CH 4 Managing People and Work

Web sites like Napster demonstrate that the pursuit of self-interest can lead to a collective disaster when one or more people start to profit from being unethical because this encourages other people to act in the same way. This exemplifies a situation known as the _____.

"tragedy of the commons"

Which of the following statements is true about stockholders?

They have a claim on a company because when they buy its stock or shares they become its owners.

Simon was confronted with a serious ethical dilemma. He responded with a solution that created the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Which ethical rule best describes his response?

Utilitarian

The president at Protector's Insurance takes pride in the fact that his organization strives to behave legally and ethically. The company advocates an approach that tries to balance the interests of different stakeholders in relation to the claims of other stakeholders. What approach to social responsibility is the organization implementing?

Accommodative

Managers who sell their stock in advance of other stockholders because they know that their company's performance is about to fall demonstrate the _____ approach to social responsibility.

Defensive

Which of the following statements is true about the role of organizational culture?

Ethics ombudspeople can provide guidance when organizational members are uncertain about whether an action is ethical.

When Bob was calculating the yearly bonuses for his employees, he paid particular attention to the individual employee scores to ensure that they were based on performance and not favoritism. Which ethical rule was Bob following?

Justice

Which of the following statements is true about ethics?

Laws change to reflect the changing ethical beliefs of a society.

_____ have the right to expect a good return or reward by investing their human capital to improve a company's performance.

Managers

_____ are thoughts and feelings that tell people what is right or wrong.

Moral scruples

Which of the following approaches to social responsibility is characterized by low levels of socially responsible behavior?

Obstructionist

Which approach to social responsibility is being implemented by a company that actively embraces the need to behave in socially responsible ways?

Proactive

Which of the following approaches is characterized with the highest degree of social responsibility?

Proactive

_____ companies are often at the forefront of campaigns for causes such as a pollution-free environment; recycling and conservation of resources; the minimization or elimination of the use of animals in drug and cosmetics testing; and the reduction of crime, illiteracy, and poverty.

Proactive

_____ watch the company and its managers closely to ensure that management is working diligently to increase the company's profitability.

Stockholders

According to the _____ approach, companies and their managers behave legally and ethically and try to balance the interests of different stakeholders as the need arises.

accommodative

The approach to social responsibility most likely to be taken by a typical large U.S. company is the _____ approach.

accommodative

The practical rule states that an ethical decision is one that:

can be communicated with no reluctance.

A company that expects its managers to behave ethically to the degree that they stay within the law is acting with a(n) _____ approach.

defensive

Bryan is the manager of a company which has been judged as having the best corporate reputation for two years in a row, based on a survey of country-wide consumers. This company is well known for its:

ethical culture.

A manager responsible for communicating and teaching ethical standards to all employees and monitoring their conformity to those standards is called a(n) _____.

ethics ombudsperson

Phil has noticed that his operations manager has been practicing unethical means to reap personal benefits at the expense of the company's customers. He will most likely approach the _____ to report the matter without fear of retribution.

ethics ombudsperson

Standards that determine how people view their responsibilities to others and how they should act in situations when their own self-interest is at stake are called _____.

individual ethics

When faced with an ethical dilemma as a manager, Sam tries to reflect back on his upbringing to decide between right and wrong. Sam is reflecting on _____.

individual ethics

The _____ rule is that an ethical decision is one that distributes rewards and harms in a fair way.

justice

When tobacco companies sought to hide evidence that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, they were exhibiting a(n) _____ approach to social responsibility.

obstructionist

A company demonstrating its social responsibility helps it build a good _____.

reputation

The esteem or high repute that individuals or organizations gain when they behave ethically is called _____.

reputation

If Samantha was employing the moral rights rule in her decision making, she would:

seek to protect the privileges of people affected.

Standards that govern how members of a society should deal with one another in matters involving issues such as fairness, justice, poverty, and individual rights are called:

societal ethics.

One managerial implication of the justice model is that managers should base their decisions on:

whatever promotes a fair distribution of outcomes