CH6
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) operates a program that rewards per cent of recovered unpaid taxes to those who provide information about tax fraud.
15 to 30
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines stipulate that fines can be substantially reduced - by as much as ______ per cent - if the company can show that it has an effective ethics program in place, and as long as the illegal behavior is promptly reported and was not committed by high-level employees.
90
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
A U.S. law that makes bribery illegal and requires companies to maintain adequate internal accounting systems and accurate records of transactions
Values Statement
A formal statement of the core beliefs, principles, and priorities that are shared within an organization
Ethics assist line (or ethics hotline)
A mechanism that employees can use to seek advice on handling ethical issues and to report unethical behavior in the workplace
Code of conduct
A set of rules, principles, standards, and policies regarding acceptable and unacceptable behavior by organizational members
Ombudsperson
An employee who has been designated to hear anonymous or confidential claims of ethics violations, investigate these claims, decide how the claim should be handled, and implement appropriate changes
Values-based ethics program
An ethics program (also known as an integrity-based program) that emphasizes living up to shared ethical values in addition to compliance with laws
Compliance-based ethics program
An ethics program that sets out rules for behavior and punishes failure to comply with those rules
Ethical organization
An organization into which ethical values have been built into every element
If top ethics officers are seen as close confidantes of the ______, then their efforts are taken more seriously in the company.
CEO
The ______ ensure that sentences imposed for corporate crimes are consistent for all organizations and establish incentives for organizations to detect and prevent corporate crimes.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations
Which legislation made bribery illegal and required companies to maintain adequate internal accounting systems and accurate records of transactions?
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO)
Guidelines to ensure that sentences imposed for corporate crimes are consistent for all organizations, and to establish incentives for organizations to detect and prevent corporate crimes
Fraud
Illegal deception for the purpose of financial or other personal gain
Organic organizations
Organizations that are able to adapt to their environments. They are characterized by low degrees of specialization and formalization, decentralized decision-making, and a flat hierarchy
Mechanistic Organizations
Organizations that operate precisely and efficiently. They are characterized by highly specialized and formalized work, centralized decision-making, and a tall hierarchy
Organizational Culture
Shared assumptions and values regarding the appropriate ways to think and behave and the artifacts that express them
Discrimination
The act of treating a person unfairly based on the social category one puts that person into
Organizational Structure
The arrangement of employees, groupings, tasks, and authority within an organization
Ethical Climate
The atmosphere of an organization regarding how to address ethical issues
Money Laundering
The concealment of illegally obtained money, typically by transferring it through a seemingly legitimate transaction
Chief ethics officer
The employee with primary responsibility for ensuring ethical behavior by and within the organization
Tax Evasion
The illegal nonpayment or underpayment of taxes owed
Servant Leadership
The leadership philosophy that emphasizes putting others first and helping them develop and perform at their best
Bribery
The making of a corrupt payment to a foreign official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person
Vision
The organization's objective; the state it hopes to attain
Mission
The organization's purpose; what it is and why it exists
Ethical values
The organization's values that explicitly pertain to ethics; the principles that govern behavior in addressing ethical issues
Ethics Program
The policies and procedures for promoting and ensuring law-abiding and ethical behavior within an organization
Values
The principles by which the organization will conduct itself as it seeks to achieve its vision
Ethical Leadership
The process of taking ethical actions to influence others to act ethically to achieve organizational goals
Embezzlement
Theft of anyone's identity and core beliefs, and how it lives them out systematically through its activities and engagement with stakeholders
A set of rules, principles, standards, and policies regarding acceptable and unacceptable behavior within an organization is a(n) ______.
code of conduct
An employee who has been designated to hear anonymous or confidential claims of ethics violations, investigate these claims, decide how the claim should be handled, and implement appropriate changes is known as a(n) ______.
omsbudperson
The US Congress passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after investigations revealed that numerous companies were ______.
paying bribes to foreign government officials in exchange for business favors
In general, social media use policies should seek to strike a balance between ______ and ______.
protecting the company's legitimate business interests; respecting employees' rights to privacy and freedom of speech
Cindy is an accounting professional for a small engineering firm and notices that some of the managers do not accurately report losses in their areas of operation. She reports this misconduct to her boss, which is the company's CFO. Her actions make her a(n) ______.
whistleblower