MGT 481 Exam 2

Which of the following best describes a weakness or criticism of utilitarianism?

-it does not take into consideration the distribution of benefits and harms resulting from a decision -it does not focus on whether the means (methods or actions) are inherently good or bad -the phrase "the greatest good for the greatest number" can be confusing and may not provide proper guidance

The factors that help determine the reasonableness of an accommodation for a worker with a disability includes

-the nature and cost of the accommodation -the overall size and financial resources of the facility or business

Norman Bowie, in his encyclopedia article on moral relativism, identifies several arguments for adopting moral relativism. What are his reasons?

-to counter the idea that one's own culture has ethically superior values to all others -to promote tolerance of other cultures -because there is substantial disagreement about which of the various ethical theories is the best one to use in making ethical decisions

three most common forms of embezzlement:

1) employees writing fraudulent checks that they or their friends cash 2) processing fraudulent invoices 3) taking money from cash revenues

According to William Shaw in the Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society, utilitarianism differs from other possible consequentialist theories (such as egoism) in what ways.

1) it sums the happiness and unhappiness of everyone affected to determine the overall value of an action's consequences 2) it requires us to produce as much well being as possible 3) it claims that well-being is all that ultimately matters

Three major exemptions to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act include:

1) organizations that serve religious purposes 2) preference for certain occupational qualifications that are related to the essence or central mission of the business 3) small businesses (under 15 employees) are exempted so as not to overwhelm them with regulatory compliance burdens

Which of the following is the best approach to developing a corporate Code of Ethics, according to Collins?

Build it collaboratively with employees.

Which kind or type of justice directs corporate manager's attention to how the benefits and harms associated with a new product are going to flow to different stakeholders?

Distributive Justice

A company has several extensive, detailed, and annually reviewed codes of ethics and conduct. However, there are several concerns with employees behaving unethically. What is the first thing that the management should consider in order to address this disparity between the codes and the behavior of their employees?

Ensure that their codes are being adequately communicated to employees on a regular basis.

The __________ prohibits pay discrimination based solely on gender considerations.

Equal Pay Act

T/F: According to utilitarianism, decision makers must take into consideration as many short term consequences of an action as possible, but do not need to consider long term consequences or indirect repercussions that the action could have.

False

T/F: Deontological ethical theories hold that the consequences of an action are of no moral significance whatsoever.

False

T/F: In Collins' Systematic Rational Ethical Decision-Making Framework the principle that gives guidance based on national laws is the highest ethical theory.

False

T/F: The concept of a "negative right" is that every individual has a right to refuse to do whatever he doesn't want to do.

False

T/F: The philosopher Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative that every human being must always be treated as an end, not merely as a means, has been used by utilitarians to criticize deontological ethics.

False

T/F: When the goal in educating and training employees is to prevent fraud, one thing that should NOT be done in the program is to discuss common ways that fraud can be committed at the company. Doing so only encourages employees to attempt to commit fraud.

False

T/F: While its proponents suggest that utilitarianism is should be used to determine whether an individual action is ethical or unethical, they do not suggest it is a good basis for determining which public policies should be adopted.

False

Which of the following rights from the UN Declaration on Human Rights appears to be suggested as LEAST important, based on their orders of listing?

Rights to work and to form trade unions

The argument that the government should provide welfare payments to the poor using taxes paid by the middle class and rich is based on which perspective of justice mentioned in the slides?

Socialism

T/F: In Norman Bowie's encyclopedia article "Relativism, Moral", he states that nearly all ethical theorists reject adopting moral relativism as a guideline for making ethical decisions.

True

T/F: Researchers have found strong consensus among core values, or virtues, that are common worldwide, despite cultural differences.

True

T/F: The rights principle expresses morality with a focus on an individual, whereas the utilitarian principle expresses morality with a focus on the group or society as a whole.

True

The Ethical Behavior Model presented by Collins & Kanashiro suggests that individual, organizational and societal characteristics combine to most directly influence which of the following?

a person's ethical beliefs

the best description of consequentialist theory in ethics

a theory that holds that the ethical rightness or wrongness of an action depends on the consequences of the action

The term "glass ceiling" refers to which of the following situations?

advancement of a qualified woman or minority group member is prematurely stopped at a lower hierarchical level due to gender, racial or ethnic discrimination

A general consensus exists on the personality aspects in the "Big Five Personality Model", and that it includes which different aspects of personality?

agreeableness conscientiousness extroversion

Which of the following is NOT an important step to include in an ethics training workshop?

allowing participants to determine and implement a solution to a current ethical dilemma the company is facing

Which of the following is the most effective method of including web-based training in ethics training programs?

as a complement to facilitator-guided face-to-face interactions and group activities

At what point in Collins' Systematic Rational Ethical Decision-Making Framework are the individuals who may experience consequences from a decision identified?

at the beginning

The "four-fifths rule" is intended to ensure:

avoidance of disparate impacts

An effective way of presenting ethics training to employees is to frame it as a method of ___________.

continuous improvement in the organization

Utilitarian-type reasoning is often used by policy makers, in the form of

cost-benefit analysis

Codes, while always necessary, are particularly essential under what sort of circumstances?

during periods of market and organizational turbulence

It is important for managers to utilize a strategic decision-making framework in order to:

ensure all employees understand the manager's ethical reasoning

An ethics training option known as _______________ can be useful in assessing the extent to which ethics permeates organizational operations, including how well the organization is living up to its codes.

ethical culture assessment

A quick insight independent of any detailed reasoning process of right and wrong is known as:

ethical intuition

Which of the following personality measures relating to ethics addresses whether a person believes she or he can successfully perform an ethical behavior?

ethical self-efficacy

The ______________ dimension of diversity includes characteristics that change, over time, including age, height, weight, religion, education, physical ability, marital status, income level, and geographic location.

evolving

Which of the following is the central focus of the ethical principle of Justice?

fairness

Individuals whose beliefs are consistent with a liberal political persuasion tend to focus on which of the following value sets?

fairness/reciprocity

Which of the cultural values identified by Geert Hofstede and listed below does not appear to increase a society's tolerance of corruption?

high short-term orientation

Under which of the following scenarios would an organization be most likely to implement an affirmative action plan?

if its gender or racial profile does not reflect the gender or racial profile of people living in the same region, qualified to perform the job task

Which of the following best identifies a strength of utilitarianism?

it gets us to think about the general welfare of society as a whole

A concern with the deontological approach to ethical decision making involves acknowledging:

it may prove impossible, impractical or undesirable in practice

Participants in ethics training can be tested at the end of a workshop to ensure:

knowledge has been successful conveyed

________, which influences how much something catches the attention of our moral consciousness, is dependent on issue-related factors, rather than individual or organizational factors.

moral intensity

When hiring, it is ethical and legal to discriminate based on all but which of the following characteristics?

national origin

Collins suggests that it is particularly useful to have ______ create ethics scenarios for discussion in training sessions.

non-managerial employees

Social group and cultural relativism ask the individual to consider _______________ when making decisions.

norms and standards

If an employer finds false information or inconsistencies on a resume or job application, he/she is encouraged to:

notify the candidate and ask for an explanation, correct and forgive minor mistakes, and closely monitor the new hire

Among the steps to achieving ethical consensus are stating one's position, revealing the values that underlie your position, and _________ the other person's position and values.

paraphrasing

According to the theory of planned behavior, formulating an intention to act ethically is a function of a person's attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and __________.

perceived behavioral control

Studies have shown that workplace substance abuse is associated with which of the following?

productivity and safety issues

Harmful acts concentrated in a particular area and characterized by ______________, or nearness of an act to its victims and beneficiaries, have high moral intensity.

proximity

The various "ethical hazard approaching signs" are all indications that someone is attempting to _______________ a poor decision.

rationalize

It is helpful to provide job finalists with ________________ to avoid "entry shock" for new employees.

realistic job previews

When consideration of the various ethical approaches results in conflicting conclusions, the decision maker should:

respect everyone and do what a virtuous person would do

According to _____________, individuals define themselves in relation to others based on a "self-identity" or "social identity" factor and form binding relationships with people who categorize themselves similarly.

self-categorization theory

Because ethics demands sincere, open-minded and respectful interactions with a wide variety of people, ________________ can be helpful in determining propensity toward ethical behavior in the workplace.

social dominance orientation surveys

According to Collins, which of the statements below regarding social group relativism and cultural relativism is most accurate?

social group relativists tend to seek guidance by looking at the benefit of an action to their friends and colleagues, while cultural relativists tend to seek guidance by looking at how an action relates to the laws of their nation

_________________ can be a major obstacle to code effectiveness, which suggests communication and integration of the codes is key.

social pressure

Applying the ________________ can be a useful component of ethics training because it helps overcome the tendency to simply rely on our moral intuitions, by helping participants explore specific steps in coming to conclusions about what do do about ethical dilemmas.

systematic rational ethical decision-making framework

A document advocating socially responsible free market capitalism collaboratively developed by an international network of business leaders is known as:

the Caux Principles for Responsible Business

Virtue ethics focuses on

the individual becoming inbued with virtues (e.g., honesty, truthfulness).

Anti-immigration sentiments are often correlated with which of the following factors?

the number of laborers exceeding job availability

Generally, a bribe is distinguished from a business gratuity by whether:

the object of value unduly influences buying decisions

What is the goal of an oath, such as ones taken in legal and medical professions?

to highlight the profession's calling of high moral duty

___________ represent(s) either or lack of virtue or an excess of virtue.

vices

Which of the ethical principles places the greatest emphasis on the importance of the personal integrity of the decision maker?

virtue ethics

An organization's ___________ describes what an organization aspires to become in the future.

vision statement

the statements regarding egoism are accurate

-People naturally make decisions based on their self-interest. -Being concerned about your self-interest doesn't necessarily mean that you are selfish. -Individuals who are concerned about the interests of others as well as themselves will generally operate on the basis of a principle other than egoism.

Diversity training is susceptible to which of the following problems, which can be addressed through careful design of the training?

-a trainer who lacks credibility with either the dominant or subordinate group -over-emphasizing employee differences to the exclusion of common ground -over-emphasizing the negative characteristics of the dominant group

Individual characteristics that are associated with ethical beliefs, sensitivities, intentions and behaviors include which of the following?

-amount of education -amount of work experience -religiosity

Based on Tara Ceranic's encyclopedia article on ethical absolutism, what statements are accurate regarding ethical absolutism?

-deontology is at least somewhat consistent with -ethical absolutism ethical absolutism suggests that all individuals are held to certain moral standards, whether or not they know these exist -the fact that many different religious traditions exist, each with believers who feel that their tradition provides the basis for absolute ethical standards, has led to criticism of the concept of ethical absolutism -recent attempts have been made to demonstrate that at least some global absolutist ethical beliefs do exist

A Code of Conduct is characterized by which of the following?

-describes specific situations and behaviors -is much longer than a Code of Ethics -provides substance to the Code of Ethics

All of the following organizational characteristics researchers have found to promote ethical behavior:

-existence of a code of ethics -punishments for unethical behaviors -ethical work culture -rewards for ethical behaviors

the following can pose an obstacle to following through on one's intention to engage in an ethical action

-having doubts about a factor that contributed to forming the ethical intention -an individual's old habits -an individual's lack of moral courage

Which of the following best describes Collins' view of including an ethics screen notice in a job description?

An ethics screen notice will tend to result in fewer people with strong unethical tendencies applying for the position than would do so if no ethics screen notice were provided.

According to Collins, an individual whose writings are consistent with the egoist perspective, ____________, argues that the best thing for the common good is to become an individual of high integrity willing to pursue self-interest at all costs.

Ayn Rand

T/F: A useful approach managers should take when engaging employees who apply different ethical theories is to listen carefully to the people who disagree, categorize the responses in terms of the six ethical theories, and then reframe the analysis.

True

T/F: According to Collins, philosophers are in widespread agreement that different ethical principles vary in quality; they are not all equally good guides to making ethical decisions

True

T/F: Both Collins and Trevino & Nelson (see slide) recommend that, in coming to the final ethical decision, multiple ethical perspectives be brought to bear on the situation.

True

T/F: Deontological theories focus on duties and obligations, rather than the outcomes of an action.

True

T/F: For advocates of utilitarianism, "happiness" and "well-being" are terms that are basically interchangeable.

True