MGMT 495 - Chapter 9

If one concurs with the school of ethical universalism, then one believes that A. many basic moral standards travel well across cultures and countries and really do not vary significantly according to local cultural beliefs, social mores, religious convictions, and/or the circumstances of the situation. B. what is deemed right or wrong, fair or unfair, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical in business situations should be judged in light of local customs and social mores and can legitimately vary from one culture or nation to another. C. since ethical standards are subjectively determined, each company has a window within which it can define and implement its own ethical principles of right and wrong. D. each country should have some degree of latitude in setting its own ethical standards for judging the ethical correctness of business actions/behaviors within its borders. E. concepts of right and wrong as they apply to business behavior are purely based on an individual's understanding of ethics and differ from person to person.

A

Which of the following is NOT something a company should consider in crafting an environmental sustainability strategy? A. actions to couple environmental degradation and economic growth B. actions to maintain ecological support systems for future generations C. actions to protect the environment that will guard against the ultimate endangerment of the planet D. actions to contain the adverse effects of greenhouse gases E. actions to provide for the longevity of natural resources

A

Which of the following regarding integrated social contracts theory is NOT true? A. Local ethical norms always take precedence over universal ethical norms. B. Certain universal ethical principles apply in those situations where all societies—those endowed with rationality and moral knowledge—have a common moral agreement on what is right and wrong. C. Within the boundaries of a social contract, local cultures or groups can specify what additional actions may or may not be ethically permissible. D. Universal ethical principles or norms leave some "moral free space" for the people in a particular country (or local culture or even a company) to make specific interpretations of what other actions may or may not be permissible within the bounds defined by universal ethical principles. E. Universal ethical norms always take precedence over local ethical norms.

A

A manufacturer and marketer of prescription pharmaceuticals decided to raise the price of its anti-malaria drug from $15.00 per dose to $750.00 per dose, a price increase of 5,000%. Following a public outcry, the CEO was forced to resign, the company was forced to retract the price hike, and the company's stock price sharply declined. Which of the following has the company incurred? A. visible but not intangible costs B. visible and intangible costs C. internal administrative costs but not visible costs D. only visible and internal administrative costs E. internal administrative costs but not intangible costs

B

According to the ethical relativism school of thinking, A. a company should have a different set of ethical standards for each country in which it operates. B. there can be no one-size-fits-all template (set of authentic ethical norms) against which to gauge the conduct of company personnel, due to cross-cultural differences in ethical standards. C. only respected religious experts can provide companies with a higher order moral compass. D. since there can be no one-size-fits-all set of authentic ethical norms, it is appropriate for each company to hold company personnel to observing the company's code of ethical conduct. E. the best source of ethical standards in each country where the company operates is that country's adopted Code of Required Ethical Conduct.

B

Sourcing a supply from a small, women-owned business is an example of a corporate social responsibility action to A. support philanthropy. B. promote workforce diversity. C. protect and sustain the environment. D. ensure honorable and ethical action. E. enhance employee well-being.

B

Which of the following companies incurs mainly internal administrative costs due to unethical practices? A. Company B's tax evasion practices are revealed, leading to a drastic fall in stock prices. B. Company D must retrain its employees who are using their Twitter accounts to post workplace frustrations. C. Company E pays men higher wages than women while at the same time propagating messages of equality and fair play. D. Company A loses its customer loyalty by selling low-quality products for a high cost. E. Company C incurs penalties of $1.5 billion for discharging toxic wastes into a river.

B

Which of the following statements about the ethical relativism school of thinking is FALSE? A. A company that adopts the principle of ethical relativism and holds company personnel to local ethical standards necessarily assumes that what prevails as local morality is an adequate guide to ethical behavior. B. When there are cross-country or cross-cultural differences in ethical standards, it is appropriate for ethical standards in a company's home market to take precedence over what the local ethical standards may be. C. There are few absolutes when it comes to business ethics and thus few ethical absolutes for consistently judging a company's conduct in various countries and markets. D. According to the ethical relativism school of thinking, a "one-size-fits-all" template for judging the ethical appropriateness of business actions and the behaviors of company personnel does not exist. E. In a multinational company, application of ethical relativism equates to multiple sets of ethical standards.

B

Notions of right and wrong, fair and unfair, moral and immoral, ethical and unethical A. are governed mainly by religious views held in different geographic regions of the world. B. ultimately depend on the circumstances—nothing is really black or white when it comes to ethical standards. C. are present in all societies, organizations, and individuals. D. vary enormously from country to country across the world. E. ultimately depend on a person's own values and beliefs.

C

The contentions that (1) 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 and (2) 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, are defining beliefs of which of the following? A. integrative social contracts theory but not the school of ethical universalism B. the school of ethical relativism and the school of ethical universalism C. the school of ethical universalism but not the school of ethical relativism D. the school of ethical relativism but not integrative social contracts theory E. the school of ethical relativism but not the school of ethical universalism

C

Which of the following activities does NOT reflect short termism? A. avoiding stock repurchases made to increase earnings-per-share of a company B. decreasing spending on research and development C. taking into consideration all tangible future cash flows over intangible brand value appreciation D. carrying business operations with existing technologies in all markets to cut costs and increase profits E. maintaining and hiring critical employees with compensations tied to annual company earnings

C

Which 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 is in the overall best interest of shareholders. B. Acting in a socially responsible manner can generate internal benefits (as concerns employee recruiting, workforce retention, employee morale, and training costs). C. Every business has a moral duty to be a good corporate citizen. 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 reduces the risk of reputation-damaging incidents.

C

Which of the following is NOT generally an action for a company to consider in crafting a strategy of social responsibility? A. pursuing actions to protect the environment and, in particular, to minimize or eliminate any adverse impact on the environment stemming from the company's own business activities B. making charitable contributions, donating money and the time of company personnel to community service endeavors, supporting various worthy organizational causes C. taking steps to provide suppliers, distributors, and other value chain partners with handsome profit margins D. devoting efforts to employ an ethical strategy and observe ethical principles in operating the business E. initiating actions to build a workforce that is diverse with respect to gender, race, national origin, and other aspects that different people bring to the workplace

C

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the effect of ethical standards on a company's strategy? A. A strategy that is unethical in whole or in part is morally wrong. B. Pursuing an unethical strategy damages a company's reputation and can have costly consequences. C. An ethical strategy results in higher employee turnover. D. An ethical strategy is good business and is in the best interest of shareholders. E. An unethical strategy reflects badly on the character of the company personnel involved.

C

Which of the following would increase the likelihood of ethical lapses as well as poor long-term company performance? A. attracting investors who think the company's industry will grow B. executive commitment to implementing strategic suggestions from the board of directors C. dramatic cuts in research and development expenditures in years when low earnings are reported by the company D. hiring and maintaining a skilled and diverse workforce E. increases in research and development expenditures in years when low earnings are reported by the company

C

A company that promotes carpooling among its employees, has cut its printer-paper usage in half, and has installed solar panels on its roof is an example of a corporate social responsibility action to A. support philanthropy and participate in community service. B. promote workforce diversity. C. ensure the company operates honorably and ethically. D. protect and sustain the environment. E. enhance workplace amenities and employee well-being.

D

Internal administrative costs which are incurred by companies for ethical wrongdoing include all of the following EXCEPT A. administrative costs associated with future compliance. B. costs of remedial education and ethics training to company personnel. C. costs incurred in taking corrective actions. D. costs attached to adverse effects on employee productivity. E. legal and investigative costs.

D

When high ethical principles are deeply ingrained in the corporate culture of a company, culture can function as a powerful mechanism for all of the following EXCEPT A. gaining employee buy-in to the company's business principles. B. gaining employee buy-in to the company's corporate values. C. communicating ethical behavioral norms. D. boosting short-termism. E. gaining employee buy-in to the company's moral standards.

D

A company's social responsibility strategy typically comprises all of the following EXCEPT A. actions to protect or enhance the environment. B. making charitable contributions and donating money and the time of company personnel to community service endeavors. C. conscious efforts to ensure that all elements of the company's strategy are ethical and that its actions protect or enhance the environment (beyond what is legally required). D. actions to enhance workforce diversity and make the company a great place to work. E. actions to keep the company's profits at a reasonable and acceptable level to ensure the company's products/pricing will not be viewed by the general public as obscenely high or exorbitant.

E

How do ethical principles apply to businesses? A. They are generally more stringent than the ethical principles for society at large. B. They chiefly deal with the actions and behaviors required to operate companies in a socially responsible manner. C. They are generally less stringent than the ethical principles for society at large. D. They chiefly deal with the rules each company's top management and board of directors make about "what is right" and "what is wrong." E. They are not materially different from ethical principles in general.

E

The school of ethical relativism holds that A. what constitutes ethical or unethical conduct should be determined by the religious convictions of each society or each culture within a country. B. concepts of right and wrong are always a function of each individual's own set of values, beliefs, and ethical convictions. C. concepts of right and wrong as they apply to business behavior are always absolute and usually more stringent than universal ethical principles. D. concepts of right and wrong are always governed by business norms in each country, culture, or society. E. when there are cross-country or cross-cultural differences in what is deemed ethical or unethical in business situations, it is appropriate for local moral standards to take precedence over what the ethical standards may be elsewhere.

E

The theory of corporate social responsibility concerns A. top management's responsibility to ensure that the company's actions and decisions are in the best interest of society at large. 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. a company's duty to maximize shareholder value. E. the company's responsibility to balance between strategic actions to benefit shareholders against the duty to be a good corporate citizen.

E

The three dimensions of performance are often referred to in terms of the "three pillars" and include all of the following EXCEPT A. the economic impact (value and costs) that the company has on society. B. a firm's ecological impact and environmental practices. C. the various social initiatives that make up the CSR strategies. D. a company's efforts to improve the lives of its internal and external stakeholders. E. a company's efforts to reduce research and development funding to boost profits.

E

Which of the following is true of the school of ethical universalism? A. The standards of what constitutes ethical and unethical behavior in business situations are partly universal, but in the main are governed by local business norms. B. They are ethical principles that set forth the traits and behaviors considered virtuous and that a good person is supposed to believe in and display. C. They are ethical principles embodied in international law that all societies and countries are obliged practice. D. It is mandatory that the standards of what's ethical and what's unethical be applied universally to all businesses in all countries irrespective of local business traditions and local business norms. E. All societies and countries apply essentially the very same set of universally defined ethical principles of right and wrong in judging the ethical correctness of business behavior.

E

Which one of the following is NOT a key element of integrated social contracts theory? A. Universal ethical principles or norms leave some "moral free space" for the people in a particular country (or local culture or even a company) to make specific interpretations of what other actions may or may not be permissible within the bounds defined by universal ethical principles. B. Commonly held views about what is morally right and wrong form a "social contract" (contract with society) that is binding on all individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses in terms of establishing the line between ethical and unethical behaviors. C. Universal ethical principles apply in those situations where most all societies—endowed with rationality and moral knowledge—have common moral agreement on what is wrong and thereby put limits on what actions and behaviors fall inside the boundaries of what is right, and which ones fall outside. D. Universal ethical norms always take precedence over local ethical norms. E. Integrated social contracts theory rejects the slippery slope of ethical relativism and embraces ethical universalism.

E