D) None of the above

Question 25

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding cultural relativism as an approach in international business ethics?

A) What is right or wrong depends on the culture.
B) A guide for what is legal and appropriate is the local culture.
C) Companies should follow the moral norms of the local culture.
D) All of the above statements are true.

Question 26

A multinational manager decides that it would be unethical to close a foreign plant as employees in that plant are not being treated with dignity.Which ethical theory is the manager using to reach that conclusion?

A) Teleological ethical theory
B) Utilitarian ethical theory
C) Deontological ethical theory
D) None of the above

Question 27

Which of the following ethical dilemmas is addressed by the Sarbanes Oxley Act?

A) Competition
B) Auditor responsibility and independence
C) Sourcing of cheap labor
D) Company strategy

Question 28

A multinational manager is considering closing a plant in China as wages have increased considerably in China.The manager considers the implications of laying off people and closing the plant on the profits of the company.Which form of analysis is the manager doing?

A) Legal analysis
B) Profit making analysis
C) Ethical analysis
D) None of the above

Question 29

In an ethical analysis of a problem,a manager must

A) Focus on meeting the laws of the country in which the company is operating.
B) Focus on what is the best decision for a company's profits.
C) Focus on the decisions with the best consequences.
D) None of the above

Question 30

Ethical decision making of multinational managers preferably should

A) Be based solely on home country ethical principles.
B) Go beyond legal constraints and respect the local cultural norms.
C) Be primarily profitable for the multinational.
D) None of the above

Question 31

The form of analysis where the prime interest is what is the best decision for a company's profit is

A) Legal analysis.
B) Ethical analysis.
C) Social responsibility analysis.
D) None of the above

Question 32

A multinational manager decides to allow hiring of children for a foreign plant as such practices are accepted in the country.Which ethical principle is she basing her decision on?

A) Ethical universalism
B) Convenient ethical universalism
C) Ethical relativism
D) None of the above

Question 33

Deontological ethical theories

A) Argue that the morality of an act comes from this consequences.
B) Would provide justification for closing a plant and laying off workers to reduce costs.
C) Is most typically represented by cost and benefit analyses.
D) Argue that actions by themselves have a good or bad morality irrespective of the consequences.

Question 34

When companies use the logic of moral universalism and impose their views on the rest of the world,________________ occurs.

A) Ethical divergence
B) Ethical convenience
C) Cultural imperialism
D) None of the above

Question 35

The first duty of a multinational manager faced with a decision is

A) To consider whether the decision makes business sense.
B) To consider whether the decision meets the legal standard in the country.
C) To consider whether the decision is ethical.
D) To refer to the written codes of ethics.

Question 36

The world seems to be moving towards transnational ethics because:

A) Globalization dramatically increases contact among people from different ethical and cultural systems.
B) This contact creates pressure for the development of new transnational agreements regarding business practices.
C) International trade and trading blocs such as the EU and NAFTA are growing.
D) All of these reasons.

Question 37

Which of the following statements regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)is NOT TRUE?

A) Bribes or payments made under duress to avoid injury or violence are acceptable.
B) Small payments to encourage officials to do their legitimate and routine jobs are acceptable.
C) Payments or gifts to foreign government officials for the sake of gaining or retaining business are acceptable.
D) In an unstable political environment,payments made to local officials to avoid harassment of employees are acceptable.

Question 38

Ethical relativism

A) Argues that one should impose the home country's ethical system everywhere.
B) Implies that ethics are relative to the type of philosophy used.
C) Means that each society's view of ethics must be considered legitimate.
D) Means that the same ethical principles are universal.

Question 39

According to the text,which of the following is NOT a consequence of corruption?

A) Companies typically make up the bribe by increasing the contract price.
B) Companies use poorer quality materials to make up for the bribe.
C) Companies devote some of the bribe to socially responsible causes.
D) Corruption can also result in collusions among firms.

Question 40

In an economic analysis

A) The manager considers the best decision for a company's profits.
B) The manager focuses on meeting the laws of a country.
C) The manager goes beyond profits and analyzes the ethical consequences of decisions.
D) None of the above

Question 41

What are moral languages? How can moral languages help multinational become more ethical?

Question 42

Compare and contrast prescriptive codes of ethics with proscriptive codes.

Question 43

Discuss some of the pressures for ethical convergence.What are some implications for multinational management?

Question 44

Compare and contrast ethical relativism and ethical universalism.What are some of the dangers of adopting either ethical relativism or ethical universalism when making decisions?

Question 45

Describe the U.S.FCPA,what makes it challenging for U.S.firms,and how they deal with that challenge.

Question 46

How do social institutions and culture affect the practice of business ethics in different countries?

Question 47

Discuss the difference between teleological and deontological theories of ethics.Give examples of how an international manager might appeal to either type of theory when faced with the opportunity to offer a bribe.

Question 48

Do laws always reflect a community's ethics? Give an example to explain your answer.

Question 49

Discuss some of the issues that make international business ethics more complex than domestic business ethics.