BUS240 Business Ethics
What should an organization's gender, racial, and ethnic employee profile reflect?
the gender, racial, and ethnic employee profile of the region that provides employees to the company
What is the first step in managing ethical work behaviors?
the hiring process
How does the text define human nature?
the moral, psychological, and social characteristics of human beings
How does the text define ethics?
the set of principles a person uses to determine whether an action is good or bad
A person who reasons at the postconventional level is most influenced by their decisions by _____.
their conscience
What 1970s trend among major American businesses damaged the integrity of capitalism and required passage of a major regulatory act in 1977?
unfair tactics to reduce the power of unions OR corrupt collusion with foreign nations
What ethical theory is the highest level of moral reasoning?
virtue ethics
An employee scoring very high on the self-development component of an OCB measure might be expected to _____.
volunteer to take a skills cours to improve the range of tasks she can accomplish
As suggested by the text, when should a business owner or company management first begin drafting a code of ethics?
when the business reaches around 10 employees
In the chapter's initial Volkswagen emissions cheating scenario, at what point does the subject - the engineer who helped with the cheating - first truly question why he or she was complicit in the cheating?
when the first serious consequences become apparent.
Which of the following conditions inspired the establishment of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSG) in 1991?
wide variation in sentencing decisions for work-related crimes
Which of the following is a requirement for a corporation to be labeled a B corporation by B Lab?
written plans to take stakeholder interests into account
"Do not lie" is an example of which of the following found in all major cultures and major religions?
a moral imperative
Which of the following references is most likely to offer positive information about a candidate?
a reference listed on the candidate's application
Which of the following values is among the six most commonly found in professional codes of ethics?
citizenship
"Employees will not accept business gratituities, meals, or gifts in excess of $15 from any client, customer or supplier." This statement would most likely appear in a _____.
code of conduct
How did Adam Smith define self-interest?
concern for self in relation to others
How does Congress determine the federal minimum wage level?
congressional vote based on proposed raises
According to the "born good" philosophy of human nature, which of the following is a person imbued with since birth?
conscience that represents pure goodness
In personality tests, which of the following factors is the strongest predictor of ethical behavior?
conscientiousness
What are the two core types of ethical dilemma?
conscious and unconscious
A follower of which ethical theory is most likely to equate governmental laws with proper ethical behavior?
cultural relativism
Five-year-old Duanna steals candy from the grocery store even though she knows it is supposed to be paid for. If Aristotle or John Locke were asked to explain the origin of Duanna's sense of morality, what would they most likely say?
culture
What problem do many small or medium-sized companies have with respect to codes of ethics that is less of a problem with larger companies?
lacking a code of ethics
A code of conduct requires input from which of the following that is not required for a code of ethics?
lawyers
Research shows that conservatives differ from liberals in their ethical intuition in that they are _____.
less motivated by fairness than they are by group loyalty
Which of the following novel strategies did Whole Foods impelement to improve ethical income standards?
making publicly available the salary information of every employee
How does the text describe "ethical intention"?
mentally committing to take an action that is morally appropriate
According to the text, which of the following company actions would be legal, satisfy Friendman's advice, and also be unethical?
moving earned income into a tax-free foreign territory such as the Cayman Islands
What bodily tendencies should a manger look for to detect dishonesty during the interview process?
none, because they are not reliable
An issue of low moral intensity to a person is most likely to _____.
not garner their attention
What are the three components of Ben & Jerry's corporate mission?
profit and growth, high-quality product, improving life of stakeholders
As described in the text, William George, the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, has outlined a connection between his company's mission and values and what?
profits and shareholder value
What was the core purpose of the Caux Principles for Responsible Business?
seeking internationa moral harmony in business practices
What do job applicants lie about most on their resumes?
skill sets
The voting pattern of a partisan political party member is likely to be best described by _____.
social group relativism
If a sales manager asks her subordinates to falsify their sales numbers and justifies it by saying, "The end justifies the means," she is likely making the arguement that _____.
the company must do anything it can to succeed in the marketplace
Katie is 16 years old. If she is part of the statistical majority, she reasons at _____.
the conventional level
What common characteristic is found among children and adults?
the desire to avoid pain
Which of the following interview questions about a candidate's ethical behavior in past work experience would not be appropriate if the candidate is interviewing for a sales position at a car dealership?
"Tell about the time you witnessed a friend or family member do something unethical."
A company following Milton Friedman's economic philosophy would have very little concern for environmental degradation caused by its operations as long as that degredation didn't hurt profits.
Ture.
In which of the following situations would Adam Smith argue that government intervention in the marketplace is justified?
Two growing cities have no road to connect them and no private party is seeking to build one.
What do the "born good" and "tabula rasa" approaches to human morality have in common that the other approaches lack?
Unethical or immoral behavior must be learned from others after birth.
Roughly how man people were living illegaly in the United States in 2017?
11 million
In which of the following ways do the thical theories compare or contrast with Lawrence Kohlberg's six stages of moral reasoning?
Virtue ethics, the highest level of ethical theory, matches Stage 6, Kohlberg's highest.
What employee benefit do employees say they desire the most?
health insurance
Which of the following is most likely to result in front-end disparate impact job discrimination?
A company decides to fill a new position by asking current employees to make personal referrals.
Which of the following statements about the "living wage" concept is accurate?
A living wage calculation is specific to geographic region or city.
What is a weakness of utilitarianism within organizations?
A manager might make a decision that causes extreme harm to a few people so that the good of the majority is preserved.
In which of the following situations might an employer be able to discriminate against a protected class but remain exempt from prosecution by the EEOC?
A new moving company, which is run and staffed by three college grads, hires a fourth person to help them out part time.
Which of the following is an example of a "justice vs. mercy" ethical dilemma based on competing values?
A police officer sees a woman accidentally break the law and wonders if he should arrest her.
In which of the following ways does utilitarianism differ from cultural relativism?
A utliltarian would not consider the mere existence of a law as a reason to follow it.
What has research shown about the value Americans place on the ethical nature of their employer?
A vast majority believe it is highly important to work for an ethical company.
When considering ethics, how does an action differ from the consequences of that action?
Acts are morally neutral, while consequences have ethical weight.
Corruption is more likely to thrive in a culture when the following characteristics are met?
higher power distance and high masculinity
Small businesses are somewhat less prone to ethical challenges than larger corporations.
False
You are trying to do a reference check for a potential new hire, but when you contact the candidate's most recent supervisor by phone, he will only offer the candidate's dates of employment with that company. What should you do?
Quickly ask the manager if he would hire that candidate again.
Why does the text suggest that the Volkswagen managers and engineers may have miscalculated the utilitarian analysis?
Benefits to VW and shareholders were calculated in the greatest good, but they suffered overall.
In theory, where do democracy and ulititarianism converge?
Both seek to improve the lives of the majority.
As described by the text, in which of the following ways can Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection be applied to businesses in the present day United States?
Businesses that do not adapt to current ethical norms are punished and do not survive.
Which of the following conculsions about human nature and morality can be drawn from the Stanley Milgram experiment involving electric shocks?
Direction from authority can convince good people to harm others.
Describe how disparate impact differs from overt discrimination in the hiring process.
Disparate impact differs from overt discrimination in that disparate impact is the application of a neutral policy or practice that is applied equally to all individuals, but still has disproportionately adverse impact on a protected class. This could tbe the act of excluding all applicants with an arrest record, which disproportionately impacts minority groups - since 1 in 10 Caucasian males will be arrested compared to 1 in 3 African American men. Overt discrimination in the hiring process is the active exclusion of a protected class from the hiring process, such as refusing to hire any candidate that appears to have a physical disability or because they are female.
Which of the following guidelines is a common baseline across companies with regard to email policy?
Email during work house should be business-use only.
Which of the following is a quest in Rotary International's Four-Way Test?
Is it the truth?
Which of the following statements about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is accurate?
It can take direct legal action against employers.
In which of the following ways does a code of conduct differ from a code of ethics?
It deals with specific situations
How does a code of ethics differ from an organization's vision statement?
It describes aspirations for employee behavior, not future organization aspirations
Why does the code of ethics of many large companies fail to have significance or impact?
It has no employee input.
In which of the following ways does a background chekc differ from a reference check in terms of gathering behavioral information?
It is more objective
How does the Trump Administration action on the Affordable Health Care Act differ from the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890?
It represents goverment deregulation instead of regulation.
How did Franklin Roosevelt's establishment of the minimum wage fit with Adam Smith's economic philosophy?
It satisfied Smith's argument for a livable wage for every full-time worker.
Which of th efollowing statements about formal development of an ethics program is accurate?
It's a good idea to put a specific individual in charge of managing ethics in a 50-employee company.
Which of the following statements about the Optimal Ethics Systems Model is accurate?
Its ultimate goal is to reduce ethical risks as close to zero as possible.
What did the experience of the 1980s Ben & Jerry's compensation plan demonstrate about the nature of CEO compensation over the last half-century?
Limiting CEO compensation prevented the company from getting the best talent, showing that even higher compensation is required for attracting those leaders.
What is the decision maker's first step in the critical thinking decision-making process?
List all options under consideration.
How difficult is it for a company to find out if an applicant has a criminal record?
Not difficult at all; the information is easily accessible on the Internet.
What is the first step in the text's suggested 13 steps for creating a code of ethics as a team-building exercise?
Obtain approval from organizational leaders.
Adam Smith and Ayn Rand would most likely agree on which of the following statements?
People tend to place their self-interests above those of others.
Why can deontology be problematic for a business?
Respecting every stakeholder or customer equally is likely not sound business practice.
The text suggest that in the Volkswagen scenario, choosing not to participate will be personally damaging to the engineer. How should the engineer deal with this possibility?
Seek the help of a mentor to get moved to another project.
According to your text, what event began the general swing toward greater regulation of business in the United States?
Sherman Antitrust Act
How has the adoption of codes of ethics by businesses changed over time?
Since the 1960s, vastly more business have adopted them to be more in line with public and industry expectations.
In which of th efollowing ways would Adam Smith have most likely thought about the concept of a living wage?
Smith warned managers not to negotiate wages below subsistence levels, so he would likely have supported some version of a living wage.
Min-Wae's company is continually battling unethical behavior among employees, which has grown over the last year. Based on research, which of the following variables is least likely to be a factor in this problem?
The company is very large, with employee numbers in the tens of thousands
What can be surmised from the existence of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?
There are sometimes legal requirements with respect to having a code of ethics.
Which of the following is TRUE for the impact of codes of ethics on employees?
Thery have the most impact on the behavior of already morally strong employees
How do Hindu and Buddhist beliefs about human moral imperfection differ from those of Roman Catholics and Protestants?
They believe moral imperfections comes from previous humans, not from original sin.
As late as the 1950s, what criteria could many employers use to screen job applicants?
almost any they liked
As recommended by the text, when should the last step in the code dvelopment process - code revision - occur?
annually
When do children show the first evidence of lying?
as soon as they are capable of speech
At what size should a company consider or begin to create a formal internal ethics office, according to the advice by the text?
at 5,000 employees
Research has shown that what three values categories show up in most code of ethics?
deontological, utilitarian, and ethics of care
Which of the following should be avoided when writing a code of ethics?
descriptions of how not to act
A five-year-old is most likely to make decisions on what ethical theory?
egoism
Which of th efollowing is an "other-suffering" emotion as detailed by professor Jonathan Haidt?
empathy
In which of the following ways was Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 altered 2012?
expanded to include gender identity or sexual orientation
What can an employer expect by mentioning use of an ethics screen in a job announcement?
fewer applicants with low moral standards
In which of the following ways has the federal government acted to regulate the nature of CEO pay?
forcing disclosure of CEO compensation to employees
What should be the primary ethical coal of managers in an organization?
fostering trust, efficiency, integrity, and effectiveness across a range of actions for employees and customers
What factor was the primary basis for the earliest division of labor in human history?
gender
