Question 1

The legal doctrine of strict liability is ethically controversial because:

Accepted Answer

The legal doctrine of strict liability is ethically controversial exactly because it holds a business accountable for paying damages whether or not it was at fault.

Question 2

While approaching an ethical issue in marketing, the rights-based tradition would:

Accepted Answer

When approaching any ethical issue in marketing, the rights-based ethical tradition would ask to what degree the participants are respected as free and autonomous agents rather than treated simply as means to the end of making a sale.

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true about negligence?

Accepted Answer

One can be negligent by doing something that one should not (e.g., speeding in a school zone).

Question 4

Identify the approach that assumes that every purchase involves the informed consent of the buyer and is ethically legitimate.

Accepted Answer

The caveat emptor approach assumes that every purchase involves the informed consent of the buyer and therefore it is assumed to be ethically legitimate.

Question 5

In selling a product, a business offers tacit assurances that the product is reasonably suitable for its purpose. The law refers to this as the:

Accepted Answer

Implied warranty of merchantability holds that in selling a product a business implicitly offers assurances that the product is reasonably suitable for its purpose.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about manipulation would a strong believer of the principle-based ethical tradition most likely support?

Accepted Answer

The principle-based tradition in ethics would have the strongest objections to manipulation. Because the evil rests with the intention to use another as a means, even unsuccessful manipulations are guilty of this ethical wrong.

Question 7

Marketing practices targeted at elderly populations for goods such as supplemental health insurance, funerals etc. are subject to criticism because:

Accepted Answer

Marketing practices targeted at elderly populations for goods such as supplemental health insurance, funerals etc. are subject to criticism because that segment of the population is vulnerable.

Question 8

A business will seek to limit its liability by explicitly disowning any promise or warranty by:

Accepted Answer

If law will hold business liable for implicit promises, a prudent business will seek to limit its liability by explicitly disowning any promise or warranty. Thus, many businesses will issue a disclaimer of liability, or offer an expressed and limited warranty.

Question 9

Greater consumption is likely to lead to unhappiness, a condition termed ____.

Accepted Answer

Empirical studies provide evidence that suggests that greater consumption can lead to unhappiness, a condition called "affluenza."

Question 10

The implied warranty of merchantability shifts the burden of proof from:

Accepted Answer

The implied warranty standard shifts the burden of proof from consumers to producers by allowing consumers to assume that products are safe for ordinary use. By bringing goods and services to the market, producers are implicitly promising that their products are safe under normal use.

Question 11

Which of the following is true about strict product liability?

Accepted Answer

Defenders of the strict product liability standard often claim that by holding business strictly liable for any harm their products cause, society creates a strong incentive for business to produce safer goods and services.

Question 12

How did the use of an implied warranty of merchantability solve a set of problems with the contract law approach to product liability?

Accepted Answer

The use of an implied warranty of merchantability solved one set of problems with the contract law approach to product liability. Consumers would not need complex contracts in order to protect themselves from all possible harms that products might cause.

Question 13

While approaching an ethical issue in marketing, the utilitarian tradition would want to know:

Accepted Answer

When approaching any ethical issue in marketing, the utilitarian tradition would want to know the degree to which the transaction provided actual as opposed to merely apparent benefits.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is correct about the implied warranty of merchantability?

Accepted Answer

Many businesses issue a disclaimer of liability (e.g., products are sold "as is"), or offer an expressed and limited warranty (e.g., the seller will replace the product but neither offers any other guarantees nor seeks to cap liability damages) to limit their liabilities by explicitly disowning any promise or warranty.

Question 15

Which of the following is true about tort law?

Accepted Answer

The negligence standard of tort law focuses on the sense of responsibility that involves liability or fault. There are cases in which consumers can be injured by a product in which no negligence was involved. In such cases where no one was at fault, the question of accountability remains. The legal doctrine of strict product liability holds manufacturers accountable in such cases.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true about manipulation?

Accepted Answer

To manipulate something is to guide or direct its behavior. Manipulation need not involve total control, and in fact it more likely suggests a process of subtle direction or management.

Question 17

According to economist John Kenneth Galbraith, advertising and marketing were creating the very consumer demand that production then aimed to satisfy. The assertion that consumer demand relies upon what producers have to sell is termed:

Accepted Answer

In his book, The Affluent Society, economist John Kenneth Galbraith claimed that advertising and marketing were creating the very consumer demand that production then aimed to satisfy. Dubbed the "dependence effect," this assertion held that consumer demand depended upon what producers had to sell.

Question 18

Which of the following ethical traditions would have the strongest objections to manipulation?

Accepted Answer

The principle-based tradition in ethics would have the strongest objections to manipulation, because when a person manipulates someone, he or she treats him or her as a means to one's own ends, as an object to be used rather than as an autonomous person in his or her own right.

Question 19

A consumer's consent to purchase a product is not informed if that consumer is:

Accepted Answer

A consumer's consent to purchase a product is not informed if that consumer is being misled or deceived about the product.

Question 20

Society creates a strong incentive for businesses to produce safer goods and services by holding them responsible for any harm their products cause. This claim supports the:

Accepted Answer

Defenders of the strict product liability standard claim that by holding businesses strictly liable for any harm their products cause, society creates a strong incentive for businesses to produce safer goods and services.

Quiz 8: Ethics and Marketing