Deck 14: Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Sustainability

Question 1

When your manager explains the company motivation for beginning CSR initiatives, she includes aspects from the business case approach and from the ethical mandate approach in her rationale. Is this possible?

A) No; the organization can't do both at the same time
B) No; one has to be the deciding factor
C) Yes; ultimately companies develop their rationale based on their values and their future in mind so they can incorporate aspects from both strategies into their reason for adopting these initiatives
D) Yes; the aspect of the two approaches are similar and neither approach may have driven their decision to engage in CSR. It just worked out that way

Answer 1

C
Explanation:C) The justification of engagement in CSR does not have to be from one or the other approach. Elements from both approaches can be cited as reasons for their engagement in CSR initiatives.

Question 2

What lesson from the "tragedy of the commons" can you apply personally?

A) One person can have an impact on environmental sustainability
B) Actions of the many outweigh the actions of a few
C) Small exploits by many lead to system failure
D) It is not applicable to individuals

Answer 2

A
Explanation:A) Managing personal environmental impact can have a powerful positive or a positive negative effect.

Question 3

What is the difference between terminal and instrumental values?

A) Terminal values are what you do and instrumental values are what you want
B) Terminal values are what you do and instrumental values are what you value
C) Terminal values are what you want and instrumental values how you reach your terminal values
D) Instrumental values are what you want and terminal values are how you reach your instrumental values

Answer 3

C
Explanation:C) Terminal values are the things that we hope to achieve. We work toward reaching what we want via instrumental values.

Question 4

To maintain integrity in an organization, all of the following must be done except ________.

A) Track and respond to ethical lapses at the individual level
B) Utilize integrity as a criteria for hiring new employees
C) Maintain oversight over the organization's actions
D) Maintain systems to report ethical lapses quickly

Question 5

Which of the following is not a primary cultural value?

A) Human
B) Pragmatism
C) Intellectual
D) Ethicality

Question 6

Why should an organization learn from the "tragedy of the commons?"

A) If your organization behaves responsibly, other organizations will take advantage of your absence in the competition. These actions of will negatively impact the sustainability of your organization because the price of goods and services will be undercut by your competition and deplete environmental resources
B) The costs of not managing, or even exploiting, resources that aren't controlled are not sustainable and can cause organizational crisis
C) To protect self-interest, an organization should back industry reforms whenever possible because the power of change is extra-organizational
D) Mismanagement of human resources creates a ripple effect that can product huge impacts

Question 7

Which is not a category of ethical discussion?

A) Philosophical
B) Applied
C) General
D) Normative

Question 8

You place a lot of value on earning your degree, but there are several classes that you take only because they are included in your degree plan. Given a choice, you would never have enrolled in those classes. What best describes your degree and those dreaded required courses?

A) Your degree is a terminal goal and classes are instrumental as a means to an end and are not inherently valued
B) Your degree is an instrumental goal and classes are terminal goals you value as a means to an end and are not inherently valued
C) The classes you take are intrinsically valuable because they lead you to your extrinsically valued terminal goal of a degree
D) The social goal is achieving the degree and you only value what will be recognized by others-the process of how you get there is not valued

Question 9

Your professor gives you a writing assignment to explain your personal and professional life in 10 years. What is a prerequisite of this assignment?

A) The process of value clarification
B) Engaging in creative problem solving
C) Examining your individual ethics to predict results of your choices
D) Articulating your strategy personal development

Question 10

Which of the following is a tactic of ethical concern involving an organization and a government official?

A) Favoritism
B) Pay-to-play scheme
C) Open voting
D) Exclusive network tactic

Question 11

Organization Z consistently displays an organizational culture of integrity and high ethical standards. What aspect will not necessarily be present in Organization Z's culture?

A) Employees have internalized Organization Z's ethics
B) Rationales of consequences, including ethical implications, are examined in the decision making process
C) Subordinates (respectfully) disagree and offer their opinions and ideas to superiors when they feel the action would not be congruent with the organization's values
D) Well organized teams that share leadership to develop members' skills

Question 12

How are values different from ethics?

A) Ethics are based rule adherence; values are beliefs that guide decision making
B) Ethics are what people do-the result of their decision; values are their deeply held beliefs
C) Values help determine right and wrong; ethics are mainly applied when judging other people
D) Your ethical beliefs contain your values

Question 13

Which of the following is an aspect of the triple bottom line?

A) All organizations have a responsibility to their employees
B) Companies have a responsibility for their employees and community
C) Corporations can only engage in CSR when profitable
D) Environmental sustainability only applies to organizations using raw materials

Question 14

Why are corporate social responsibility, ethics, and sustainability relevant for organizational behavior?

A) Many organizations are demonstrating an increased awareness of the impact their activities have on society and the environment
B) Many organizations are incorporating these topics into their leadership development programs to enact change throughout their organizations
C) Customers are demanding these elements from the organizations they patronize
D) Under U.S. law, each of these topics is to be proactively managed by all organizations by 2020

Question 15

The ethical mandate for CSR is focused on ________.

A) A cost benefit analysis of the financial impact. Net loss means the initiative is not strategically serving the organization and they shouldn't engage in CSR. Net gain means the company will benefit financially from engaging in CSR and should proceed with their initiatives
B) The resulting benefits for the organization and whether it serves a strategic purpose and provides stability and sustainability
C) Providing evidence that the initiatives benefit the company in at least two ways. For example: installing solar panels to help power the organization shows environmental sustainability and an economic return on their investment by reduced electric costs, which will pay for the panels in a relatively short time
D) The belief that companies are ethically responsible for their communities and employees. These actions make a contribution to and reflect company values that CSR is their ethical responsibility and is prompted by their values and integrity to be a good steward

Question 16

You are having trouble deciding between four equally attractive job offers, so you decide to investigate the CSR initiatives of each potential employer to break the tie: best CSR wins! Which organization's job offer will you accept?

A) Org A does not make intentional recruitment efforts; workforce is not reflective of employment pool
B) Org B has a workforce reflective of the employment pool; change was guided by mandate
C) Org C provides a half day of unpaid leave every other week and encourages employees to use the time for wellness and/or volunteer activities
D) Org D upgraded tech hardware to maintain compatibility with client systems and as a result, their energy use dropped nearly 15%

Question 17

Which of the following contains the argument that companies should provide insurance and a living wage to their employees?

A) Economic viability
B) Corporate social responsibility
C) Ethical operations
D) Human sustainability

Question 18

The business case for CSR justifies initiatives ________.

A) Through a cost benefit analysis of the financial impact. Net loss means the initiative is not strategically serving the organization and they shouldn't engage in CSR. Net gain means the company will benefit financially from engaging in CSR and should proceed with their initiatives
B) Through the resulting benefits for the organization that serve a strategic purpose and provide stability and sustainability
C) By providing evidence that the initiatives benefit the company in at least two ways. For example: installing solar panels to help power the organization shows environmental sustainability and an economic return on their investment by reduced electric costs, which will pay for the panels in a relatively short time
D) For the company's ethical responsibility to engage in CSR activities. These actions make a contribution to and reflect company values that CSR is their ethical responsibility and is prompted by their values and integrity to be a good steward

Question 19

After hearing about CSR and its benefits, you are convinced that your organization must establish a CSR initiative. Despite your low-ranking organizational position, you have been able to confirm a chance to speak at the board meeting later this month. This may be your only opportunity, so you want to present your best justification. With the pressure on, what are the critical points you will make and what other factors will you include to make your case?

Question 20

What is the major criticism of the shareholder model?

A) Serving shareholders is the primary responsibility of businesses
B) Organizations are a driving force of capitalism
C) Organizations need to serve their employees before they attend to shareholders
D) Organizations should remain privately held so they independently make decisions

Question 21

As U.S.-based organizations move into developing countries, they are no longer subject to U.S. employment law and the strict standards that would be required for the equivalent operation in the States and overhead and operating expenses are a fraction of what a State-side location's would be. Even with low pay and harsh working conditions, they find workers eager to fill positions, and that doesn't incentivize improvements in the working conditions. With competition driving down prices in the U.S. while costs are holding steady or rising, the trend has been to relocate manufacturing facilities and even some service centers from the US. to developing countries. There are obvious economic incentives in the reduced operating and labor costs, and the potential for tax breaks and incentives from the host country's government can make offshoring more attractive. Despite the economic benefits, there is evidence that should serve as a cautionary tale. What provides a warning that this is not a good practice to continue?

A) Economic sustainability
B) It is unethical
C) Countries are mandating work standards
D) Tragedy of the commons

Question 22

Which would be most prominent in an organization's explanation for beginning and/or engaging in CSR initiatives?

A) Organizational ethics
B) General ethics
C) Normative ethics
D) Applied ethics

Question 23

How can you determine whether the CSR efforts reflect genuine beliefs or serve a marketing purpose?

A) CSR initiatives are aligned with the organization's strategy
B) The amount of money committed to the CSR initiatives has a positive correlation with the value the company places on CSR
C) Organizations with genuine beliefs in CSR will involve their employees in the projects because of the personal benefits working on the initiative provide
D) If companies heavily advertise their CSR initiatives, their commitment is probably only to the marketing aspect

Question 24

Which of the following is true of a B or Benefit corporation?

A) Non-profit
B) Established to ensure serving a social and/or environmental responsibility are/is considered along with profits during strategic decisions
C) Employees have more integrity
D) All of the above

Question 25

An organization is committed to various CSR initiatives in their business practices and they encourage employee involvement as well by coordinating volunteer events such as Habitat for Humanity, participating in the March of Dimes, and seeking out opportunities for employees to apply their workplace skills to help non-profit organizations. Through participation in these activities, an employee's ________ may change but their ________ is/are less likely to change.

A) Morals; morale
B) Morale; morals
C) Organizational ethics; organizational commitment
D) Organizational commitment; organizational ethics