Deck 7: Personal and Organizational Ethics

Question 1

One problem with utilitarianism is that it forces us to think about the general welfare.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The intuition ethic argues that "if it feels good, do it."

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One important characteristic of ethical decision making is that most decisions have extended consequences.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In the text, Enron was offered as an example of a company that exerted great care in promulgating and implementing an ethics code.

Question 5

The issue of accepting a bribe to be induced to make a particular decision about a supplier is an example of a personal-level ethical challenge.

Question 6

The rights principle expresses morality from the point of view of the individual, whereas the utilitarian principle expresses morality in terms of the group or society as a whole.

Question 7

The most important purpose of an ethics code is to convey to the outside world that the company is ethical.

Question 8

Action-oriented ethical principles focus on doing. Virtue ethics emphasizes being.

Question 9

The ethics screen consists of a variety of standards against which a proposed course of action may be compared.

Question 10

The question of whether I should overlook a subordinate's wrongdoing illustrates an organizational-level ethical issue.

Question 11

According to John Rawls, the major way to think of the principle of justice is to focus on what the law says is just.

Question 12

"The greatest good for the greatest number" is the hedonistic ethic.

Question 13

The professional ethic holds that you should do only that which can be explained before a committee of your peers.

Question 14

The Golden Rule of ethics argues that "he who has the gold, rules."

Question 15

The market ethic holds that if an action in the market furthers financial self-interest, then it is ethical.

Question 16

A basic idea behind the principle of rights is that rights cannot be overridden by utility.

Question 17

Utilitarianism, as an ethical principle, simply argues that we should take that course of action that is useful to us.

Question 18

There are basically four major approaches to ethics or ethical decision making.

Question 19

Research has shown that personal financial need is the factor that most influences the unethical behavior of managers.

Question 20

It has been demonstrated that firms that have had ethics codes for at least five years are, on average, more ethical than those firms with no codes.

Question 21

Which ethical challenge do we face in day-to-day activities in our personal lives that are generally outside the work environment?

A) personal level
B) organizational level
C) industry level
D) global level

Question 22

Which of the following factors affect the morality of managers and employees?

A) society's moral climate
B) business's moral climate
C) industry's moral climate
D) government's moral climate

Question 23

Which of the following ethical principles argues that we should take the decision that yields the greatest good for the greatest number?

A) maximization
B) compensatory justice
C) the categorical imperative
D) utilitarianism

Question 24

When presented with the proposition that "managers today feel under sure to compromise personal standards to achieve company goals," according to the text, which of the following levels of management agreed most with the proposition?

A) lower management
B) middle management
C) top management
D) board of directors

Question 25

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

A) reconciling ethical conflicts
B) virtue ethics
C) golden rule
D) principle of caring

Question 26

Which of the following is not one of the ethical tests approach?

A) Test of common sense
B) Test of making something public
C) Test of Ventilation
D) Test of Cover-up-ability

Question 27

A survey of corporate ethics found all of the following, except one, to be current ethical issues at the organizational level. Which does not belong?

A) employee conflicts of interest
B) inappropriate gifts to corporate personnel
C) sexual harassment
D) employee lying

Question 28

An approach to ethical leadership and decision making based on the moral principle of serving others first refers to

A) virtue ethics.
B) servant leadership.
C) principle of justice.
D) moral judgment.

Question 29

The "test of the purified idea" holds that an idea or course of action is "purified" if it

A) has withstood the test of time.
B) has been approved by someone in authority.
C) is being done by most people at a particular point in time.
D) complies with the three major ethical principles.

Question 30

Which of the following principles expresses morality from the point of view of the individual?

A) utilitarianism
B) rights
C) justice
D) means-ends

Question 31

The "test of making something public" is essentially the same as the

A) intuition ethic.
B) revelation ethic.
C) disclosure rule.
D) none of the above.

Question 32

Which of the following ethics tests can only capture the "grossest of unethical behaviors?"

A) Golden Rule
B) intuition ethic
C) test of the purified idea
D) gag test

Question 33

Virtue ethics focuses on

A) the development of virtuous mission statements to guide organization actions.
B) the ten commandments.
C) the individual becomes imbued with virtues (e.g., honesty, truthfulness).
D) institutionalizing Kohlberg's conventional level of ethics.

Question 34

The question "Should I notify my bank that it credited someone else's $500 to my checking account?" is an example of a/an

A) personal-level decision.
B) organizational-level decision.
C) association-level decision.
D) societal-level decision.

Question 35

Which one of the following is not in the process of ethical decision making?

A) principle approach
B) managerial approach
C) ethical tests approach
D) conventional approach

Question 36

Virtue is embodied in what each individual finds meaningful. There are no universal or absolute moral principles refers to

A) the organization ethic.
B) the revelation ethic.
C) the disclosure rule.
D) the hedonistic ethic.

Question 37

Which of the following ethical principles has subparts that address distribution, compensation, and procedure?

A) utilitarianism
B) Golden Rule
C) justice
D) rights

Question 38

Which of the following refers to managers simply are not ethical themselves, and this influence wears off on others?

A) amoral decision making
B) unethical acts, behaviors, or practices
C) acceptance of legality
D) absence of ethical leadership

Question 39

Research has demonstrated that managers see the following factor as most significant in influencing unethical behavior:

A) society's moral climate.
B) personal financial need.
C) behavior of superiors.
D) none of the above.

Question 40

The distribution of benefits and burdens refers to

A) distributive justice.
B) compensatory justice.
C) procedural justice.
D) political justice.

Question 41

The moral tone of the organization is usually set by

A) the top-management group.
B) public affairs managers.
C) the company's legal counsel.
D) first-line supervisors.

Question 42

In order to improve an organization's ethical climate or culture the organizations ethics training, discipline of violators, and codes of conduct should be dealt with in

A) top management leadership.
B) moral management.
C) senior management.
D) bottom level management.

Question 43

Regarding the relationship between top-level and lower-level managers,

A) top-level managers seem to be very sensitive to the ethical issues that lower-level managers face.
B) both groups seem to feel about the same degree of pressure to compromise personal standards for the company.
C) top-level managers seem to be insensitive to how far lower-level managers might go to please them.
D) top-level managers perceive that lower-level managers are really not interested in ethical issues within the firm.

Question 44

Candor, confidentiality, and fidelity were presented in the text as key ethical principles with respect to

A) investment decisions.
B) setting realistic objectives.
C) effective communication.
D) none of the above.

Question 45

Which of the following does not seem to take place in organizations?

A) amoral decision making
B) acceptance of legality as a standard of behavior
C) "bottom line" mentality
D) evaluation systems that are sensitive and responsive to ethical behavior

Question 46

If managers who themselves fail to factor ethical considerations into their actions, decisions, and behaviors they are creating which questionable organizational atmosphere?

A) acceptance of legality as a standard of behavior
B) absence of ethical leadership
C) objectives and evaluation systems
D) amoral decision making

Question 47

All of the following, except one, were mentioned in the text as a component of an organization's ethical climate or culture. Which was not mentioned?

A) whistle-blowing mechanisms ("hotlines")
B) ethics audits
C) codes of conduct
D) the status of legal counsel

Question 48

Mark Pastin found that high-ethics firms

A) are good communicators of the company's code of ethics.
B) are at ease interacting with diverse stakeholder groups and are obsessed with fairness.
C) decide in advance on what level of profits to achieve and then gear their ethical decisions toward that end.
D) most often employ the rights principle of ethics.

Question 49

A survey of corporate officers revealed a number of results business organizations received as a result of their codes of ethics. All but one of the following was cited. Which was not cited?

A) legal protection for the company
B) helped attract superior employees
C) increased company loyalty and pride
D) improved loss prevention

Question 50

Which of the following was not discussed in the text as an action a company might take to improve its ethical climate?

A) setting realistic objectives
B) providing whistle-blowing mechanisms
C) training managers in business ethics
D) providing managers with their own laminated, wallet-sized copies of the process of ethical decision making (ethics screen)