Chapter 6 Part 2, Chapter 8

Consistent with best practices in ethics training, at least one mandatory ethics training should be offered annually.

True

Ethics training, if well done, holds both managers and non-management employees accountable for their ethical behaviors, and provides an opportunity for misunderstandings to be addressed.

True

Web-based training can be a simple and effective method for making employees aware of the most common ethical issues at work.

True

Approximately 60 percent of employees have stolen from their employers.

True (as of 2013)

Essay Qn 2: Discuss the typical duties and skills of an ethics and compliance officer.

The typical duties and skills of an ethics and compliance officer are to manage internal reporting systems, assess areas for ethical risks, offer guidance, monitor the organization's adherence to its Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct, oversee the ethics communication strategy, develop and interpret ethics policies, oversee the ethics training program, receive information abut potential wrongdoings, collect and analyze relevant data, ensure that decisions are made and enforces, and inform employees about outcomes.

According to recent research by the Ethics Resource Center, which percentage of respondents who observed ethical misconduct did not report it?

37%

Prior to the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley, the number of whistleblower reports averaged 6,400 per month; following Sarbanes-Oxley, the monthly average changed to ____________ per month.

40,000

In order to preserve anonymity, change references to specific people and places when discussing real-life ethical dilemmas during ethics training.

True

It is possible to assess the "ethical culture" of an organization through use of survey instruments.

True

Upper-level managers establish the overall ethics tone that is then filtered throughout an organization; as such, training can help these leaders achieve consensus on how to address difficult behaviors.

True

An employee who observes ethical misconduct at work but does not discuss the matter with the person engaged in the misconduct or with someone else in the organization with authority is engaging in

employee silence

________________, previously referred to as "ethics hotlines," have long been popular with organizations as a method of obtaining information about situations that may be unethical or illegal.

Assist lines

Legislation developed in response to the 2008-2010 financial crisis, which includes rewards for information about securities violations successfully enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is called the ______________.

Dodd-Frank Act

Because types of ethical dilemmas vary according to who is involved, the circumstances and context, it is not particularly helpful to explore common ethical problems experienced in the organization or its industry.

False

Employee workshops on fraud detection are not effective in discouraging those who are considering committing a fraud, nor can they realistically help detect frauds as soon as they occur.

False

To ensure organizational harmony and team-building, divergent thinking and creative problem solving should be discouraged during ethics training, in favor of a single approach to decision-making.

False

It is inappropriate to examine ethical issues presented in the business ethics literature or internet websites for the purposes of training; doing so does not allow employees to explore their own organization.

False- Drop the beat here!

The terms fraud, theft and embezzlement can be used interchangeably.

False- Meanings are different.

The position in an organization charged with broad oversight of ethical performance is the:

ethics & compliance officer

Even when the appropriate reporting systems are in place and when individual factors such as seniority and possession of clear evidence are available, some workers still fail to speak out against unethical misconduct due to a lack of _____________.

moral courage

Based on factors of __________________, observers are likely to remain silent about ethical misconduct if the misconduct causes minimal consequences to the recipient or the organization, occurs in a physically distant part of the organization, or if there is a lack of consensus in the organization that the misconduct is actually unethical.

moral intensity

Research indicates which of the following outcomes may be associated with blowing the whistle?

negative performance evaluations, demotions, physical, psychological and family problems (All the above)

Legislation that includes protections for whistleblowers includes all but which of the following?

the False Claims Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the Civil Rights Act (NONE of the above)

The False Claims Act compels the whistleblower to consider all but which of the following?

the fraud must be tax fraud; tax fraud is the only type of fraud the act addresses

A useful method of ethics training may include presenting actual cases of employees or people in the industry violating a Code of Conduct and the punishments they received.

True

The _______________ of 2002 was enacted directly following high-profile accounting scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and other companies that cost investors billions during the early 2000s.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

37. Fear of retaliation for reporting unethical conduct from colleagues and supervisors is a realistic concern.

True

Outline the steps required for an effective ethics-training workshop.

Your Answer: CEO or supervisor expresses support for the activity Clarify workshop rationale, goals, and objectives Present competitive advantages of maintaining an ethical work culture (see Chapter 1) Foster awareness of industry, organizational, or work unit ethical issues Introduce the organization's Code of Ethics and Conduct (see Chapter 4) Focus on a salient issue or behavior that challenges the Code of Ethics and Conduct Legitimize an ethical decision-making process (see Chapter 5) Individually apply the decision-making process to a specific relevant situation Discuss the issue in small groups Debrief Assess and evaluate the workshop for continuous improvement

How would you assess the success of an ethics-training workshop?

Your Answer: 1) evaluating if the ethics training workshop material presented has been learned by the participants 2) evaluating if the workshop participant's objectives have been met, and based on this information 3) providing more effective instruction in the future by building on what worked previously and modifying what didn't work. By observing and utilizing these stages we can evaluate and develop a better version of an ethics training workshop.

The best ethics reporting system is:

an ethically approachable manager

Which of the following duties is not consistent with those of the ethics and compliance officer?

assigning all ethical issues equal standing

Which of the following were not among reported ethical misconducts undertaken to benefit the individual, according to a 2009 Ethics Resource Center survey?

bribes

Members of a religious clergy trained in providing spiritual advice, sometimes contracted by businesses in consulting functions, are known as ___________.

chaplains

An approachable manager displays which of the following characteristics?

honesty and transparency

Which of the following attributes should characterize an ethics and compliance officer?

insider status and well-networked, high position that exemplifies authority, operational experience (all the above)

External whistleblowing is the result of the failure of ______________ within an organization.

internal communication systems

Which of the following observer factors are not associated with employee silence?

low moral intensity, lack of evidence, lack of empowerment (NONE of the above)

31. Observers of ethical misconduct will often remain silent when they perceive reporting as a violation of ___________ to employees, managers, and the organization.

loyalty

The ethics and compliance officer's primary duty is to:

manage the organization's internal reporting system

32. The ethics and compliance officer in an organization must differentiate between which of the following types of ethical issues?

material and inmaterial issues

Which of the following principles is not consistent with the legal obligations of an organization's ombudsperson?

prosecution of wrongdoing

Which of the following is not a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)?

protection for whistleblowers, creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, establishment of an anonymous reporting mechanism for employees to report fraud, auditors cannot engage in consulting work for companies they are auditing without approval from the client's audit committee (NONE of the above)

In general, ethically approachable managers embody _____________ behaviors.

virtuous

Contacting someone outside the organization about potential or actual nontrivial misconduct inside the organization is referred to as __________________.

whistleblowing

Which of the following organizational factors are associated with employee silence? a) work culture discourages dissent

work culture discourages dissent, loyalty to the organizational members is not aligned with ethics, no established reporting system exists (all the above)

52. Legal advisors recommend that it is irrelevant whether or not the whistleblower has convincing, documented evidence before moving forward with informing an external authority.

False

Fraud cannot occur in nonprofit or governmental organizations because there are no shareholder resources to steal.

False

If Codes of Conduct and Ethics are displayed prominently throughout the workplace, further analysis will not be helpful in determining the extent to which employees embrace them.

False

Requiring a written response to ethical dilemmas is not helpful because it forces the employees to put their opinions in writing.

False

48. The roles of the organization's ethics and compliance officer and ombudsperson are interchangeable.

False

49. It is impossible to discourage false accusations with an effective assist line.

False

51. Whistleblowers are always perceived as disgruntled employees seeking revenge against a boss or employer.

False

34. People are often uncomfortable conveying negative information to organizational leaders who welcome ethical discussions.

False

36. Employee silence is less likely when the chain of command is the only mechanism for reporting and when the person behaving unethically can readily identify the information source.

False

39. An "open door" policy between supervisors and employees means the door remains open during every conversation, to ensure an open and transparent process of discussion.

False

42. Legislation including Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ensures that whistleblowers will face no negative consequences after blowing the whistle.

False

43. The False laims Act initially passed in 1863 and strengthened in 1986 is designed to protect employers from whistleblowers making false accusations.

False

44. It is not important whether or not the ethics and compliance officer is perceived as someone with authority in the organization

False

A strength of facilitator-guided face-to-face ethics training is that it allows for discussion and motivating employees to get out of their "comfort zone".

True

Because individuals are more likely to discuss work-related ethical issues with family and friends than with coworkers or executives, realistically, ethics training is unlikely to be effective.

True

Essay Qn 3: Discuss the attributes of an effective ethics and compliance officer.

The attributes of an effective ethics and compliance officer includes insider status and is well networked with business unit managers, a high position that exemplifies authority, the trust and respect of organizational executives, independence from senior staff and freedom from internal political pressure, operational experience, knowledge of organizational issues and activities, access to internal information as needed, knowledge of ethical theories, counseling and communication skills, and problem-solving skills.

33. Ethical misconduct at the workplace can be undertaken for the purposes of enhancing the company's financial performance agenda or for personal benefits for those engaging in the misconduct.

True

35. Authoritarian leaders rule according to the saying "my way or the highway," tend to expect absolute loyalty, and consider taking suggestions from subordinates as a leadership weakness.

True

38. Employees are more likely to discuss an ethical concern with a manager if these types of discussions occur on a regular basis.

True

40. Ethics-related information can come from suppliers and customers, in addition to employees.

True

Discuss the eleven personality measures/surveys associated with ethics that can be useful tools for ethics training.

Your Answer: - Idealism/Relativism measures whether a person tends to be an "idealist" or "relativist" when responding to an ethical dilemma. The 20-item survey consists of two 10-item factors (idealism and relativism). - Ethical Ideology measures whether a person tends to be "principled" (deontology) or "expedient" (relativism) when responding to an ethical dilemma. An 18-item survey. - Moral Identity measures whether a person internalizes moral character traits (internationalization) and projects them to others (symbolization). Survey participants read a list of 9 moral character traits (e.g., caring, compassionate, fair) and then answer a 10-item survey consisting of two 5-item factors (internalization and symbolization). - Moral Courage measures whether a person exercises moral principles. The 15-item survey consists of five 3-item factors (moral agency, multiple values, endurance of threats, going beyond compliance, and moral goals). - Empathy measures a person's emotional reaction to the experiences of another person. The 28-item survey consists of four 7-item factors (perspective-taking, emphatic concern, personal distress, fantasy). - Altruism measures whether a person engages in altruistic behaviors. Survey participants evaluate the extent to which they have performed a list of 20 behaviors. - Trust measures whether a person is willing to be vulnerable in supervisor interactions. A 7-item survey. - Ethical Self-Efficacy measures whether a person believes he or she can successfully perform an ethical behavior. A 12-item survey consists of three factors (uses and keeps computer self-efficacy, distribution self-efficacy, and persuasion self-efficacy). - Machiavellianism measures whether a person identifies with "the ends justify the means" moral thinking. A 20-item survey. - Locus of Control measures whether a person believes she or he controls (internal), or is controlled by (external), events in life. The 30-item survey consists of two 15-item factors (internal and external locus of control). - Life Regard measures whether a person values living a meaningful life (framework) and whether this desire is being fulfilled (fulfillment). The 28-item survey consists of two 14-item factors (framework and fulfillment).

Which of the following is not an anticipated negative outcome associated with employee silence?

no established reporting system

The position serving as a deterrent against managerial abuse of power and other unethical activities, a concept which originated in government, is known as a(n) ____________.

ombudsperson

Employee silence about observed ethical conduct can be attributed to all but which of the following?

organizational factors such as work culture, observer factors such as lack of evidence, anticipated negative outcomes such as being viewed negatively, organizational factors such as the lack of an established reporting system (NONE of the above)

Provisions by which citizens can sue fraudulent suppliers on behalf of the government, and receive a percentage of the financial recovery, are called __________ provisions.

qui tam

Essay Qn 5: Describe the process a manager can undertake to engage employees in discussion of ethical misconduct.

A diverse set of managerial techniques and attributes can help employees become comfortable sharing sensitive ethical information: • Provide ongoing dialogue for ethical discussions - if it is normal to have conversations about ethics, then discussing instances of potential ethical misconduct becomes part of the workplace culture. • Highlight the importance of introducing the organization's code of ethics and the ethical decision-making framework during employee orientation - refer to these documents as often as possible and relate them directly to specific decisions and actions. • Become an "approachable" manager to help employees overcome fears about discussing any workplace problem, including ethical misconduct. • Honest managers attract honest reactions - managers who honestly share their ethical challenges tend to attract employees wanting to discuss their own ethical challenges or observations about ethical misconduct. • Having frequent interactions with subordinates increases a manager's approachability. • Managers must thrust their ethical institutions and engage the subordinate in future conversation if there is a sense that the employee is hesitant to discuss something. In large corporations, an ethics and compliance officer, ombudsperson, chaplain, and assist lines are other internal mechanisms for eliciting and discussing ethical issues.

Essay Qn 4: Provide at least five examples of reasons why some employees do not report ethical misconduct.

A wide range of reasons for maintaining silence about an observed ethical misconduct can be attributed to organizational factors, observer factors, and anticipated negative outcomes. Organizational Factors: Examples of reasons why some employees do not report ethical misconduct are work culture discourages conveying negative information or dissent, loyalty to employees, manager, organization, and profession is not aligned with ethics, no established reporting system beyond chain of command, and the lack of anonymity for reporting misconduct. Observer Factors: Five examples of reasons why some employees do not report ethical misconduct are habituated not to share sensitive information, low moral intensity, lack of evidence, lack of empowerment, and lack of seniority. Anticipated Negative Outcome: Five examples of reasons why some employees do not report ethical misconduct are being labeled or viewed negatively, damaging a relationship, retaliation or punishment, negatively impacting other, and being blamed for the problem.

45. In order to be effective, the ethics and compliance officer must be someone in a dedicated position, not someone who serves that function in addition to another role such as legal counsel.

False

47. In order to successfully prosecute wrongdoing in the workplace, the employee who raised the concern must identify him/herself during the investigation process.

False

54. Though increasingly viewed as a public service in the interest of society, whistleblowing does not merit legal protections through the law.

False

It is always best to utilize an ethics workshop facilitator who is not a member of the organization, but rather an expert from outside.

False

It is important to present ethics training materials in a way that targets specific employees for their behavior to provide an example for others in the organization.

False

It is inappropriate to characterize work as a "calling" or vocation because it implies religious affiliation.

False

It is typically inappropriate to include ethics and personality measures in ethics training, because these are personal issues.

False

Lengthy ethical cases or vignettes are more effective in soliciting meaningful feedback from employees during ethics training.

False

Essay Qn 1: Discuss the steps associated with best practices in the internal reporting process.

There are 14 steps associated with best practices in the internal reporting process. Step 1: Develop the ethics reporting policy in partnership with those in upper management positions to establish their buy-in. Step 2: Communicate the ethics reporting policy to all employees through multiple media, such as the employee handbook, email, the company intranet site, department meetings, and training sessions. Step 3: Emphasize the importance of reporting concerns about unethical and illegal conduct. Management cannot act on what it does not know. Step 4: Assure people that any form of retaliation against an employee who raises an ethical concern is prohibited. Step 5: If appropriate, the employee should first attempt to resolve the issue by directly approaching the individual engages in the questionable activity. Step 6: If direct discussion or resolution is not possible, then the employee should confidentially meet with the Ethics & Compliance Officer (ECO) to discuss the issue. Step 7: If the employee prefers not to reveal his or her identity, then the employee should anonymously submit the concern to the ECO through the organization's intranet reporting system or in a sealed box. Establish a means of communication if the issue becomes a high-priority item needing additional information from the employee. Step 8: Assure the employee that his or her identity will not be revealed without consent. Step 9: Interview the employee and discuss clarifying questions. Step 10: Develop a plan for investigating the case in a manner that honors the employee's confidentiality or anonymity. Step 11: Conduct the investigation in a fair and confidential manner. Step 12: If the investigation reveals that the employee's allegations are accurate, take prompt action to correct the wrongdoing. Step 13: Inform the employee about the outcome of the investigation. Step 14: Establish an appeals process for employees dissatisfied with the outcome of the initial investigation. Provide an advocate, probably from the Human Resources Department, to assist an employee who wishes to appeal an outcome.

41. Assist lines or "ethics hotlines" can help address issues of confidentiality and false accusations in reporting wrongdoing.

True

46. Even smaller organizations with less than 50 employees can benefit from a clearly articulated internal reporting system for ethical issues.

True

50. A method for preserving employee anonymity in the internal reporting system is to use an identification number for the case and filter communications through a resource such as EthicsPoint or other telephone services.

True

53. Several resources including nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organizations exist to provide support to potential or actual whistleblowers.

True

55. With enhancements to the internal reporting process and development of an approachable management style, organizations can reduce the need for employee whistleblowing.

True

A useful method of ethics training can include formulation of "games" modeled after quiz shows designed to raise awareness of ethical issues at work.

True

A useful step in ethics training involving exploring ethical scenarios is to encourage discussion of minority viewpoints.

True

Members of some professions are required to take ethics training as part of obtaining or renewing their professional licenses to protect the public from incompetent practitioners.

True

Discuss the steps involved in facilitating an ethics dialogue workshop through application of the systematic rational ethical decision-making framework.

Your Answer: Step 1: Distribute the 7-Question Systematic Rational Ethical Decision-Making Framework and review it using a sample business problem. Step 2: Distribute a real-life situation to workshop participants, read it out loud, and have participants apply the Systematic Rational Ethical Decision-Making Framework to derive a moral conclusion that supports one of the decision options. Step 3: Count the votes for each recommendation. Step 4: Develop position rationale in small groups. Step 5: Empower the minority position. Step 6: Reach a conclusion. Step 7: Explain the logic of the established decision from multiple points of view, and explain why the ethical standards are best to be followed- even if it is just because this way, people won't lose their jobs.