chapter 10 - making it stick: doing what's right in a competitive market

Which of the following factors is likely to make companies revise and rewrite their codes of ethics from time to time?

A continuous change in the technology used by the company

Which of the following actions is most likely to lead to the promotion of an organization's commitment to ethical behavior?

Allowing employees to visit client sites to talk about the organization's code of ethics

Which of the following statements is true of sustainable ethics?

An organization's commitment to ethical behavior must be documented in a code of ethics for everyone to begin from the same starting point.

Downerz Enterprises (DE) has been in the news for fraud by one its directors. As a result, the trustees of DE have appointed a new director who has established a strict code of ethics. He has announced extensive training for every member of the organization. An ethics officer has also been hired by DE. Which of the following steps is most likely to be taken next by the new director to maintain ethical behavior in the organization?

Celebrate and reward the ethical behavior demonstrated by its employees.

Which of the following steps is the immediate next stage in making ethical behavior sustainable for a company after it hires an ethics officer?

Celebrating and rewarding the ethical behavior demonstrated by its employees

Which of the following is the first stage in making ethical behavior sustainable for a company?

Establishing a code of ethics

Which of the following statements is advice from the Institute of Business Ethics for creating a code of ethics from scratch?

Get an endorsement from the chairperson and the board.

Walter Warburg & Co., a new investment banking firm, has dismissed the idea of establishing a code of ethics for its employees. Which of the following consequences is most likely to take place as a result of this decision?

It cannot document punishments for the violation of ethical policies.

Which of the following statements is true of transparency?

It provides avenues to increase organizational efficiency.

Some of the employees, including the top managers and the board of directors, of Warburges Inc. have been in the news lately for accepting bribes and using corporate resources for personal expenses. Which of the following characteristics did the firm fail to demonstrate?

Organizational integrity

_____ describes the characteristic of publicly committing to the highest level of professional standards and then sticking to that commitment.

Organizational integrity

According to the documentation of a survey conducted by the Ethics and Compliance Officers Association, which of the following responsibilities ranks highest among the chief responsibilities of an ethics officer?

Overlooking hotline/guideline/internal reporting

HP Chase Inc., an investment banking firm, has decided to make ethical behavior sustainable in its organization. It has set up the process of monitoring ethical behavior by establishing a code of ethics. Which of the following stages is HP Chase Inc. most likely to undertake next?

Support the code of ethics with extensive training for every member of the organization

Which of the following statements is a piece of advice from the Institute of Business Ethics for creating a code of ethics?

The code should be publicly shared on platforms associated with the company.

Which of the following elements is most likely be included by an organization in its code of ethics?

The policies for behavior in specific situations

The _____ of an organization is the senior executive responsible for monitoring its moral standards both internally and externally.

ethics officer

The audience for the code of ethics of an organization should include the:

investors of the organization.

The difference between reactive and proactive policies of an organization is that:

reactive policies are driven by events and/or a fear of future events, whereas proactive policies are driven by a clear sense of what is construed as ethical for the organization.

A well-written code of ethics:

states policies for behavior in specific situations.

_____ is ethical behavior that persists long after the latest public scandal or the latest management buzzword.

sustainable ethics

Arthur and Nicole are arguing over the creation of a code of ethics for an organization. Arthur believes that it would be good for organizations to follow the advice from the Institute of Business Ethics before creating the code of ethics, while Nicole disagrees with him. Which of the following actions would an organization take if it agrees with Arthur?

The organization would determine the topics on which employees require guidance.

Edmund has been recently appointed as executive in-charge of the code of conduct for Elmer Enterprises. He administers the code of conduct among the organization's employees and oversees the investigations of wrongdoings in the organization. He also provides additional guidance and support to the employees. Edmund is most likely to be the _____ of the organization.

ethics officer

A company's commitment to ethical behavior affects:

every managerial level and every department of the organization equally and increases its efficiency.

Altra Partners (AP) believes in maintaining sustainable ethics. It has recently established a code of ethics and organized comprehensive training sessions for all its members. Which of the following steps is most likely to be undertaken next by AP?

hiring an ethics officer

A policy that results when an organization is driven by events and/or a fear of future events is known as a _____.

reactive ethical policy

In the context of a company's ethics policy, which of the following actions should an organization avoid taking?

Communicating only to internal stakeholders

According to the documentation of a survey conducted by the Ethics and Compliance Officers Association survey, which of the following responsibilities ranks lowest in the category of the main responsibilities of an ethics officer?

Conducting investigations of wrongdoing

Which of the following is most likely to be the next stage in making ethical behavior sustainable for an organization after it promotes its commitment to ethical behavior?

Continuously monitoring the ethical behavior of its employees as the company grows

Which of the following risks is most likely to occur as a result of organizational transparency?

Loss of market advantage through corporate espionage

Which of the following statements is true of the code of ethics of an organization?

The code of ethics does not have a perfect model.

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true of an organization's code of ethics?

The code of ethics is written for the employees of an organization, and the stakeholders are not required to follow it.

Which of the following statements is true of ethics officers?

They monitor the ethical performance of the organization both internally and externally.

Derek oversees the investigation of wrongdoings in his organization and provides additional guidance and support to the employees. He also develops training programs for every department to maintain organizational conduct. Which of the following positions does Derek most likely hold in his company?

ethics officer

Brenner Inc. (BI) is formulating its ethics policy with the goal of increasing employee loyalty and improving customer satisfaction. In order to meet these goals, BI should ensure that its policy:

includes threats of punishments balanced with rewards.

A policy that results when a company develops a clear sense of what it stands for as an ethical organization is known as a _____.

proactive ethical policy

In the context of the creation of a code of ethics, the Institute of Business Ethics advises companies:

to introduce practical examples of the code in all company internal (and external) training programs and induction courses.

Bretton Inc. (BI), a multinational corporation, releases detailed financial statements at the end of every quarter of a year. It is open and honest with its clients in all communication and clearly states the terms and conditions of its contracts. In this scenario, which of the following organizational characteristics is best illustrated by BI?

transparency

_____ in business means that stakeholders have visibility deep into the processes and information of an organization.

transparency