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| 1 | |
Business ethics concerns |
| | A) | the application of ethical principles and standards to business activities, behavior, and decisions. |
| | B) | a business commitment to safe products, high worker compensation, and protection of the environment. |
| | C) | conducting oneself appropriately in a business setting. |
| | D) | developing a special set of ethical standards for businesses to observe in conducting their affairs. |
| | E) | picking and choosing among various ethical standards of society to arrive at a set of ethical standards that apply directly to operating a business. |
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| 2 | |
Ethical principles in business |
| | A) | concern the behavioral guidelines a company's top management and board of directors set for company personnel regarding "what is right" and "what is wrong" in conducting the company's business. |
| | B) | deal chiefly with the actions and behaviors required to operate companies in a socially responsible manner. |
| | C) | are arrived at by picking and choosing among the consensus ethical standards of society to come up with a set of ethical standards that apply directly to operating a business. |
| | D) | are not materially different from ethical principles in general and have to be judged in the context of society's standards of right and wrong, not by a special set of rules that business people decide to apply to their own conduct. |
| | E) | involve behavioral guidelines for balancing the interests of non-owner stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities in which the company has operations) against the interests of company shareholders. |
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| 3 | |
Unethical managerial behavior tends to be driven by such factors as |
| | A) | overzealous or obsessive pursuit of personal gain, wealth, and other self interests; a company culture that puts the profitability and good business performance ahead of ethical behavior; and heavy pressures on company managers to meet or beat performance targets. |
| | B) | the lack of a company code of ethics. |
| | C) | a lack of training in what is ethical and what is not. |
| | D) | confusing differences between what is ethical behavior in one's personal life and what is ethically permissible in business. |
| | E) | All of the above factors. |
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| 4 | |
A company's strategy needs to be ethical because |
| | A) | Potential for embarrassment to top management if the company's unethical behavior is publicly exposed. |
| | B) | unethical strategies are inconsistent with or else weaken the corporate culture. |
| | C) | ethics watchdogs are sure to blow the whistle on the company's unethical behavior. |
| | D) | of the risks of prosecution by governmental authorities if an unethical strategy is disclosed. |
| | E) | a strategy that is unethical not only damages the company's reputation but it can also have costly consequences. |
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| 5 | |
Which of the following are consequences of pursuing a strategy that has unethical or shady components? |
| | A) | Government fines and penalties |
| | B) | Legal and investigative costs incurred by the company |
| | C) | Customer defections |
| | D) | Adverse effects on employee productivity |
| | E) | All of these |
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| 6 | |
Notions of right and wrong, fair and unfair, moral and immoral, ethical and unethical |
| | A) | ultimately depend on a person's own values and beliefs. |
| | B) | ultimately depend on the circumstances—nothing is really black or white when it comes to ethical standards. |
| | C) | are governed mainly by religious views held in different geographic regions of the world. |
| | D) | are present in all societies, organizations, and individuals. |
| | E) | vary enormously from country to country across the world. |
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| 7 | |
According to the school of ethical universalism, |
| | A) | what behaviors are "ethically right" and "ethically wrong" vary across religions, but the boundaries of what is ethical or not are universal within religions. |
| | B) | concepts of right and wrong universally apply to all business situations within a given country but can vary across countries or cultures. |
| | C) | ethical guidelines exist only when there is universal agreement as to what behaviors are "ethically right" and "ethically wrong"; anything not universally viewed as unethical is thus within the bounds of what is ethically permissible. |
| | D) | all societies and countries have some definition of what is ethically permissible (in this sense ethics are universal); however, the definitions of what is ethically permissible vary according to the prevailing religious doctrines in each country. |
| | E) | many of the same standards of what's ethical and what's unethical resonate with peoples of most societies regardless of local traditions and cultural norms—hence, to the extent there is common moral agreement about right and wrong actions, common ethical standards can be used to judge the conduct of personnel at companies operating in a variety of country markets and cultural circumstances. |
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| 8 | |
The thesis that since different societies and cultures have divergent values and standards of what is "ethically right" and "ethically wrong" it is appropriate to judge behavior as ethical/unethical in the light of local customs and social mores |
| | A) | is the basis for the theory of ethical variation. |
| | B) | defines what is meant by "integrated social contracts theory." |
| | C) | is a view that characterizes the school of ethical relativism. |
| | D) | accounts for why there is no such thing as ethical standards for business enterprises. |
| | E) | is the reason why codes of ethical and social morality have been established country by country. |
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| 9 | |
If one adopts the thinking of the school of ethical relativism, then |
| | A) | there are multiple sets of ethical standards because what is ethical or unethical depends on local customs and social mores and can vary from one culture or nation to another. |
| | B) | there is a "one-size-fits-all" set of authentic ethical standards. |
| | C) | the preferred set of ethical standards is the one which society at large has put in place in the form of laws and regulations. |
| | D) | the prevailing ethical standards are the product of a system of "integrated social contracts." |
| | E) | no ethical standards are ever truly "authentic"—they exist only to the extent that there is a temporary shared conviction among company managers and company personnel that a particular behavior is either ethically permissible or ethically impermissible. |
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| 10 | |
Companies that adopt the principle of ethical relativism in providing ethical guidance to company personnel |
| | A) | are able to comply with the varying ethical standards of the world's different cultures. |
| | B) | have no fair way to judge the ethical correctness of the conduct of company personnel. |
| | C) | quickly find themselves on a slippery slope with no ethical standards or principles of its own. |
| | D) | have a uniform code of ethical standards that is applied globally. |
| | E) | end up allowing each company employee to determine what set of ethical standards to observe. |
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| 11 | |
According to integrated social contracts theory, |
| | A) | the views and principles of the school of ethical universalism are definitely wrong; the correct view is that ethics is a matter of personal responsibility not a matter of management concern. |
| | B) | the ethical standards a company should try to uphold are governed both by (1) a limited number of universal ethical principles that are widely recognized as putting legitimate ethical boundaries on actions and behavior in all situations and (2) the circumstances of local cultures, traditions, and shared values that further prescribe what constitutes ethically permissible behavior and what does not—however, universal ethical norms take precedence over local ethical norms. |
| | C) | the standards of what is ethically permissible and what is not should be based on a code of ethical and moral conduct which each society/country/culture adopts and then enacts into law. |
| | D) | the standards of what is ethically permissible should be determined by the terms of an "ethics contract" which each company employee signs as a condition of employment. |
| | E) | the only valid ethical standards are those which are universal—and then only if the standards are not absolute and provide some wiggle room according to the circumstances of the each situation. |
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| 12 | |
Integrated social contracts theory maintains that |
| | A) | all ethical standards are determined by societal norms and individuals have an implied social contract to live up to these standards. |
| | B) | "first order" universal ethical norms always take precedence over "second order" local ethical norms. |
| | C) | there should be no absolute limits put on what is ethically or morally right. |
| | D) | few nations or cultures have common moral agreement on what is ethically right and wrong. |
| | E) | each country/culture/society has commonly held views about what constitutes ethically appropriate actions/behaviors that all individuals in that country/culture/society are obligated to observe. |
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| 13 | |
According to the information presented in Table 7.1, the perceived degree of corruption as seen by business people, academics, and risk analysts is |
| | A) | highest in such places as Germany, France, Hong Kong, Chile, and Finland and lowest in such countries as India, Paraguay, Indonesia, and South Africa. |
| | B) | is highest in Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden and lowest in Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, and Bangladesh. |
| | C) | about the same in all countries that were surveyed. |
| | D) | is lowest in the U.S., Japan, and Spain. |
| | E) | is lowest in Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, and Sweden. |
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| 14 | |
The theory of corporate social responsibility concerns |
| | A) | a company's duty to maximize shareholder value. |
| | B) | the blending of shareholder interests and employee interests. |
| | C) | a company's duty to establish socially acceptable core values and to have a strictly enforced code of ethical conduct. |
| | D) | the responsibility that top management has for ensuring that the company's actions and decisions are in the best interest of society at large. |
| | E) | the balance between a company's (1) economic responsibility to reward shareholders with profits, (2) its legal responsibility to comply with the laws of countries where it operates, (3) the ethical responsibility to abide by society's norms of what is moral and just and (4) a philanthropic responsibility to contribute to the non-economic needs of society. |
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| 15 | |
Which of the following is not generally on a company's menu of actions to consider in crafting a strategy of social responsibility? |
| | A) | Actions to ensure that the company operates in an honorable and ethical manner |
| | B) | Actions to provide suppliers, distributors, and other value chain partners with handsome profit margins |
| | C) | Actions to build a workforce that is diverse with respect to gender, race, national origin, and perhaps other personal characteristics |
| | D) | Actions to protect or enhance the environment (apart from what is required by governmental authorities) |
| | E) | Actions to create a work environment that enhances the quality of life for employees |
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| 16 | |
Corporate citizenship goes beyond meeting society's expectations for ethical strategies and business behavior by |
| | A) | promoting company personnel for political offices. |
| | B) | enforcing ethical norms among the citizens of the communities in which it operates. |
| | C) | addressing unmet non-economic needs of society. |
| | D) | make sizeable contributions to political action committees representing the interests of the industry. |
| | E) | ensuring that products meet high standards of performance and reliability. |
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| 17 | |
Corporate sustainability involves |
| | A) | a corporate commitment to address the unmet non-economic needs of society. |
| | B) | strategic efforts to meet the needs of today's customers, suppliers, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders, while protecting, and perhaps enhancing, the resources needed by future generations. |
| | C) | striking a balance between (1) the economic responsibility to reward shareholders with profits, (2) the legal responsibility to company with laws in countries where it operates, (3) the ethical responsibility to abide by society's moral norms, and (4) the discretionary philanthropic responsibility to contribute to the non-economic needs of society. |
| | D) | developing the resource strengths necessary to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. |
| | E) | All of these. |
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| 18 | |
Companies committed to corporate sustainability |
| | A) | make major contributions to local civic and charitable organizations. |
| | B) | consider the commitment to the environment as a "first order" priority, commitment to employees as a "second order" priority, and commitment to shareholders as a "third order" commitment. |
| | C) | believe it is essential to strike a balance between shareholder interests and the interest of stakeholders such as suppliers, customers, employees, and the communities in which they operate. |
| | D) | develop and market only products that are "environmentally friendly." |
| | E) | undertake initiatives directed at improving the company's "Triple-P" performance, which places importance on profits, people, and the planet. |
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| 19 | |
Which one of the following is not a part of the business case for why companies should act in a socially responsible manner? |
| | A) | Acting in a socially responsible manner reduces the risk of reputation-damaging incidents. |
| | B) | The aggressive pursuit of market share, revenues, and profits always puts the company in jeopardy of violating society's social responsibility expectations. |
| | C) | Acting in a socially responsible manner is in the overall best interest of shareholders. |
| | D) | To the extent that a company's socially responsible behavior wins applause from consumers and fortifies its reputation, a company may win additional patronage. |
| | E) | Acting in a socially responsible manner can generate internal benefits (as concerns employee recruiting, workforce retention, training, and improved worker productivity). |
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| 20 | |
The business case for why companies should act in a socially responsible manner includes such reasons as |
| | A) | helping avoid or preempt legal and regulatory actions that could prove costly. |
| | B) | avoiding criticism from consumer, environmental, and human rights activist groups. |
| | C) | contributing to lower employee turnover and better worker productivity. |
| | D) | the potential for increased buyer patronage. |
| | E) | All of these. |
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