Chapter 04 Quiz: Business Ethics and Social Responsibility: Doing Well by Doing Good

C.J. works in the product engineering department of a popular appliance manufacturer. His manager has pressured him to use cheaper components in future refrigerator designs so that they will break sooner, thus prompting consumers to purchase refrigerators more often. What is C.J.�s manager proposing?

A type of planned obsolescence

Evan is the manager of a Walmart store in Idaho. On a recent Sunday�their busiest day of the week�the Walmart lost power for four hours. The relatively short power outage cost Evan�s store roughly $3 million in lost revenues and spoilage. The only way to recover financially in the short term would be to lay off half of the store�s employees. Evan knows that there are a number of college students who are high performers. He assumes these employees still live at home with their parents, but he can�t be sure. He also knows that there are some employees who live paycheck-to-paycheck and rely on their employment at Walmart to feed their families. Evan is torn between laying off employees based on their perceived financial need versus their performance. Which of the following represents Evan�s decision?

An ethical dilemma

Kasia works in R&D at a packaged foods company. Her team has just released a new yogurt product that is marketed toward children who are sensitive to dairy. The product had been on shelves for just over a week when Kasia discovered a discrepancy on the label: although it says that it is manufactured in a nut-free facility, one of the individual ingredients is manufactured in a facility that does use nuts in some products, so the potential for cross-contamination is high. Kasia reported this to her boss, but her boss asked her to not tell anyone else and promised they would fix the label on the next run. If Kasia reports this to anyone else, the company will have to pull the product from shelves and issue a recall. This could cost the company millions of dollars in lost sales and potential lawsuits, which could result in layoffs. Whether Kasia decides to report the issue to higher authorities or not, she knows that someone will suffer. Which of the following describes Kasia�s situation?

An ethical dilemma

Jennifer is a supply manager at a shipping company. She also runs a small business selling her artwork on the side. Sometimes Jennifer takes home offices supplies from her day job to use in her personal business: things like sticky notes, pens, shipping labels, and printer paper. She is always sure to order enough of these items for the company so that there are plenty available for her coworkers. Although she would never take money from the company, Jennifer does not believe she is doing anything wrong because �no one will miss those items.� Which of the following is Jennifer not applying in her behavior at work?

Business ethics

Scenario 4.1.

Julia and her neighbors are stakeholders of the company.

Aaliyah manages international contracts for a national retailer that sells housewares and decor. She recently had to cancel one of their largest manufacturing contracts because of alleged human rights violations at a foreign facility. To help prevent future violations and ensure that all of the manufacturers they do business with hold themselves to socially responsible standards, what kind of document should Aaliyah include in all of her contracts? * The company�s code of conduct

The company's code of conduct

Oleksii bought stock in GameStop in early 2021. Ever since, he has been closely following industry reports about the company to make sure that they are investing in long-term growth. Oleksii is just one of many investors who hold stock in the company and who care about the company�s performance. Why should GameStop consider the interests of these investors?

The investors are stakeholders in the company.

Xin is a recent college graduate who is interning with a hedge fund. He is excited to be working in finance and is willing to work long hours to impress his coworkers in the hopes that they will hire him as a full-time employee. One of his colleagues asks Xin if he can make copies of a document. While he is making the copies, Xin notices that the document includes material nonpublic information from another company. He knows from his studies that it would be illegal to make investment decisions based on this information. Xin is not sure how to handle this situation, so he references the company handbook, which includes standards of conduct, also known as ___________.

a code of ethics

Cerise works in marketing at a kitchenware company that does not have a published code of conduct. She recently overheard a coworker talking about a way to improve their click-through rates on digital ads. Cerise mentioned the idea to her boss, who then recommended the idea to the company�s chief marketing office. At the company�s end-of-year banquet, the chief marketing office awarded Cerise with the coveted �marketer of the year� award for her �big idea.� Although Cerise believes that it�s wrong to take credit for someone else�s idea, she feels justified in winning the award because the idea helped earn the company more money. Cerise has failed in maintaining _________.

a personal ethic

Kelly works at a company that has a published code of ethics. She has observed some troubling behavior in the purchasing department: one purchasing agent is buying paper products exclusively from her husband�s company, which appears to be a conflict of interest. Kelly thinks she should tell someone, but she isn�t sure who. Kelly�s company lacks ________.

a reporting structure

Amer and Denton work together at a publishing company where a high-level executive was recently fired for misappropriating company funds. Although Amer and Denton were raised in different countries and with different spiritual beliefs, they both agree that stealing from their employer, like the executive did, is wrong. This kind of shared belief across cultures and experiences is part of __________.

a universal ethical standard

Armen works for an exporter and has learned that in some countries, bribery of government officials is not only common, it�s not considered unethical. Armen understands that to get business done in these countries, he must do things differently than he would in Canada, where his company is located. In this case, bribery is an example of something that would not be included in ___________.

a universal ethical standard

Car manufacturers have begun designing more electric vehicles because consumers are increasingly conscious of their __________. These consumers do not want to feel like they are contributing to climate change, and they have changed their buying behaviors to reflect that desire.

carbon footprint

Outside of his job as an IT associate at a telecommunications company, Samuel volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). Samuel knows that his company sometimes donates to nonprofits in the community, so he puts together a proposal suggesting that the company partner with BBBS to provide free or reduced-cost internet access to participants. In his proposal, Samuel mentions that the company could use this partnership with BBBS to garner goodwill within the community. What Samuel is proposing is a type of ___________.

cause-related marketing

Mel has worked for a midsize educational research company for more than ten years. When she first started, leadership appeared to have a strong commitment to corporate values and the company�s longstanding code of ethics. As the years passed, many of those leaders left the organization and a new CEO was eventually hired. The new CEO decided to restructure the company and create a revised set of values and a new code of ethics. During this time, the corporate culture became more toxic, and a number of scandals came to light, including an entire department that was misusing corporate funds. Research shows that significant ________ can drive misconduct in organizations.

change

Fatima is the director of human resources for a public relations firm. Recent controversies among some of her company�s clients have prompted leadership to ask her to create a set of standards of conduct for their employees. The leadership team hopes that a published _______ will help prevent a scandal in their own workplace by encouraging �good� behavior.

code of ethics

Lana works at a large investment brokerage firm. Many employees, including Lana, have corporate credit cards for business travel and for entertaining clients. When employees travel, they must adhere to a per diem for each meal. When they entertain clients, the amount they can spend is more generous. Lately, Lana has been noticing that some of her coworkers use their corporate cards to buy expensive meals that exceed the per diem while traveling. They will claim that a customer was present in order to get the expense approved. Lana has suggested to the HR department that they create a document that specifically states that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. Lana is asking HR to create a(n) ________.

code of ethics

Soon after Samsung released the Galaxy Note 7, the company announced that the battery on some units could overheat and explode. It initially offered replacements, but those devices also presented a potential overheating hazard. When consumers continued to complain, Samsung bowed to pressure to issue an expensive U.S.-wide recall of the device and to issue software updates to prevent users in other countries from using the devices. Samsung responded to this controversy in a way that demonstrates a commitment to __________.

consumerism

Amanda works as an HR manager in a multinational corporation. Although her parents taught her that certain common practices in American society, like divorce, are �bad,� she knows she must set aside her personal beliefs when interviewing job candidates. Amanda�s belief in certain practices as �good� or �bad� according to her upbringing represents her personal ______.

ethics

The Clean Dream is a company that manufactures and sells eco-friendly paper products, like toilet paper and paper towels, made out of recycled materials. It believes that many consumers are becoming more conscious of their environmental impact and would be willing to switch from traditional brands to Clean Dream�s brand. This is an example of __________.

green marketing

Many consumers believe that Apple, Inc., is engaging in _________, because whenever it launches a new iPhone model, older models appear to break down.

planned obsolescence

Jordan's boss has asked her to review the company's progress toward becoming more socially responsible. Jordan is going to go through all of the activities the company has completed over the past year and weigh them against their initial goals. Jordan is conducting a _________ audit.

social

Marley works for a company that manufactures tobacco products. To help offset the negative consequences of the products her company sells, Marley is part of a task force that promotes smoking cessation education programs. These programs are a way the company promotes its ___________.

social responsibility

Scenario 4.1.

social responsibility

Allison works at a company with a published code of ethics and a commitment to a positive corporate culture that includes respect and kindness. Her manager, Jill, uses a lot of harsh and sometimes explicit language in front of her employees. Jill�s behavior makes Allison feel uncomfortable, but even worse, it seems to encourage other employees to act in a similar manner. Allison spoke to a few of these employees to let them know how their behavior was making her feel, and they in turn confided that they felt pressured by Jill to act that way. When it comes to modeling ethical behavior, Allison�s manager is demonstrating a(n) ________ commitment to organizational values.

weak