Modules 4, 5 & 6

Which of the following factors impact the length of time it takes for companies to recover from ethical misconduct? A. All three answer options impact the length of time it takes for companies to recover B. The length of time it takes for the company to resolve the issues C. How the company responds after discovering the misconduct D. How stakeholders perceive the company's response E. None of these answer options impact the length of time it takes for companies to recover

All three answer options impact the length of time it takes for companies to recover

Which statement about organizational ethical role models is true? A. Ethical role models always occupy positions of superior authority. B. The influence of ethical role models is less important than codes of conduct. C. Lower-level employees cannot be ethical role models. D. Employees look up to managers they don't interact with on a daily basis. E. Co-workers can be ethical role models, especially when the manager is distant.

Co-workers can be ethical role models, especially when the manager is distant.

Which leadership style is likely to be ineffective at promoting ethical conduct? A. Transactional leadership B. Authentic leadership C. Transformational leadership D. Coercive leadership E. Charismatic leadership

Coercive leadership

What actions can teams take to aid in the ethical decision making process? A. Collectively look for ethical solutions or alternatives B. Have the final say on ethical decisions C. Answer the public regarding ethical misconduct issues D. Collectively determine whether an illegal activity should be addressed E. Report on a team member's lack of performance contributions

Collectively look for ethical solutions or alternatives

Which of the following statements is true regarding organizational conflict? A. Conflicts are rarely beneficial in the workplace. B. Organizational conflicts indicate that the firm is unethical. C. A zero-sum approach to conflict is the most beneficial. D. Conflicts provide an opportunity to listen to the other party's viewpoints. E. Avoiding conflicts is the best approach.

Conflicts provide an opportunity to listen to the other party's viewpoints.

How should ethical leaders manage their employees? A. Meet all of their employees' needs B. View them as subordinates with little competence C. Micromanage their employees' activities D. Increase penalties for employee mistakes E. Demonstrate ethical values through role modeling

Demonstrate ethical values through role modeling

To help prevent misconduct, ethical leaders should: A. Immediately fire any employee who is accused of misconduct B. Develop and manage systems to maintain an ethical culture C. Maintain at least 10 attorneys on staff at all times D. Write a new code of conduct each month E. Maintain a ratio of 3:1 for supervisors to employees

Develop and manage systems to maintain an ethical culture

Why might ethical conflicts be important to an ethical culture? A. Ethical conflicts often warrant government intervention. B. Ethical conflicts in an organization are always the result of misconduct. C. Ethical conflicts are the most important way to create an ethical culture. D. Ethical conflicts can be used to identify ethical issues. E. Ethical conflicts are used to root out unethical employees.

Ethical conflicts can be used to identify ethical issues.

Which of the following is true about dissent in organizations? A. Dissent should be eliminated as it harms group cohesion. B. Hotlines are the preferred mechanism for reporting dissent. C. External reporting is the best way of resolving misconduct. D. Those that report concerns are unlikely to experience retaliation. E. Ethical cultures are likely to have strong internal dissent mechanisms.

Ethical cultures are likely to have strong internal dissent mechanisms.

Why is an organization characterized by workplace politics perceived negatively by employees? A. Leaders of these firms never distribute rewards and focus on retribution. B. These companies do not have ethical codes. C. Followers are rewarded based on whether they serve the leader's best interests. D. The leader almost always faces scrutiny and ends up departing the organization. E. Nonverbal communication is not considered to be important.

Followers are rewarded based on whether they serve the leader's best interests.

What is the best way to avoid an ethical misconduct disaster? A. Create a solid defense to explain why the firm engaged in misconduct. B. Avoid addressing ethical issues until they become more serious. C. Fire all employees who violate company standards. D. Identify a potential ethical issue before it snowballs into a crisis. E. Hire managers who will use negative reinforcement to get employees to act ethically.

Identify a potential ethical issue before it snowballs into a crisis.

What should an employee do after discovering illegal conduct? A. Try to handle the situation internally. B. Begin to improve the firm's ethics program. C. Transfer guilty employees to other positions. D. Immediately terminate all employees involved in the misconduct. E. Immediately report to your immediate supervisor.

Immediately report to your immediate supervisor.

What does external whistle blowing often indicate about a firm's corporate culture? A. Internal reporting is perceived to be ineffective. B. It has effective internal reporting mechanisms. C. It is performing poorly financially. D. It is supportive of employee dissent. E. It has ethical leadership.

Internal reporting is perceived to be ineffective.

Why is the mixed-motive conflict management style considered to be the most effective? A. It is the most effective way to achieve productivity. B. It seeks win-win situations for everyone involved. C. It seeks to win at any cost necessary. D. It bases decisions on the goals and values of the firm. E. It pursues profits above all else.

It bases decisions on the goals and values of the firm.

Which statement is true about employee feedback? A. It is not as important as feedback from employers. B. It trains employees in ethical conduct. C. It helps to eliminate the need for managers in the organization. D. It tricks employees into believing their opinions matter. E. It helps leaders identify the firm's strengths and weaknesses.

It helps leaders identify the firm's strengths and weaknesses.

Why would organizations prefer that employees provide their personal information when making reports? A. The organization can retaliate against the employees. B. Legally, it's impossible to take action without identifying the parties involved. C. The accused party needs to know who made the report. D. It is easier to handle a conflict situation when all parties have been identified. E. So that board members can know of the level and nature of the accusations.

It is easier to handle a conflict situation when all parties have been identified.

Why is the collaborating style of management most favorable to ethical conflict resolution? A. It enables the company to meet the needs of all its stakeholders. B. Leaders are willing to compromise their values for favorable outcomes. C. Leaders desire to meet the needs of others but adhere to their own goals and values. D. It creates a solution in which both parties to a conflict can win. E. It totally disregards the zero-sum approach to conflict resolution.

Leaders desire to meet the needs of others but adhere to their own goals and values.

What is the problem with an accommodating style of conflict management? A. Leaders are unwilling to collaborate or compromise. B. Leaders are likely to actively engage in misconduct themselves. C. Leaders might allow unethical employees to continue their misconduct. D. Leaders will do whatever they can to make sure the other side loses. E. Leaders will seek to avoid conflict at any cost necessary.

Leaders might allow unethical employees to continue their misconduct.

Why are leaders important even in a democratic organization? A. Employees are ill equipped to make ethical decisions. B. Leaders are the only ones with both character and competence. C. It is hard to motivate employees to make decisions. D. Employee morale is low in these organizations. E. Leaders often make the final call on major decisions.

Leaders often make the final call on major decisions.

How can ethical leaders increase employee empowerment? A. Discipline employees who violate the firm's ethical policies. B. Make discussions about ethics commonplace. C. Discourage conflicts within the organization. D. Avoid identifying an issue as being unethical. E. Develop a detailed code of conduct.

Make discussions about ethics commonplace.

What should an ethical leader do in managing an ethical dilemma? A. Coordinate all decision making with the board of directors. B. Minimize the dilemma so that stakeholders won't understand its significance. C. Select the most desirable path in a situation in which no decision is optimal. D. Discipline the stakeholders involved in the ethical dilemma. E. Find a solution that will offer positive benefits to all stakeholders involved.

Select the most desirable path in a situation in which no decision is optimal.

How might a comprehensive code of conduct prove ineffective in curbing misconduct? A. The code of conduct is communicated to too many stakeholders. B. The code of conduct discourages nonverbal communication. C. The code of conduct has too many examples. D. The code of conduct is not effectively communicated to employees. E. The code of conduct focuses on global versus domestic issues.

The code of conduct is not effectively communicated to employees.

What is one of the disadvantages higher-level executives face when overseeing an ethical climate of the organization? A. Their lack of power in the organization B. Their inability to make all of the key organizational decisions C. Their inability to control employees D. Their tendency to be socially isolated from employees E. Their negative relationships with employees

Their tendency to be socially isolated from employees

Which statement best describes how autocratic leaders communicate? A. They tend to establish open communication cultures. B. They tend to use more nonverbal signals. C. They engage in highly transparent communication. D. They do not communicate with subordinates. E. They limit communication to need-to-know information.

They limit communication to need-to-know information.

What is a downside to being a variable-sum leader? A. They try to avoid compromise at all costs. B. They might give in to employees making unethical decisions. C. They measure success by how much the other side loses. D. They refuse to collaborate on an acceptable solution. E. There is zero tolerance for dissent among employees.

They might give in to employees making unethical decisions.

When might a zero-sum conflict approach be necessary? A. When both sides need to be appeased. B. When compromise would break a law. C. When a conflict requires collaboration. D. When the situation requires compromise. E. When winning is more important than ethics.

When compromise would break a law.

As a lower-level employee, how might you be able to ethically influence new hires? A. You can take charge of developing the firm's ethics code. B. You can become the new hire's immediate boss or supervisor. C. You can communicate organizational principles and values. D. You can point out the employee's unethical behavior. E. You can teach the employee to pursue success.

You can communicate organizational principles and values.

In order to promote an open communication culture, leaders should ____________________. A. establish a reprimand system for employees who do not meet performance goals B. discourage dissent as it can disrupt operations and expose wrongdoing C. secure employee input for every decision D. adopt more of a democratic process toward ethical decision making E. encourage employees to use the hotline rather than report to managers

adopt more of a democratic process toward ethical decision making

Which characteristic best describes a mixed-motive approach to handling conflict? A. competing B. compromising C. arguing D. collaborating E. accommodating

collaborating

An ethical leader with good interpersonal communication skills should ____________. A. avoid delivering negative news B. never reprimand employees C. demonstrate both respect and firmness in communication D. place employee needs over organizational needs E. give up authority to maintain beneficial relationships

demonstrate both respect and firmness in communication

According to the information shared in this section, ________ might provide a solution to a disagreement, but it is unlikely that both parties will be happy with the decision. A. intimidation B. verbal threats C. mediation D. collaboration E. litigation

litigation

Separating the people from the issue in an ethical conflict situation allows the leader to approach the conflict situation with more __________. A. resources B. power C. objectivity D. superiority E. compromise

objectivity

Ethical leaders should consider their employees to be ____________ in contributing to the firm's values. A. equal leaders B. partners C. detrimental D. followers E. superior

partners

Which of the following is a step companies take in the recovery process? A. attempting to discover misconduct situations B. reinforcing the firm's reputation with positive messages C. shifting blame onto other stakeholders D. developing a crisis management plan E. avoiding media reports that portray the firm in an unfavorable light

reinforcing the firm's reputation with positive messages