Chapter 8 Business Ethics
Which of the following is true about a compliance orientation?
A compliance orientation can aid in organizational ethical decision-making.
Which of the following is not a main goal of successful ethics training programs?
Allow employees to solve ethical issues using their best judgment.
Which of the following is the most comprehensive?
Code of ethics
_____ are formal statements that describe what an organization expects of its employees in terms of ethical behavior.
Codes of conduct
Which of the following strives to create order by requiring that employees identify with and commit to specific required conduct?
Compliance Orientation
Which of the following is a common mistake made in implementing an ethics program?
Developing materials that are not understandable by the average employee
Which of the following is an advantage of a values-based ethics program over a compliance-based one?
Employees learn to make decisions based on values such as fairness, compassion, respect, and transparency.
The best way to develop an ethical corporate culture is to provide character education to existing employees or hire employees with good character and sensitize them to ethical issues.
False
____ serve as a central contact point where critical comments, dilemmas, and advice can be assigned to the person most appropriate for handling a specific case.
Hotlines
Which of the following statements about training is false?
It can dictate personal ethics on the job so employees no longer have differences in beliefs.
What is one of the responsibilities of an ethics officer?
Monitoring and auditing ethical conduct
Which of the following legislation has increased the responsibilities on ethics officers and boards of directors to monitor financial reporting?
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Which document serves the general public and also addresses distinct groups such as stakeholders?
Statement of values
Aurico is a company that offers ethics hotline maintenance for organizations. Which component of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations compliance program does this service help organizations to satisfy?
Systems for monitoring, auditing, and reporting misconduct
Which of the following statements about codes of conduct is false?
They address every ethical issue that an employee may face.
What is one of the goals of ethics training?
To identify key risk areas employees will face.
_____ may be more inclined to engage in unethical organizational conduct because of social isolation that creates insensitivity and a lower level of motivation to regulate ethical decision making.
Top managers
What is a major problem organizations tend to have when implementing organizational ethics program?
Top managers don't integrate codes, values, and standards into their firms' corporate cultures.
One common problem found with corporate codes of ethics is that the codes were written too legalistically.
True
The support of top management is essential to the successful effectiveness of an ethics and compliance program.
True
A strong ethics program includes all of the following elements except
a clause promising good stock market performance.
In the "bad apple-bad barrel" analogy, the bad barrel refers to
an unethical corporate culture.
Because top managers may be more insensitive to ethical issues due to their focus on financial performance, the FSGO guidelines suggest that ethics officers report to the _____ instead.
board of directors
At the heart of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations is a
carrot-and-stick philosophy that rewards efforts to improve ethics.
A _____ generates an ethical program that creates order by requiring that employees identify with and commit to specific required conduct using legal terms and statutes.
compliance orientation
A(n) _____ orientation creates order by requiring that employees identify with and commit to specific required conduct, whereas a(n) _____ orientation strives to develop shared standards.
compliance; values
For an ethics and compliance program to properly function,
consistent enforcement and disciplinary action are essential.
The individual responsible for implementing disciplinary action for violation of a firm's ethics standards is usually the
ethics officer.
One of the main reasons employees do not report observed misconduct is
fear of retaliation.
Top managers tend to focus on _____ because their jobs and personal identity are often connected to quarterly returns.
financial performance
When measuring the effectiveness of an ethics program, it is important to
get input from employees.
To ensure that an ethics program addresses the needs of the average employee, it should include all of the following except
lengthy legal documents.
The ultimate "stick" associated with the FSGO is fines or probation, which involves on-site observation by consultants, monitoring of the company's ethical compliance efforts, and
reporting to the U.S. Sentencing Commission on the company's progress in avoiding misconduct.
Because a corporation can be considered a moral agent, it is therefore
responsible to society for its actions.
Organizations can become "bad barrels" because
the pressure to succeed creates opportunities that reward unethical decisions.
With regard to ethics, training and communication initiatives should reflect
the unique characteristics of an organization.
In the absence of ethics programs, employees are likely to make decisions based on
their observations of how their coworkers and superiors behave.
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations require federal judges to increase fines for organizations that continually
tolerate misconduct.
In the long run, a(n) ______ orientation may be better for companies, perhaps because it increases employees' awareness of ethics issues at work.
values
What is the difference between a code of ethics and a code of conduct?
A code of ethics is more comprehensive than a code of conduct.