Chapter 10

Managers and employees today must be careful not to ignore, conceal, or disregard a pollution problem or they could A) be fired. B) be demoted. C) be held indirectly responsible for their firm's pollution. D) be turned on in their firm's quest for leniency. E) all of the above

E

In order to be considered bribery, the gift offered must be either money or a physical item.

False

Bribery involves A) bestowing a gift to influence the recipient's conduct. B) requiring employees to report any unethical violations they discover or see in the firm. C) prohibiting love affairs between bosses and their subordinates. D) encouraging firms to play a role in curing society of its ills. E) forcing companies to take responsibility for the impact their actions have on society.

A

All of the following are mentioned by the authors as environmental strategies that a firm might adopt EXCEPT A) reinvesting in environment-damaging businesses. B) including an environmental representative on their board of directors. C) implementing bonuses for favorable environmental results. D) incorporating environmental values in mission statements. E) conducting regular environmental audits.

A

It is ________ for a business to provide a sustainability report annually to the public. A) good business B) irresponsible C) a decreasing trend D) unethical E) poor planning

A

Jeff Wells of the National Audubon Society asks "Why should we be willing to watch ________ destroyed any more than allowing a great work of art to be destroyed?" A) coral reefs B) economic progress C) natural history D) shark habitat E) songbirds

A

The percentage of persons age 65 or older exceeds 20 percent in Japan, Italy, and A) Germany. B) the United States. C) France. D) China. E) all of the above

A

Bad ethics can ________ strategic plans. A) derail all but the best B) derail even the best C) derail only poorly-intentioned D) derail only ill-conceived E) never affect

B

All of the following are reasons that workplace romance can be detrimental to workplace morale and productivity EXCEPT A) favoritism complaints can arise. B) personal arguments can lead to work arguments. C) whispering secrets can lead to tensions and hostilities among coworkers. D) increased quality and quantity of work can occur. E) sexual harassment charges may ensue, either by the involved female or a third party.

D

A Wall Street Journal article reported that 80 percent of all firms sampled had no restrictions on relationships between a supervisor and a subordinate.

False

Bad ethics can derail all but the best strategic plans.

False

California is the nation's second-largest producer of solar energy.

False

Firms should strive to engage in social activities that have no economic benefits, to avoid their being viewed as public relations ploys.

False

Good ethics is not a prerequisite for good strategic management.

False

History has proven that the lower the trust and confidence of people in the ethics of an institution or society, the greater its economic strength.

False

It has gotten easier for firms to get away with placing "green" terminology on their products and labels because there are still no legal or generally accepted definitions of terms like "organic," "green," "safe," or "earth-friendly."

False

Like the United States, Japan is eager to rely on large-scale immigration to bolster its workforce.

False

Many New Zealanders, supported by Japanese, are outraged about Australia's "large-scale" whaling operations in Antarctic.

False

Monitoring departmental and corporate performance regarding ethical issues can cause firms to misalign ethical and strategic decision-making.

False

Most firms warn managers and employees that reporting an ethical violation by others could cause them to be discharged.

False

Primary responsibility for ensuring ethical behavior rests with middle- and low-level managers, since they are in a position to influence many employees.

False

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and a new provision in the Dodd-Frank financial regulation-law allows company employees who bring cases of financial fraud, such as bribery, to the government's attention to receive at least 30 percent of any sum recovered.

False

There are no countries that favor or engage in commercial whaling today.

False

While it is socially responsible to be a good steward of the natural environment, doing so will not enable a firm to gain competitive advantage.

False

A rising tide of consciousness about the importance of business ethics is sweeping the United States and the rest of the world.

True

Dumping banned or flawed products in foreign markets is considered to be an unethical business practice.

True

In Japan, Italy, and Germany the percentage of the population age 65 or older exceeds 20 percent.

True

Sustainability refers to the extent that an organization's operations and actions protect, mend, and preserve rather than harm or destroy the natural environment.

True

The ISO 14000 family of standards concerns the extent to which a firm minimizes harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities and continually monitors and improves its own environmental performance.

True

The first social responsibility of any business must be to make enough profit to cover the costs of the future because if this is not achieved, no other social responsibility can be met.

True

Three individuals received $170 million for helping investigators obtain a record $16.65 billion penalty against Bank of America for inflating the value of mortgage properties and selling defective loans to investors.

True

Unlike the United States, Japan has no law against discrimination based on age.

True

In an effort to manage ecological challenges, many companies are A) moving environmental affairs from the staff side of the organization to the line side. B) moving environmental affairs from the line side of the organization to the staff side. C) making the chief operating officer report directly to the corporate environmental group. D) omitting an environmental representative from their board of directors. E) purging environmental values from their mission statements.

A

Which state generates the greatest number of megawatts of wind power? A) Texas B) Iowa C) California D) Minnesota E) New Jersey

A

All of the following business actions are considered to be unethical EXCEPT A) dumping banned or flawed products in foreign markets. B) preventing environmental harm. C) overpricing. D) sexual harassment. E) insider trading.

B

Firms can align ethical and strategic decision making by A) omitting ethical considerations from long-term planning. B) excluding ethical decision making from the performance appraisal process. C) discouraging whistle-blowing. D) monitoring departmental and corporate performance regarding ethical issues. E) All of the above

D

Workplace romance A) is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. B) is defined as illegal by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. C) should be strictly forbidden by organizations. D) simply happens so organizations should determine how to best manage the phenomenon. E) is an intimate relationship between two employees, one of whom is not consenting.

D

Preserving the environment should be a permanent part of doing business for which of the following reasons? A) Consumer demand for environmentally safe products and packages is low. B) Public opinion demanding that firms conduct business in ways that preserve the natural environment is weak. C) Federal and state environmental regulations are fairly simple and static. D) Many consumers, suppliers, distributors, and investors shun doing business with environmentally strong firms. E) More lenders are examining the environmental liabilities of businesses seeking loans.

E

Sustainability refers to the extent that an organization's operations and actions ________ the natural environment. A) protect B) mend C) preserve D) reflect good stewardship of E) all of the above

E

A well written code of ethics ensures ethical business behavior.

False

After decades of debate and struggle, the business community has finally definitively determined the appropriate social policies.

False

Corporate social policy should be reaffirmed or changed during strategy implementation.

False

Social responsibility refers to actions an organization takes that are legally required to protect or enhance the well-being of living things

False

Some strategists agree with Ralph Nader, who asserts that organizations have no obligation to do any more for society than is legally required.

False

Social policy can best be defined as A) the responsibilities a firm has to employees, consumers, environmentalists, minorities, communities, shareholders, and other groups. B) a document providing behavioral guidelines that cover daily activities and decisions within a firm. C) an SEC mandate to report any unethical behavior. D) the legal requirement to reveal how a firm's operations impact the natural environment. E) mandatory technical standards that result in an environmental management system.

A

What challenge facing all organizations requires managers to formulate strategies that preserve and conserve natural resources and control pollution? A) Economic B) Ecological C) Compensational D) Benchmarking E) Sociological

B

All of the following statements are true EXCEPT A) ISO is the world's largest developer of sustainability standards. B) ISO standards are widely accepted all over the world. C) ISO has legal authority to enforce its regulations' implementation. D) ISO standards are voluntary. E) ISO itself does not regulate or legislate.

C

Japan is suffering from a decline in overall economic production A) due to its growing population. B) related to the declining age of its workforce. C) because of a surge in the number of its taxpaying workers. D) since worker productivity increases are not able to offset declines in number of workers. E) because more and more women are working outside the home.

D

Responsibility for encouraging ethical decision making and ensuring ethical behavior in a firm lies A) only with a firm's strategists. B) only with a firm's managers. C) only with a firm's shareholders. D) with both a firm's strategists and its managers. E) with neither a firm's strategists nor its managers.

D

Simply having a code of ethics A) will ensure ethical business behavior. B) eliminates the need for periodic ethics workshops. C) is all that is necessary to sensitize people to workplace circumstances in which ethics issues may arise. D) is insufficient to guarantee that employees behave in an ethical manner. E) secures an ethics culture in the workplace.

D

The United Kingdom's new Bribery Law A) is less stringent than the similar U.S. FCPA. B) carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence for those convicted of bribery. C) allows foreign companies doing business in the United Kingdom to bribe officials if that is their national convention. D) stipulates that failure to prevent bribery is an offense. E) All of the above

D

Despite greater interest in sustainability, uniform standards defining environmentally responsible company actions are only slowly being incorporated into the legal landscape.

False

In Europe, romantic relationships at work are frowned upon, and most firms have policies prohibiting the practice.

False