BA 209 Final Exam

Explain why ethical crisis management is important and describe how crises can negatively impact a company.

Ethical crisis management can help save a company from completely going under after suffering an ethical crisis. If an ethical crisis occurs and there is no response from the company, consumers and stakeholders will move their business elsewhere.

List the key goals of successful ethics training programs.

identify key risk areas employees will face. provide experience in dealing with hypothetical or disguised ethical issues within the industry through mini-cases, online challenges, DVDs, or other experiential learning opportunities. let employees know wrongdoing will never be supported in the organization and employee evaluations will take their conduct in this area into consideration let employees know they are individually accountable for their behavior. align employee conduct with organizational reputation and branding provide ongoing feedback to employees about how they are handling ethical issues allow a mechanism for employees to voice

Explain the concept of a conflict of interest and provide an example of one.

A conflict of interest is when a personal interest intersects with either a company interest or societal interest. For example, A teacher at a school has a class with their child in it. A conflict of interest is occurring because as a parent, the teacher wants their child to excel. But as a staff member at the school, the teacher has to treat their child as if they were any other student and not show favoritism.

Discuss the factors that go into creating a hostile work environment and explain why it is a bad thing, providing an example.

A hostile work environment could be influenced by several factors including poor management, discrimination, sexual harrassment, etc. People who work in a hostile work environment are not going to be performing at their full potential due to those external factors.

Describe what a national culture is and what it includes.

A population's taken-for-granted assumptions, values, and beliefs that foster certain patterns of behavior.

Describe what a technology assessment is and explain why it is a powerful tool.

A technology assessment ensures that a company or organization is ethically using technology. It holds companies accountable.

Discuss the differences among the five styles of conflict management.

According to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), used by human resource (HR) professionals around the world, there are five major styles of conflict management—collaborating, competing, avoiding, accommodating, and compromising.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of implementing an ethics program with a compliance orientation versus one with a values orientation. Is one better than the other at maintaining an ethical organization?

Advantage: helps employees understand rules of conduct when there are identified risks. Rules on the recruiting and hiring of new employees will help enforce company policy and prevent legal violations Disadvantage: with no compliance requirements, values may help the employee navigate through the ethical issues at hand

Discuss how the three categories of institutions (political, economic, and social) are important in establishing a foundation for normative values.

All of the concepts in their own way affect ethical or unethical behavior. Ethical issues intensity shows the sensitivity of individuals or groups, individual factors are a single person's values or morals. If an individual has strong values or morals, they will be less likely to do unethical things. Organizational factors are a guide to the employees to act in a way that the company views as ethical. Opportunity factors depend on how strict the organization is in regards to ethical vs. unethical behavior.

The ethical decision-making framework includes the concepts of ethical issue intensity, individual factors, organizational factors, and opportunity. Explain how these concepts influence the ethical decision-making process.

All of these concepts influence the evaluations of and intentions behind the decisions that produce ethical or unethical behavior. Ethical issue intensity reflects the ethical sensitivity of the individual or work group that faces the ethical decision-making process. Individual factors influence the ethical decision-making process by stating the fact that the more likely individuals are to perceive an ethical issue as important, the less likely they are to engage in unethical behavior. As for organizational factors, the more ethical employees perceive an organization's culture to be, the less likely they are to make unethical decisions.

Describe the ESG framework.

An approach to managing assets where investors explicitly acknowledge the relevance of environmental, social and governance factors in their investment decisions, as well as their own role as owners and creditors, with the long-term return of an investment portfolio in mind.

Describe an ethics audit and explain its benefits.

An ethics audit is a systematic evaluation of an organization's ethics program and performance to determine effectiveness. The purpose of an ethics audit is to identify the risks and problems in outgoing activities and plan the necessary steps to adjust, correct, or eliminate these ethical concerns.

Explain why many international business ethics issues are different from domestic ethical issues.

Because of differences in economic development, politics, legal system, and culture

Explain why centralized organizations tend to be more ethical than decentralized ones. Include an example of a situation where a decentralized organization might be more ethical than a centralized one?

Because of the strict formalization and implementation of ethics policies and procedures in centralized organizations, they tend to be more ethical in their practices than decentralized organizations. Centralized organizations may also exert more influence on their employees because they have a central core of policies and codes of ethical conduct. However, it is also true that decentralized organizations may avoid ethical dilemmas through the use of effective codes of conduct and ethics. Students will come up with their own examples of ethical decentralized companies. One good example of a decentralized organization often perceived as ethical is Zappos. Zappos strives to be an ethical corporate citizen through its emphasis on a fun working environment, employee empowerment, and great customer service.

Explain what blockchain is and identify the benefits of blockchain technology.

Blockchain is an encrypted, distributed database shared across multiple computers or nodes that are part of a community or system. It has the ability to reduce the possibility of security breaches by even its own operators. It also does not store any personal data at all, rather only stores account transactions.

Compare and contrast principles and values and explain why they are important normative considerations in ethical decision making.

Both principle and value govern an individual's life and are needed to make ethical decisions. Values are sets of beliefs that an individual carries about right vs. wrong in their everyday life and interacting with others, whereas principles are universal rules and laws that govern human behavior in society. Values are social norms; they are emotional, subjective and arguable whereas principles are based on truth and abide by natural law. Values may or may not have a positive impact on the life of an individual but principles always govern the life of an individual positively. Normative approaches of decision making states and guide the way how organizational decision makers should approach an issue. Principles and values are important normative considerations in ethical decision making because good and right values will increase positive attitude towards work and will decrease the level of unethical practices and the lawful principle will guide the individual to develop positive values in their life.

Explain what bribery is and describe how active bribery and passive bribery differ from one another.

Bribery is the practice of offering something in order to gain an illicit advantage from someone in authority. Active bribery is the offense of offering, promising, or paying a bribe. Passive bribery is the act of seeking out, agreeing to accept, or actually accepting a bribe.

Explain why it is important for businesspeople to study business ethics.

Business ethics are a reflection of the standard of business that either an individual or business uses when conducting transactions. Business ethics are important because they add a line of defense to protect the company, enable company growth, save money and allow people to avoid certain legal implications.

Explain why corporate intelligence is important to business and identify when it becomes an ethical issue.

Corporate intelligence is important to business because it helps predict the competitive environment and improve organizational performance. It becomes an ethical issue when companies use it to their advantage over other companies.

Describe the different kinds of power. Are some types of power more likely to result in ethical behavior than others?

Certain powers, specifically powers that rely on intimidation or the position a person holds are much more likely to allow for unethical behavior, while other powers that are more based on a two way relationship are more likely to suggest ethical behavior.

Describe the current state of business ethics in the 2020s.

Companies are attempting to be more ethical in order to appeal to the average person as more and more people are becoming more aware

Identify the consequences of companies being viewed as moral agents.

Companies are required to obey the laws and regulations that define acceptable business conduct. However, because companies are not human, laws and regulations are necessary to provide formal structural restraints and guidance on ethical issues.

Explain how ethics contributes to consumer satisfaction.

Despite the increasing significance of corporate ethics, few studies have explored the intermediate mechanisms that explain the relationship between corporate ethics and firm financial performance. Drawing on institutional theory and strategic human resource management literature, the authors hypothesize that the internal collective processes based on employees' collective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) mediate the ethics-performance relationship at the organizational level.

Define what drones are and describe how they can be used to reduce employee health and safety risks.

Drones are used in construction to improve worksite safety. Aerial drones survey the potential site for safety hazards before the work begins.

Compare and contrast the two teleological philosophies of egoism and utilitarianism and discuss the bases each philosophy type uses to evaluate the morality of activities.

Egoism defines right or acceptable behavior in terms of its consequences for the individual. Egoists believe that they should make decisions that maximize their own self-interest. In an ethical decision making situation, an egoist will most likely choose the alternative that contributes most to his or her self-interest. Much like Egoism, Utilitarianism is concerned with consequences, but seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of people. When a utilitarian makes a decision they would conduct a cost-benefit analysis to assess which alternative would create the greatest utility.

Explain the benefits of ethical leadership.

Ethical leadership truly allows for growth within a company. Employees feel comfortable speaking up for themselves and for things that seem unethical.

Explain why it can be difficult to recognize an ethical issue.

Ethics change from person to person, so what might be viewed as ethical in one person's eyes could be viewed as unethical in another's. Ethical issues are extremely subjective.

Describe the responsibilities of an ethics officer within an organization.

Ethics officers assess the needs and risks an organization-wide ethics program must address, develop and distribute a code of conduct or ethics, conduct training programs for employees, establish and maintain a confidential service to answer employees' questions about ethical issues, make sure the company is in compliance with government regulation, monitor and audit ethical conduct, take action on possible violations of the company's code, and review and update the code.

Discuss how group norms influence the ethical behavior of an organization. What happens when the norms of a particular group conflict with the organization's corporate culture or objectives?

Group norms are standards of behavior groups expect of their members. Just as corporate culture establishes behavior guidelines for an organization's members, group norms help define acceptable and unacceptable behavior within a group. In particular, group norms define the limit allowed on deviations from group expectations. Norms also provide explicit ethical directions. They have the power to enforce a strong degree of conformity among group members. At the same time, they define the different roles for various positions within the organization. Sometimes group norms conflict with the values and rules prescribed by the organization's culture. If this happens, it often results in a culture that is inconsistent with its purported rules and values. In this case, management should take corrective action and continually monitor not only the corporate culture but the norms of all the various groups in the organization.

Discuss the differences between groupthink and group polarization, providing examples of each.

Group polarization is the name for the process of a group developing more extreme views about someone or something. Groupthink describes how peer pressure within groups leads to poor decision making.

Explain why the absence of punishment essentially provides an opportunity for unethical behavior.

If an employee knows that there will be no punishment for unethical acts, what is stopping them from committing said acts? Absolutely nothing. They know that they can get away with it unscathed.

Explain why ethical misconduct is more difficult to overcome than poor financial performance.

It destroys trust which harms the company's reputation.

We all learn values from sources such as family, religion, and school. Describe why these sources of individual values might not prove to be very helpful when making complex business decisions.

It might not be the best for the business. Business ethical decisions are close calls.

Explain how ethical dilemmas and behavioral simulations can help employees make more ethical decisions.

Many feel "hands on" training when employees are forced to confront actual or hypothetical ethical dilemmas helps them understand how their organization would like them to deal with potential problems.

Describe the role of leadership in understanding and executing ethical decision making in organizations.

Leaders have the power to motivate others and enforce the organization's norms and policies as well as their own viewpoints.

33. Discuss the ethical issues and criticisms associated with multinational corporations.

MNCs are the subject of much ethical debate, and their impact on countries where they do business is controversial. Both American and European labor unions argue it is unfair for MNCs to transfer jobs overseas where wage rates are lower. Other critics charge that multinationals use labor-saving devices that increase unemployment in countries where they manufacture. Their size and financial clout enable them to control money, supplies, employment, and even the economic well-being of less-developed countries. Critics believe the size and power of MNCs create ethical issues involving the exploitation of both natural and human resources. Critics also accuse MNCs of exploiting the labor markets of host countries. The activities of MNCs also raise issues of unfair competition. Although MNCs are not inherently unethical, their size and power often seems threatening to people and businesses in less-developed countries. The ethical problems MNCs face arise from the opposing viewpoints intrinsic to multiculturalism.

Describe the stages of conducting an ethics audit.

Make sure upper management is on board - top managers and board of directors Establish a committee to oversee the ethics audit Define the scope of the audit process Review organizational mission, values, goals, and policies that define ethical commitment Collect and analyze relevant information Verify the results Report your findings

Explain how differences in two countries' cultures can create ethical issues in business.

National culture is a much broader concept than organizational culture and includes everything in our surroundings made by people.

Describe the evolution of business ethics as a field of study from before 1960 to the 1980s.

Marketing era: After WWII, businesses began to develop brands to help consumers understand the differences among products Relationship era: Today, firms aim to build long-term relationships

Compare and contrast John Maynard Keynes' and Milton Friedman's forms of capitalism.

Milton Friedman believed that if companies address economic and legal issues, they are satisfying the demands of society, and that trying to anticipate and meet additional needs would be almost impossible. He also advocated for free-market capitalism. He is the founder of monetarism, an active monetary policy where governments control the amount of money in circulation. John Maynard Keynes argued that demand drives supply and that healthy economies spend or invest more than they save. To create jobs and boost consumer buying power during a recession, Keynes held that governments should increase spending, even if it means going into debt.

Explain why the costs of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley go down over time.

More and more companies are choosing to complete private transactions in order to avoid Sarbane-Oxley altogether. The cost of compliance is too high for a large percentage of companies to continue their business on the public market.

Explain why some businesspeople and scholars question the role of ethics and social responsibility in business.

Much evidence shows that social responsibility, including business ethics, is associated with increased profits. Social responsibility contributes to employee commitment and customer loyalty - vital concerns of any firm trying to increase profits. It should be obvious from this discussion that ethics and social responsibility cannot be just a reactive approach to issues as they arise.

Discuss the difference between primary and secondary stakeholders in the stakeholder interaction model and provide examples of each.

PRIMARY those entities which directly affect the organization, and they are needed by the organization so that it continues to operate (ex: customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders) SECONDARY are not directly related to the organization and they don't interact with the organization directly however they may affect the image and status of the organization (ex: media, trade association, special-interest groups)

The opinions of society, as expressed through legislation, can change over time, and different courts and government legislatures may take different views about the acceptability of specific business activities. Discuss why this is true.

People's views of what is ethical changes from day to day, circumstance to circumstance. So what was ethical 50 years ago may no longer be deemed ethical by the public. For example, animal testing.

Describe radio-frequency identification (RFID) and explain how it can be used in business.

RFID is a technology that uses radio waves to passively identify a tagged object. It is used in several commercial and industrial applications, from tracking items along a supply chain to keeping track of items checked out of a library.

Describe risk compartmentalization and its results.

Risk compartmentalization occurs when various profit centers within corporations become unaware of the overall consequences of their actions on the firm as a whole. The entire firm ends up suffering due to the compartmentalized decision.

Discuss the distinctions between the rule and act categories of utilitarianism and deontology. Why do you think some people evaluate the morality of an action on the basis of the action itself, whereas others evaluate it in terms of its conformity to particular moral principles or rules of conduct?

Rule utilitarians determine behavior on the basis of principles or rules designed to promote the greatest utility, while act utilitarians examine specific actions and assess whether they result in the greatest utility. Rule deontologists believe in conformity to general moral principles such as The Golden Rule, while act deontologists hold that actions are the proper basis to judge morality. Adherents of different personal moral philosophies may disagree in their evaluations of a given action, yet all are behaving ethically according to their own standards.

Compare and contrast the shareholder and stakeholder models of corporate governance.

Shareholder models just focused on governance to benefit the profits of the business and the returns to investors. Stakeholder models realized that governance must be focused on all stakeholder, just just shareholders. The stakeholder models are becoming more prevalent in today's business world. This means that to become successful in business today, leaders must always have the thought of their stakeholders as well as profit at the beginning of every decision they make.

Identify the ethical issues affecting consumers and society as a whole that are created by unfair competition.

Social responsibilities may be pushed aside by larger companies when there is unfair business, which causes smaller businesses to suffer.

Compare and contrast the two moral philosophies of teleology and deontology and discuss the bases each philosophy type uses to evaluate the morality of a particular activity.

Teleological philosophies assess the moral worth of a behavior by looking at its consequences, deontologists argue that there are some things we should not do, even to maximize utility. For example, deontologists would consider it wrong to kill an innocent person or commit a serious injustice against someone, no matter how much greater social utility might result from doing so, because such an action would infringe on individual rights. The utilitarian, however, might consider an action resulting in a person's death acceptable if that action leads to some greater benefit.

Explain variation in employee conduct as described by the 10-40-40-10 rule.

The 10-40-40-10 rule explains variation in employee conduct through generalizing on the percentage of employees in any given organization who will seek to do right versus how many will be indifferent.

Explain what the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is and why was it created.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") specifically aims to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13 by requesting parental consent for the collection or use of any personal information of the users.

Explain the RADAR model, discussing key objectives that need to be obtained at each step of the model.

The RADAR model has five steps, recognize, avoid, discover, answer, and recover.

List the minimum requirements for ethics and compliance programs according to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations.

The U.S Corporate Sentencing Guidelines require that a compliance and ethics program be reasonably designed, implemented and enforced so that it is generally effective in preventing and detecting criminal conduct.

Describe the four organizational cultures and provide a specific example of a company that has implemented each organizational culture.

The four types of corporate cultures are apathetic, caring, exacting, and integrative and are based on how much concern they have for people and profits. An apathetic culture shows minimal concern for people or profits. Individuals in this culture focus mainly on their own self-interests. Countrywide might be an example of this before the recession. Employees were encouraged to sell to borrowers, even when they could not afford the loan, going so far as to create "liar loans" for them. This seriously jeopardized the long-term well-being of the organization. A caring culture exhibits high concern for people over profits. The Container Store might be a good example of this. The Container Store views employees as its most important stakeholder. An exacting culture shows more concern for profits over people. UPS has an exacting culture and holds employees to high standards. However, even an exacting culture should show concern for people if it wants to be successful. An integrative culture shows high concern for both people and profits. Starbucks is an example of an integrative culture. This culture is characterized by the fact that employees see themselves as important to meeting the firm's performance criteria.

Define the digital divide and describe how companies can help to close the gap.

The gap between people who have effective access to digital information and technology and those who have limited or no access at all. The divide is not fixed or static.

Describe the three foundational values used to identify ethical issues and why are they important

The three foundational values are integrity, honesty, and fairness. Integrity is One of the most important and often cited elements of virtue, and refers to being whole, sound and unimpaired. Honesty is being truthful in all circumstances. Fairness is being just, equitable, and impartial. They allow each person to have some similar basis for what is ethical and what is not.

Explain how values and judgments play a critical role when we make ethical decisions versus ordinary ones

There are no set rules so decision maker must weigh values to reach a judgment; amount of emphasis on own values & accepted practices determined by company - corporate culture has rules & regulations that determine what decisions employees consider right/wrong as relates to firm

Describe the risk areas associated with artificial intelligence (AI).

There are several risk areas associated with AI, including the adverse impact of AI on labor, letting important decisions be delegated to AI systems, possible lethal autonomous weapon systems, and the risk of humanity losing control of machines.

Explain how businesses can manage ethics issues in technology.

They can create strong codes of ethics specifically regarding technology

Define white-collar crime—providing examples—and explain why it has become such a widespread problem.

White collar crime is different from street crime because it involves things like credit card fraud, tax evasion, identity theft, and so on. It became such a widespread problem due to the presence of advanced technology. Anyone with the ability to hack into a system now can access the highly sensitive information necessary to commit WCC.