GEB Chapter 10

Venture capital investments in clean technology companies are ________. A) increasingly rare B) down slightly C) increasing dramatically D) stable E) a conflict of interest

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_______ is a set of standards in fields such as environmental auditing, performance evaluation, and labeling, that is adopted by thousands of firms worldwide to certify to their constituencies that they are conducting business in an environmentally friendly manner. A) ISO 14001 B) EMS 14000 C) UN 5000 D) SEC 100 E) A sustainability report

A) ISO 14001

Unethical activities that plague online commerce include all of the following EXCEPT A) inappropriate gifts B) spreading viruses C) identity theft D) internet fraud E) hacking into company computers

A) inappropriate gifts

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) Ecological

A document that discloses to shareholders information about a firm's labor practices, product sourcing, energy efficiency, environmental impact, and business ethics practices is known as A) a code of ethics. B) a sustainability report. C) an EMS. D) ISO 14000. E) green terminology.

B) a sustainability report.

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) ISO has legal authority to enforce its regulations' implementation.

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

D) both a firm's strategists and its managers.

More and more firms believe that ethics training and an ethics culture A) are socially irresponsible. B) are admirable but damage a firm's competitive positioning. C) are costly and provide no practical benefit to the company. D) create strategic advantage. E) can tarnish the reputation of a firm.

D) create strategic advantage.

Ethics training programs should contain which of the following? A) Messages from the CEO or business owner emphasizing ethical business practices B) The development and discussion of codes of ethics C) Procedures for discussing unethical behavior D) Procedures for reporting unethical behavior E) All of the above

E) All of the above

Which of the following business actions is considered to be unethical? A) Satisfactory product or service safety B) Selling products in foreign markets C) Providing equal opportunities for women and minorities D) Filing expense accounts E) Misleading labeling

E) Misleading labeling

Environmental advocacy groups now have ________ Americans as members. A) approximately 100,000 B) just under a million C) close to 5 million D) over 20 million E) almost a billion

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A code of business ethics is A) a document that provides behavioral guidelines that cover daily activities and decisions within an organization. B) concerned with what responsibilities the firm has to employees, consumers, environmentalists, minorities, communities, and other groups. C) a report that reveals how the firm's operations impact the natural environment. D) a set of strict regulations requiring firms to conserve energy. E) a series of voluntary standards in the environmental field.

A) a document that provides behavioral guidelines that cover daily activities and decisions within an organization.

Wal-Mart encourages its employees to adopt "Personal Sustainability Projects" like weight-loss or smoking-cessation support groups, illustrating that A) employee wellness can be a part of sustainability. B) employee health issues have no business in the workplace. C) firms should crack down on employees' personal interests infringing upon business hours. D) the Global Reporting Initiative requires this of all U.S. companies. E) a company's interest in its employees should be restricted solely to their work duties.

A) employee wellness can be a part of sustainability.

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) good business

Firms should strive to engage in social activities that A) have economic benefits. B) have no economic benefits. C) are detrimental to economic growth. D) drain financial resources. E) garner goodwill only, not profits.

A) have economic benefits.

It has become ________, since uniform standards defining environmentally responsible company actions are rapidly being incorporated into our legal landscape. A) more and more difficult for firms to make "green" claims when their actions are not substantive or even true B) increasingly easy for firms to get away with placing "green" terminology on their products without any oversight C) customary for firms to use terms like "organic," "green," or "earth-friendly" when their products don't warrant it D) more common for consumers to be cynical about corporate environmental claims E) impossible for firms to omit "green" terminology from their labels

A) more and more difficult for firms to make "green" claims when their actions are not substantive or even 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) moving environmental affairs from the staff side of the organization to the line side.

Business ethics, _______, and sustainability issues are interrelated and impact all areas of the comprehensive strategic-management model. A) social responsibility B) social networking C) fiscal irresponsibility D) cultural indifference E) None of the above

A) social responsibility

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 EMS.

A) the responsibilities a firm has to employees, consumers, environmentalists, minorities, communities, shareholders, and other groups.

A proactive environmental policy is likely to lead to A) higher cleanup costs. B) conservation of energy. C) reduced customer loyalty. D) numerous liability suits. E) higher medical costs.

B) conservation of energy.

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) derail even the best

All of the following business actions are considered to be unethical EXCEPT A) moving jobs overseas B) preventing environmental harm C) overpricing D) sexual harassment E) insider trading

B) preventing environmental harm

If a firm has a bad sustainability record this will A) help a firm in the market. B) improve a firm's standing in the community. C) cause investors to closely scrutinize the firm. D) deflect the scrutiny of a firm by environmentalists. E) release the firm from governmental reporting obligations.

C) cause investors to closely scrutinize the firm.

_______ are the individuals primarily responsible for ensuring that high ethical principles are espoused and practiced in an organization. A) Non-management employees B) Mid-level managers C) Shareholders D) Strategists such as CEOs and business owners E) Governmental regulatory bodies

D) Strategists such as CEOs and business owners

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) is insufficient to guarantee that employees behave in an ethical manner.

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) monitoring departmental and corporate performance regarding ethical issues.

Special natural environment issues include all of the following EXCEPT A) ozone depletion B) destruction of animal habitats C) pollution control D) spreading computer viruses E) developing biodegradable products and packages

D) spreading computer viruses

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) have their firm turn on them in a quest for leniency. E) All of the above

E) All of the above

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) All of the above

Which of the following is NOT a way that companies can help create an ethical culture in their organization? A) Outlining ethical expectations B) Giving examples of ethical situations that commonly occur in their businesses C) Providing code-of-conduct manuals D) Creating interactive exercises that pose hypothetical ethical dilemmas E) Discouraging whistle-blowing

E) Discouraging whistle-blowing

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) More lenders are examining the environmental liabilities of businesses seeking loans.

According to the text, the first social responsibility of any business is to A) make enough profit to cover the costs of the future, because if this is not achieved then no other social responsibility can be met. B) avoid laying off employees so as to protect the employees' livelihood, even if that decision may force the firm to liquidate. C) engage in social activities that have no economic benefits, to avoid the appearance of a public relations gimmick. D) offer courses and training in environmental management. E) none of the above

E) none of the above