Business ethics DeLeon Midterm

Which of the following is the most demanding social responsibility?

A business should not sell a product that causes harm to consumers.

Identify a true statement about culture.

A firm culture can be its sustaining vale, offering it direction and stability during challenging times.

Which of the following is part of the final step in an ethical decision-making process?

Adaptation stage

Which of the following is a similarity between utilitarianism and stakeholder theory?

Both consider the consequences of management decisions for the well-being of all affected groups.

Which of the following is a true statement in the context of the libertarian understandings of social justice?

Businesses should be free to pursue profit in any voluntary and nondeceptive manner.

Identify the step of the ethical decision-making process that involves predicting the likely, foreseeable, and the possible consequences to all the relevant stakeholders.

Comparing and weighing the alternatives

In the ethical decision making process, moral imagination is used by decision makers while ________.

Considering the available alternatives

Which of the following statements is true about ethical cultures?

Employees are expected to act in responsible ways, even if the law does not require it.

Which of the following observations is true?

Ethical systems are different for governments and businesses.

"We ought to stop at a red light, even if no cars are coming and I could get to my destination that much sooner." Identify the ethical approach that follows this line of thought.

Ethics of principles

According to David Vogel, investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) when consumers are not willing to pay higher prices to support that investment improves the profit levels of the firm.

False

An ethics of virtue focuses on the actions of a person rather than the person's characteristics.

False

Consequences or justifications always override every other consideration when comparing alternatives for ethical decision making.

False

Differing individual perception of culture makes it easier to define the specific culture within an organization.

False

Ethical decisions cannot be made on economic grounds.

False

In a general sense, a business stakeholder is one who has made substantial financial investments in the business.

False

In civil law, there is no room for ambiguity in applying the law because much of the law is established by past precedent.

False

Philosopher Norman Bowie rejected the economic view that managers are the agents of stockholder-owners and thus they also have a duty to further the interests of stockholders.

False

Principle-based ethics direct us to consider the moral character of individuals and how various character traits can contribute to, or obstruct, a happy and meaningful human life.

False

Stakeholders include only those groups and/or individuals who take calls on internal decisions, policies, or operations.

False

The "administrative" version of utilitarianism considers competitive markets to be the most efficient means of maximizing happiness.

False

The concept of a human or moral right is central to the utilitarian ethical tradition.

False

Values are the only guidance individuals need to act in ways that are positive or ethical.

False

Volunteering and charitable work are examples of the most demanding social responsibilities of a business.

False

According to David Vogel, which of the following should a firm be most cautious about when engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities?

Investing in CSR when consumers are not willing to pay higher prices to support that investment.

Which of the following is true of moral imagination?

It distinguishes good people who make ethically responsible decisions from good people who do not.

Which of the following statements is true of the common view of corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

It holds that the primary responsibility of managers is to serve shareholders.

Identify a true statement about the field of business ethics.

It involves decisions at the individual, at the organizational, and at a broader social and governmental level.

Which of the following is true of philosophical ethics?

It provides justifications that must be applicable to all people regardless of their religious starting points.

Which of the following is true of inattentional blindness?

It results from focusing failures.

Identify a true statement about the integrative model of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

It suggests that firms should fully combine economic and social goals by bringing social responsibilities into the core of their business model.

The ________ tradition claims that our fundamental human rights, and the duties that follow from them, are derived from our nature as free and rational beings.

Kantian

________ are fundamental to theories of social justice upon which capitalist economies have been built.

Liberty and equality

Which step in the ethical decision-making process occurs once you have considered how a decision affects stakeholders by comparing and weighing the alternatives?

Making a decision

Ethics refers to the applications of ________ on which people's decisions are based.

Morals

________ establish the guidelines or standards for determining what one should do, how one should act, what type of person one should be.

Norms

Identify the attitude which leads to an unexamined life not worth living according to Socrates.

Passivity

Which of the following is the reason why normative myopia is especially liable to occur in a business context?

People are more likely to focus on the technical aspects of the task at hand in a business context, and thus, fail to recognize the ethical aspect

________ are ethical rules that put values into action.

Principles

Which of the following principles does utilitarianism emphasize?

Producing the greatest good for the greatest number

Which of the following is true about communicating unethical behavior in a corporate structure?

Reporting individuals can face retaliation from superiors.

________ recognizes that every business decision imposes costs on someone and mandates that those costs be acknowledged.

Stakeholder theory

"________" include all of the groups and/or individuals affected by a decision, policy, or operation of a firm or individual.

Stakeholders

Identify the institutional role from the following.

Teacher

Which of the following is an approach advocated while teaching ethics?

Teachers should challenge students to think for themselves.

In the United States, the ________ was created in 1984 to regulate sentencing policy in the federal court system.

The United States Sentencing Commission.

Identify the statement that most accurately describes the difference between the market and the administrative versions of utilitarianism.

The administrative version of utilitarianism turns to policy experts for the design and implementation of policies.

Which of the following is an essential element in establishing an ethical leadership?

The end or objective toward which the leader leads.

Which of the following should an organization do in order to have an effective compliance and ethics program?

The organization should establish standards and procedures to prevent and detect criminal conduct.

Which of the following can be thought of as the answer to the fundamental questions of theoretical reason?

The scientific method

________ reasoning is reasoning about what we should believe

Theoretical

Which of the following statements is true about value-based cultures?

These cultures are perceived to be more flexible and far-sighted corporate environments.

A firm that is environmentally unsustainable is also a firm that is, in the long-term, financially unsustainable.

True

A principle-based framework defines a set of rules that enforces us to act or decide in certain ways.

True

Ethically appropriate methods of leadership are central to becoming an ethical leader.

True

Ethics refers to how human beings should properly live their lives.

True

In 2010, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) adopted amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) to lower the penalties for compliance violations if an organization promptly reported an offense to appropriate governmental authorities.

True

One of the most determinative elements of integration is communication.

True

Organizations that have a traditional approach to culture can be classified as compliance-based cultures.

True

The stakeholder model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) views business as a citizen of the society in which it operates and, like all members of a society, business must conform to the normal range of ethical duties and obligations that all citizens face.

True

The well-being promoted by ethical values is not a personal and selfish well-being.

True

There is a role for science and theoretical reason in any study of ethics.

True

Within a business setting, only the ethical implications of professional decision making should be considered.

True

Identify the cognitive barrier which might appear to relieve us of accountability for a decision.

Using a simplified decision rule

The ________ goes against the ethical principle of obeying certain duties or responsibilities, no matter the end result.

Utilitarian framework of ethics

Which of the following is true about values?

Values are underlying beliefs that cause us to act or to decide in a certain way.

________ directs us to decide based on overall consequences of our acts.

Virtue ethics

________ is a tradition within philosophical ethics that seeks a full and detailed description of those character traits that would constitute a good and full human life.

Virtue ethics

Practical reasoning is reasoning about

What we should do

Which of the following conditions makes issue identification the first step in the ethical decision-making process?

When the issue is presented from the start

Sustainability holds that

a firm's financial goals must be balanced against

The first step in constructing a personal code or mission for a firm is to

ask oneself what one stands for or what the firm stands for.

The sum of relatively set traits, dispositions, and habits of an individual is defined as the individual's ________.

character

Utilitarianism has been called a(n)

consequentialist approach to ethics

The omission known as change blindness occurs when ________.

decision makers fail to notice gradual changes over time

The ________ discipline provides an account of how and why people do act the way they do.

descriptive

Social sciences such as psychology and sociology are different from ethics owing to the fact that they are ________.

descriptive in nature

Which of the following is the first step in making an ethically responsible decision?

determine the facts

The ________ directs managers to maximize profit and shareholder wealth and recognizes only legal limitations on the pursuit of profit.

economic model of corporate social responsibility (CSR)

When firms are effective in enacting ethics programs, ________.

employees are more likely to see themselves as participants in an ethical workplace culture

According to the economic model of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the sole social responsibility of a business is to

fulfill the economic functions that it was designed to serve.

Enlightened self-interest, an important justification offered for corporate social responsibility (CSR), presumes that

good ethics can also be good business.

Which of the following statements is true about whistle-blowing?

hose who "blow whistles" may face retaliation and sometimes even lose their jobs.

Ethics requires that the promotion of human welfare be done

in a manner that is acceptable and reasonable from all relevant points of view.

If we are told specifically to pay attention to a particular element of a decision or event, we are likely to miss all of the surrounding details, no matter how obvious. According to Bazerman and Chugh, this phenomenon is known as ________.

inattentional blindness

Which of the following is true about an integrity-based culture?

it reinforces a particular set of values.

The theory of ________ states that the primary obligation of business leaders is to serve the interests of stockholders by maximizing profits.

managerial capitalism

Unlike the goals of a more evolved and inclusive ethics program, the goals of a traditional compliance-oriented program include

minimizing the risk and litigation and indictment

________ and an ongoing ethics audit allow organizations to uncover silent vulnerabilities that could pose challenges later to the firm, thus serving as a vital element in risk assessment and prevention.

monitoring

A beverage manufacturing company proceeds to launch its latest energy drink in the market in spite of research findings that suggest that the drink could result in nausea, dizziness, and vomiting after considerable consumption. In this example, the beverage manufacturing company is failing to fulfill its responsibility to ________.

not cause harm to others

The ________ of corporate social responsibility (CSR) holds that just as individuals have no ethical obligation to contribute to charity or to do volunteer work in their community, business has no strict ethical responsibility to serve wider social goods.

philanthropic model

Which of the following is a value that will impact the culture of an organization in the absence of any other established values?

profit-at any cost

According to philosopher Norman Bowie, managers have a responsibility to maximize profits as long as they

respect human rights and cause no harm

The ________ asserts that ordinary ethical standards should be kept separate from, and not be used to judge, business decisions because business has its own standards of good and bad.

separation thesis

When a firm engages in socially responsible activities with a prime focus on reputation

social responsibility tend to become a form of social marketing.

Which of the following is a fundamental moral duty according to Immanuel Kant?

to treat each person as in end in themselves.

Which of the following is a goal of a business ethics class?

understanding how and why people behave unethically

Free market economics is grounded in the ________.

utilitarian framework of ethics

The Supreme Court separated the "mandatory" element of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations from their advisory role, holding that their mandatory nature

violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial.