Deck 6: Leadership Ethics and Social Responsibility

Question 1

Ethics can be considered the

A)vehicle for putting values into action.
B)opposing force to values.
C)equivalent of the organizational culture.
D)opposite of moral leadership.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A leader at the postconventional level of moral development is likely to

A)attempt to do the most good for the most people.
B)maximize personal gain in most business transactions.
C)falsify earnings statements to be eligible for a big bonus.
D)be moral just enough to look good.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A principle of ethical and moral leadership is to

A)regularly publicize moral victories.
B)maximize personal returns in business transactions.
C)pay attention to all stakeholders.
D)seek to maximize shareholder wealth.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A major problem noted with extreme unethical behavior in the executive suite is that such behavior has

A)brought companies into bankruptcy.
B)led to investor distrust in the stock market.
C)led to layoffs of thousands of workers.
D)all of these choices.

Question 5

Chief financial officer Justin takes himself and his family on an Asian vacation using the company jet.He excuses his behavior by stating, "My family and I were spreading good will around the world for the company." Justin appears to be

A)showing concern for stakeholders.
B)rationalizing.
C)outright lying.
D)exercising his rights as a CFO.

Question 6

According to the idea of entitlement, some corporate executives behave unethically because they feel they are

A)entitled to make up for a poor childhood.
B)entitled to whatever they can get away with or steal.
C)servants of an unfair system.
D)underpaid in comparison to top professional athletes and entertainers.

Question 7

A major source of individual differences in ethics and morality among leaders is

A)the products and services offered by the firm.
B)government regulations about ethics.
C)the leader's rank in the organizational hierarchy.
D)the leader's level of greed, gluttony, and avarice.

Question 8

Chief operations officer Joan has an ethical mind, so she has a point of view that helps workers

A)figure out when stretching the truth is acceptable.
B)catch expense account cheats.
C)aspire to good work that matters to many people.
D)fear being unethical and dishonest.

Question 9

An example of an executive leader helping sustain the environment would be to

A)use as much renewable energy as possible at the company.
B)create attractive designs on packages.
C)take a little company trash home with them after work.
D)charge customers for shipping and delivery.

Question 10

Corporate social responsibility centers on a firm's

A)contributions to charity.
B)responsibility to society.
C)adherence to laws.
D)adherence to ethics.

Question 11

Which one of the following is a recommended initiative for achieving an ethical and socially responsible organization?

A)Establishing severe penalties for whistleblowers
B)Encouraging employees to learn ethics mostly by trial and error
C)Leadership by example
D)Developing informal mechanisms for dealing with ethical problems

Question 12

An authority cited in the leadership text argues that ethics is at the center of leadership because the ethical leader

A)wants to create a positive public appearance.
B)promote conflicts of interest.
C)attempts to keep profits at a bare minimum.
D)wants everybody to benefit.

Question 13

Which one of the following is the clearest example of socially responsible behavior on the part of a business firm?

A)Ensuring that all workers get paid
B)Safely disposing of mercury
C)Creating a pleasant workplace
D)Avoiding involvement in political causes

Question 14

The results of a survey about perceptions of integrity indicated that

A)coworkers received outstanding ratings on honesty and integrity.
B)leaders at all levels were rated as being honest and having integrity by about 95 percent of employees.
C)immediate managers received relatively high ratings on honesty and integrity.
D)top management received the highest ratings on honesty and integrity.

Question 15

Ethics deals mostly with

A)being socially responsible.
B)separating right from wrong.
C)legal versus illegal behavior.
D)professional codes of conduct.

Question 16

A recent development in corporate philanthropy is for corporate leaders to demand

A)a good return on investment for their donated money.
B)that the causes receiving the money become good customers.
C)that recipients of their generosity all believe in capitalism.
D)respect and recognition from all recipients.

Question 17

Rita is a leader of high integrity.According to the technical meaning of integrity, Rita will

A)have high morals in every facet of her life.
B)be kind to employees even if she does not like them.
C)steal only to benefit poor people.
D)stick to the principles she thinks are right.

Question 18

Which one of the following questions in an ethical screen deals with the principle of reversibility?

A)How does it smell?
B)What would you tell your child, sibling, or young relative to do?
C)Who gets hurt?
D)Is it fair?

Question 19

An ethical screen is used primarily when facing a decision that

A)is in opposition to the organizational culture.
B)affects the majority of employees within the firm.
C)is not obviously ethical or blatantly unethical.
D)is widely recognized as criminal behavior.

Question 20

The purpose of the Job Seeker's Ethics Audit is to help the candidate

A)evaluate the ethics of the employer.
B)see what he or she could get away with working for a prospective employer.
C)learn ethical approaches to job hunting.
D)get properly reimbursed for travel expenses in relation to the interview.

Question 21

The virtuous cycle in relation to social responsibility suggests that

A)recycling pays off in increased profits.
B)ethical executives attract ethical employees.
C)corporate social performance and corporate financial performance feed and reinforce each other.
D)employee ethics runs in cycles.

Question 22

Ethics deals mostly with complying with rules and regulations.

Question 23

When senior management provides strategic leadership for ethics,

A)senior managers emphasize being whistle blowers.
B)marketing strategy is converted into ethical strategy.
C)senior managers become ethics leaders.
D)the roles of stockholders and shareholders become reversed.

Question 24

To build community, a leader should search for goals compatible to all the constituents.

Question 25

An example of a whistleblower (in relation to ethics) would be a(n)

A)security guard who sent notices to employees who drove too fast in the company parking lot.
B)executive who imposed fines on employees who behaved unethically.
C)company specialist conducting training programs about ethics.
D)bookkeeper who told a journalist about fraudulent accounting in the company

Question 26

An explanation offered for ethical behavior in terms of interpersonal skills is that when you are close with people, you are more likely to

A)behave ethically with them.
B)take advantage of them from an ethical standpoint.
C)overlook their ethical flaws.
D)ask them to join you in unethical deeds.

Question 27

Whether or not the leader has done the right thing is based on the perception by a consensus of reasonable people.

Question 28

A practical suggestions for business leaders to behave ethically is to

A)be "I" leaders.
B)focus on self-interests.
C)place personal interests over company interests.
D)place company interests over personal interests.

Question 29

A major factor contributing to differences in ethical behavior among executives is their level of greed, gluttony, and avarice.

Question 30

Middle manager Sylvie regularly tells her group members about the importance of treating people fairly, and she is fair with her employees.Sylvie therefore has integrity.

Question 31

A recommended approach to promoting ethical behavior throughout the organization is to

A)base rewards on seniority so people will not cut corners to perform well.
B)implement a recognition program called "whistleblower of the month."
C)hire only those candidates who have taken a course in ethics.
D)reward people who have performed well and behaved ethically.

Question 32

An example of a formal mechanism for dealing with ethical problems is

A)leadership by example of ethical behavior.
B)an ethics committee for reviewing complaints about ethical problems.
C)training programs in ethics.
D)accepting whistleblowers.

Question 33

The results of a survey with over 1,200 workers indicated that these workers perceived top-level managers to be more honest and have more integrity than their immediate boss.

Question 34

An important goal of a rational leader is to merge the interests of all parties so that everyone benefits and the organization becomes prosperous.

Question 35

According to an ethics specialist cited in the text, the moral leader will attempt to squeeze all the publicity possible out of his or her moral initiatives.

Question 36

A survey indicated that a majority of U.S.workers would be willing to work for less pay if they could work for an ethical employer.

Question 37

A leader who focuses on maximizing shareholder wealth will automatically behave ethically from the standpoint of the principle "pay attention to all stakeholders."

Question 38

Chief financial officer Barry turns in travel and expense reports that are 100 percent honest, and he encourages employees in his division to inspect his reports.Barry is using the ethical initiative called

A)leading by example.
B)open-book management.
C)accepting whistleblowers.
D)developing formal mechanisms for dealing with ethical problems.

Question 39

When faced with a supplier who uses unsafe working conditions, a socially responsible alternative is to

A)quit working with the supplier.
B)impose a price cut on the supplier.
C)begin a boycott against the supplier.
D)work with the supplier to improve working conditions.

Question 40

A unit of the U.S.Federal Government publishes on the Internet an Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure.The purpose of the document is to

A)make elected officials look foolish.
B)make public highly unethical behavior by government employees.
C)make public the good deeds of government employees.
D)create the case for a balanced budget.

Question 41

A recommended way of creating a socially responsible organizational culture is for managers to lead by example.

Question 42

One of the many ways in which company leadership at Wal-Mart is helping create a sustainable environment is to encourage customers to purchase more of the traditional light bulbs instead of the fluorescent type.

Question 43

Information technology manager George displays an ethical mind as a leader when he makes up a list of company workers who do not deserve to be protected against computer viruses.

Question 44

Head of accounts payable, Bertha, engages in rationalization when she creates a few false invoices, and then says, "I was only trying to lower the company's tax burden.".

Question 45

A theme to the unethical acts committed by major executives in recent years is that they diverted funds from the company so they could help less fortunate people.

Question 46

Several psychiatrists and corporate governance experts have decided that some executives are unethical because they feel they are entitled to whatever they can get away with or steal.

Question 47

Corporate social responsibility deals with a firm's impact on society more than its impact on company employees.

Question 48

To maintain an ethical climate, many companies today create the position of whistleblower, and the person holding this job investigates potential ethical violations full time.

Question 49

When the relationship between two people is strong, they are more likely to behave ethically toward each other.

Question 50

A Job Seeker's Ethical Audit is used to verify the type of ethical reputation the job seeker has developed.

Question 51

Rationalization can lead to unethical behavior because the person will focus on the intention of the act rather than the act itself.

Question 52

Written codes of unethical conduct have become less important today because of the presence of so many self-managing work teams.

Question 53

One of the questions included in an ethical screen is, "How does it [the decision in question] smell?"

Question 54

If you are at the conventional level of moral development, you probably will not cheat on this test or any other aspect of your leadership course.

Question 55

A key part of a company's designation as a "best company to work for" is an evaluation of the company's organizational culture.

Question 56

CEO Lois wants to create an ethical and socially responsible company, so it is recommended that she place personal interests over company interests.

Question 57

Strategic leadership of ethics and social responsibility includes the idea that senior management sets the tone for ethics and social responsibility throughout the organization.

Question 58

An important factor of being judged a "best company to work for" is the input provided by company employees.

Question 59

The deontological theory of ethics focuses on the consequences of a decision, such as "Who gets hurt?"