Managerial Ethics Midterm 2020- Quiz Questions

T or F: "Etiquette" designates a special realm of morality.

False

T or F: A hypothetical imperative tells us to act as we would want everyone to act in that situation.

False

T or F: According to Immanuel Kant, moral reasoning is based on factual knowledge.

False

T or F: According to Marx, the best economic system would be one where the means of production and distribution are in the hands of the bourgeoisie.

False

T or F: Adam Smith made the point that individual pursuit of self-interest (egoistic conduct), even when subject to rules and constraints, always undermines the utilitarian goal of producing the most good for all.

False

T or F: An argument is valid only if all its premises are true.

False

T or F: Ethical egoism says that human beings are, as a matter of fact, so constructed that they must behave selfishly.

False

T or F: If it's true that individuals have a natural right to own property, then there can be no limits on this right.

False

T or F: In a broad sense morality is the moral code of an individual or of a society (insofar as the moral codes of the individuals making up that society overlap).

False

T or F: Nonconsequentialist theories of ethics never consider the consequences of an action or rule when making a moral judgment.

False

T or F: Organizational norms always and inevitably lead to groupthink.

False

T or F: The capitalism that we know today in the United States is a "pure" form of laissez-faire capitalism.

False

T of F: In business and elsewhere, your only moral obligation is to act within the law

False (however textbook marks it true)

John Rawls's second principle of justice states that insofar as inequalities are permitted—that is, insofar as it is compatible with justice for some jobs or positions to bring greater rewards than others—these positions must be open to all.

True

T of F: Our conscience evolved as we internalized the moral instructions of the parents or other authority figures who raised us as children.

True

T or F: According to Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, pleasure is the one thing that is intrinsically good or worthwhile.

True

T or F: According to John Rawls, people in the original position do not know what social position or status they hold in society.

True

T or F: According to Robert Nozick, property rights exist prior to any social arrangements and are morally antecedent to any legislative decisions that a society might make.

True

T or F: According to Robert Nozick, the basic moral rights possessed by all human beings are both negative and natural.

True

T or F: According to divine command theory, if something is wrong, then the only reason it is wrong is that God commands us not to do it.

True

T or F: According to libertarianism, liberty is the prime value, and justice consists in permitting each to live as he or she pleases, free from the interference of others.

True

T or F: According to the "maximin" rule, you should select the alternative under which the worst that could happen to you is better than the worst that could happen to you under any other alternative.

True

T or F: An argument is a group of statements, one of which is claimed to follow from the others.

True

T or F: Business ethics is the study of what constitutes right and wrong, or good and bad, human conduct in a business context

True

T or F: Bystander apathy appears to result in part from diffusion of responsibility.

True

T or F: Capital is that money that is invested for the purpose of making more money.

True

T or F: Distributive justice concerns the morally proper distribution of social benefits and burdens.

True

T or F: Government programs often subsidize American businesses and protect them from competition.

True

T or F: In ethics, normative theories propose some principle or principles for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions.

True

T or F: Jeremy Bentham thought that a community is no more than the individuals who compose it and that the interests of the community are simply the sum of the interests of its members.

True

T or F: Libertarians would find it immoral and unjust to coerce people to give food or money to the starving.

True

T or F: Outsourcing is a practice where companies buy parts or whole products from other producers, both at home and abroad.

True

T or F: Rule utilitarianism applies the utilitarian standard, not to individual actions, but to moral codes as a whole.

True

T or F: Socialism is an economic system characterized by public ownership of property and a planned economy.

True

T or F: The connection between rights and duties is that, generally speaking, if you have a right to do something, then someone else has a correlative duty to act in a certain way.

True

T or F: The phrase "the declining marginal utility of money" means that successive additions to one's income produce, on average, less happiness or welfare than did earlier additions.

True

T or F: The sense of private property that is central to capitalism is the ownership of the means of production and distribution.

True

T or F: Utilitarians are likely to be sympathetic to the argument that steps should be taken to reduce the great disparities of income that characterize our society.

True

T or F: Utilitarians reject the very idea of a natural right to property.

True

T or F: What we call capitalism did not fully emerge until the Renaissance in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

True

Utilitarians believe that a. an action that leads to unhappiness is morally right if any other action that you could have performed instead would have brought about even more unhappiness. b. we can predict with certainty the future consequences of our actions. c. knowledge, friendship, and aesthetic satisfaction are intrinsically valuable (or inherently good). d. an action cannot be right if the people who are made happy by it are outnumbered by the people who are made unhappy by it.

a. an action that leads to unhappiness is morally right if any other action that you could have performed instead would have brought about even more unhappiness.

Rule utilitarians a. believe that the optimal moral code normally will not produce 100 percent compliance. b. assume that everyone will always follow the rules, all the time. c. believe that the optimal moral code would consist of only one rule, namely, always act so as to maximize happiness. d. believe that an action is wrong if it fails to maximize happiness.

a. believe that the optimal moral code normally will not produce 100 percent compliance.

The veil of ignorance demands people in the original position to be a. impartial. b. forgiving. c. difficult to come to agreement. d. biased.

a. impartial.

Ethical relativism supports the theory that: a. what is right is determined by what a culture or society says is right. b. there are no moral values whatsoever. c. morality is relative to the goal of promoting human well-being. d. different societies have similar ideas about right and wrong.

a. what is right is determined by what a culture or society says is right.

Which of the following is an accurate statement? a. Adam Smith denies that human beings are, by nature, acquisitive creatures. b. A common defense of capitalism is the argument that people have a fundamental moral right to property and that our capitalist system is simply the outcome of this natural right. c. Utilitarians oppose capitalism in principle. d. Adam Smith defends capitalism by appealing to the idea of a natural, moral right to property.

b. A common defense of capitalism is the argument that people have a fundamental moral right to property and that our capitalist system is simply the outcome of this natural right.

Moral attitudes are best depicted by which of the following? a. If you follow the rules of etiquette, your conduct will be moral. b. Moral standards typically concern behavior that can be of serious consequence to human welfare. c. As long as your conduct is legal, then it will be moral. d. There is no distinction between morality in a broad sense and morality in a narrow sense.

b. Moral standards typically concern behavior that can be of serious consequence to human welfare.

Which of the following represents a utilitarian belief? a. We must always support what most people want—that is, by majority rule. b. We should bring about the most happiness for everyone affected by our actions. c. We must always disregard our own happiness when deciding what to do. d. We should concern ourselves only with the immediate results of our actions.

b. We should bring about the most happiness for everyone affected by our actions.

The famous experiments by social psychologist Solomon Asch show a. business organizations put more pressure on individual integrity than do other kinds of organization. b. even temporary groups can pressure people to conform. c. the power of peer pressure has been greatly exaggerated. d. the truth of utilitarianism.

b. even temporary groups can pressure people to conform.

Nozick's libertarian theory proposes a. pleasure takes priority over any other moral concern. b. libertarians generally agree that liberty allows only a "night-watchman" state. c. if a person comes into possession of a holding through a legitimate transfer, then, morally speaking, she or he deserves that holding. d. libertarians endorse utilitarianism's concern for total social well-being.

b. libertarians generally agree that liberty allows only a "night-watchman" state.

Aristotle's formal principle of justice states, a. from each according to his or her ability, to each according to his or her merit. b. similar cases must be treated alike except where there is some relevant difference. c. from each according to his or her ability, to each according to his or her need. d. all people are to be treated the same in every situation.

b. similar cases must be treated alike except where there is some relevant difference.

Consequentialism a. is best represented by Ross's theory of ethics. b. states that the moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results. c. differs from nonconsequentialism because nonconsequentialism denies that consequences have any moral significance. d. states that sometimes the consequences of our actions can be morally relevant.

b. states that the moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results.

Though many jobs are outsourced, most economists believe a. manufacturing will make a comeback. b. the economy will create new jobs. c. the United States is in trouble. d. Mexico is the place to work.

b. the economy will create new jobs.

Evidence for the idea that American manufacturing is declining is a. a shrinking trade deficit. b. the fact that government now employs more people than manufacturing. c. fewer "hollow" corporations. d. a reluctance to outsource.

b. the fact that government now employs more people than manufacturing.

When religion and morality are considered: a. in practice, people who share a religion will agree on all moral questions. b. the moral instructions of the world's great religions are often general and imprecise. c. most people act rightly only because their religion tells them to. d. atheists are likely to be less moral than religious people.

b. the moral instructions of the world's great religions are often general and imprecise.

Philosophical discussion of moral issues typically involves a. circular reasoning. b. the revision and modification of arguments. c. polished rhetoric and skill at debate. d. determining what the majority thinks.

b. the revision and modification of arguments.

For philosophers, the most important issue is not where our moral principles came from, but: a. the legal basis for acting morally. b. whether those moral principles can be justified. c. to what extent religion influences people's moral beliefs. d. how we acquired the beliefs we have.

b. whether those moral principles can be justified.

Which statement best describes capitalism? a. Capitalism is an economic system that dispenses with competition. b. Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution is in state hands. c. Capitalism is an economic system that operates under the profit motive. d. Capitalism is an economic system where the profits generated belong to the state as a whole.

c. Capitalism is an economic system that operates under the profit motive.

In Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick advocates a. Egoism. b. Kantianism. c. Libertarianism. d. Utilitarianism.

c. Libertarianism.

Which of the following characteristics distinguishes moral standards from other sorts of standards? a. Moral standards are purely optional. b. Moral standards must be set or validated by some authoritative body. c. Moral standards take priority over other standards, including self-interest. d. Moral standards cannot be justified by reasons.

c. Moral standards take priority over other standards, including self-interest.

The statement that best defines rights is a. all moral rights are legal rights. b. a negative right is a right to receive certain benefits. c. a right is an entitlement to act or to have others act in a certain way. d. all moral rights are human rights.

c. a right is an entitlement to act or to have others act in a certain way.

A basic tenet of capitalism is that a. property refers to only physical objects. b. in the twenty-first century, capitalism no longer requires capital. c. capitalism requires private ownership of the major means of production. d. ownership is a simple relationship between a person and the thing owned.

c. capitalism requires private ownership of the major means of production.

Talk of justice and injustice typically focuses on: a. feeling, sentiment, happiness, and equality b. fairness, impartiality, duty, and rights c. fairness, equality, desert, and rights d. reason, reflection, deliberation, and fairness

c. fairness, equality, desert, and rights

One reason for believing that in practice capitalism fails to live up to its own ideal of competition is a. so many small companies go bankrupt. b. monopolies control almost all areas of economic life. c. government subsidies and protective tariffs. d. the outsourcing of jobs.

c. government subsidies and protective tariffs.

Capitalism operates on the debatable assumption that human beings find increased well-being through a. eliminating poverty. b. a higher sense of purpose. c. greater material consumption. d. production of equality.

c. greater material consumption.

A tangible truth about having moral principles is a. morally responsible companies are rarely among the most profitable. b. moral behavior always pays off in strictly selfish terms. c. if you do the right thing only because you think it will pay off, you are not really motivated by moral concerns. d. business is fundamentally an amoral activity.

c. if you do the right thing only because you think it will pay off, you are not really motivated by moral concerns.

Many utilitarians would argue that a. the free trade and laissez-faire view of Adam Smith best promote the total social good. b. social utility is irrelevant to issues of justice. c. increased worker participation in industrial life is beneficial. d. there is already sufficiently equal distribution of income.

c. increased worker participation in industrial life is beneficial.

Rawls rejects utilitarianism because a. he saw it as a threat. b. it values moral purity. c. it might permit an unfair distribution of burdens and benefits. d. governments wanted it.

c. it might permit an unfair distribution of burdens and benefits.

According to libertarianism, a. there are no natural, Lockean rights. b. we have a basic right to assistance from others. c. people should not attempt to coerce others. d. happiness takes priority over other moral concerns.

c. people should not attempt to coerce others.

One of the four key features of capitalism is a. cooperation. b. favoritism. c. private property. d. inequality.

c. private property.

Which statement creates the best picture of capitalism? a. Financial capitalism developed in the period immediately prior to the Renaissance. b. Mercantile capitalism emerged in the United States in the period directly following the civil war. c. Industrial capitalism is characterized by pools, trusts, holding companies, and an interpenetration of banking, insurance, and industrial interests. d. In state welfare capitalism the government plays an active role in regulating economic activities in an effort to smooth out the boom-and-bust pattern of the business cycle.

d. In state welfare capitalism the government plays an active role in regulating economic activities in an effort to smooth out the boom-and-bust pattern of the business cycle.

Which of the following accurately reflects the concept of Marxism? a. It is only within a capitalist economic system that workers are not alienated from the products of their labor. b. Only workers who are poorly paid for their labor are alienated. c. Within a capitalist economic system, the activity of labor is an end in itself and, as a result, has intrinsic value. d. Labor is alienated in a capitalist economic system (in part) because the labor of a worker stands opposed to the worker as an autonomous power.

d. Labor is alienated in a capitalist economic system (in part) because the labor of a worker stands opposed to the worker as an autonomous power.

Our relationship with the law is best described by which of the following? a. The law makes all immoral conduct illegal. b. The law is a completely adequate guide to the moral standards that we should follow. c. Violating the law is always immoral. d. To a significant extent, law codifies a society's customs, norms, and moral values.

d. To a significant extent, law codifies a society's customs, norms, and moral values.

Utilitarianism is appealing as a standard for moral decision making in business. Which of the following provides a reason for this? a. Utilitarianism provides a fuzzy standard for formulating and testing policies. b. Utilitarianism gives us firm rules to follow, rules that do not permit exceptions. c. Utilitarianism provides a rigid approach to moral decision making. d. Utilitarianism provides an objective way of resolving conflicts of self-interest.

d. Utilitarianism provides an objective way of resolving conflicts of self-interest.

A practical basis for discussing moral issues involves taking account of a. compliance, contribution, and consequences. b. compassion, intellect, and patience. c. effort, duties, and organization. d. effects, ideals, and obligations.

d. effects, ideals, and obligations.

Accepting a moral principle a. is a religiously based act of faith. b. means you will never go against that principle. c. is a purely intellectual act like accepting a scientific hypothesis. d. generally involves a desire to follow that principle for its own sake.

d. generally involves a desire to follow that principle for its own sake.

According to John Rawls, people in "the original position" choose the principles of justice solely on the basis of a. their intuitive knowledge of the natural rights of all human beings. b. their religion. c. social utility. d. self-interest.

d. self-interest.

According to W. D. Ross's theory a. what we should do in any specific set of circumstances will always be self-evident. b. it would be wrong to lie to a murderer even to save the life of a friend. c. a prima facie obligation is absolute and can never be overridden. d. we have various moral duties that cannot be reduced to a single, overarching obligation.

d. we have various moral duties that cannot be reduced to a single, overarching obligation.

A key idea of Immanuel Kant's ethical theory is that: a. the moral permissibility of our actions depends entirely upon their consequences. b. pleasure has only intrinsic value. c. all duties are prima facie duties. d. we should treat people as ends in themselves, never merely as means.

d. we should treat people as ends in themselves, never merely as means.

If you adopt egoism as your moral code, then a. you must always avoid any unpleasant or painful experiences. b. you must endorse hedonism. c. you can never act honestly or be gracious or helpful to others. d. you believe that it is morally right to do whatever promotes your best interest.

d. you believe that it is morally right to do whatever promotes your best interest.

According to Mill's utilitarianism a. rights are certain moral rules, the observance of which is of the utmost importance for the long-run, overall maximization of happiness. b. there are no moral rights. c. rights are those rules that a majority of the society would agree to behind the "veil of ignorance." d. the rights possessed by human beings remain unchanged for all times and places.

rights are certain moral rules, the observance of which is of the utmost importance for the long-run, overall maximization of happiness.