Exam 1 Ethical Issues

Division of Labor

How work tasks are segmented to improve efficiency

Sexual Harassment

Occurs when (1) an unwelcomed sexual favor is a quid-pro-quo condition of employment, promotion, pay increase, continued employment, or desired assignment or (2) offensive comments are made about a person's gender, or physical harassment of a sexual nature, that results in a hostile work environment

Conscientiousness

One of the dimensions of the "Big Five Model" that describes human personality, a personality type described as being responsible, dependable, and hardworking

Fair Credit Reports Act (FCRA)

Originally passed in 1970, regulates how credit information can be gathered, used, and disseminated, and that the information is fair and accurate

Diversity

The condition of having, or being composed of, different elements or qualities

Adam Smith

(1723-1790), One of the most influential systematic social philosophers in the history of Western civilization, applied the concept "liberty" to economic matters

Jean Piaget

(1896-1980), One of the first psychologists to outline stages of cognitive development based on patterns he observed in children, including his own

Lawrence Kohlberg

(1927-1987), Harvard psychologist influenced by the writings of Jean Piaget who sought to answer the question of why some people only consider their own interests when making a decision but others make decisions based on living for the sake of others; he developed the six stages of moral development

Code of Conduct

A document that describes acceptable behaviors for specific situations that are likely to arise, such as conflicts of interest, provides substance to a code of ethics, and is often developed by an employee with legal expertise

B Corporation

A for-profit company certified for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency

Virtue Ethics

A form of ethics based on cultivating good habits

Protected Classes

A group of people who are legislatively chosen to benefit from the protection of a statute, usually due to previous harmful discrimination

Government Regulation

A law or rule developed by government that regulates conduct

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

A law passed in 1977 making it illegal for American businesses to directly pay bribes in other nations or through intermediaries, such as joint venture partners or agents

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

A legislative act passed by Congress that prohibits businesses from discriminating among job applicants based on the individual's race, color, religion, gender, or national origin

Optimal Ethics Systems Model

A model that synthesizes the various approaches of organizational ethics into a systematic best practices framework for reinforcing ethical behaviors, and reducing ethical risks, throughout the workplace

Embezzlement

A particular type of theft and fraud whereby an employee steals money from his or her employer

Industrial Revolution

A period in the late 1700s and 1800s when hand tools were replaced with new manufacturing power-driven machines, such as the steam engine, and manufacturing companies grew into large establishments

Employment Non-Discrimination Act

A piece of legislation that has failed to pass since 1994, but if enacted, would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

Business Gratuity

A present, gift, hospitality, or favor for which fair market value is not paid by the recipient

Oath

A public promise

Ethical Intuition

A quick moral insight, or "gut" reaction, independent of any substantive reasoning process about right and wrong

Ethical Dilemmas

A situation where it is not clear whether an action is morally right or wrong, or when you know an action is right/good but you are instead very tempted to do what is wrong/bad

Slavery

A system in which individuals are owned by other people

Assessment

A systemic collection, review, and use of information to determine workshop effectiveness

Theory of Planned Behavior

A theory developed by Icek Ajzen that states that formulating an intention to act ethically is a function of a person's attitudes and beliefs toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control

Self-Categorization Theory

A theory that suggests that 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

Labor Union

An association of employees that advances its members interests, such as wages, benefits, work rules, and other conditions of employment, through collective bargaining with an employer

Capitalism

An economic system based on freedom and competition in both product and labor markets, as an economic system ethically superior to highly regulated mercantilism

Realistic Job Preview

An honest description of daily work activities that highlights both the exciting and tedious aspects of the job

Interpenetrating Systems Model

An illustrative tool for understanding the interaction among businesses, nonprofits, individuals, and government

Affirmative Action

plans that attempt to remedy past discriminatory behaviors by actively seeking, hiring, and promoting minority group members and women to equalize opportunities previously limited to Caucasian males

ISO 26000

Established guidelines for integrating social responsibility best practices into management processes

Egoism

Ethical theory related to self-interest

Categorical Imperative

A rule that applies to all situations

Altruistic Behaviors

The deliberate pursuit of actions intended to benefit the interests or welfare of others

Ethical Hypocrisy

The gap between an organization's formal ethics proclamations and its actual behaviour

Harassment

Unwelcomed conduct from a supervisor, coworker, or nonemployee (such as a customer or supplier) based on a person's race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age (40 or older), or disability Turn

Attraction-Selection-Attrition Cycle

A cycle created by industrial psychologist Benjamin Schneider that emphasizes how individuals are attracted to organizations that reflect their values and goals

Social Group Relativism

A "group-based" ethical theory in which right action is defined by whether the action conforms to the social group's norms

Cultural Relativism

A "law-based" ethical theory in which right action is defined by whether the action conforms to the law, or custom

Deontology

A "rules-based" ethical theory in which right action is defined by following a set of moral rules that should be applied by everyone in all situations, such as the Golden Rule, Ten Commandments, or Bill of Rights

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

A commission created in 1965 to oversee provisions of the Civil Rights Act in which the federal agency investigates discrimination complaints, seeks negotiated solutions to violations, and litigates when conciliation does not occur within an organization

Strategic Planning

A communication device that integrates an organization's mission with its vision and provides clear direction on how the organization will progress from its current situation to a highly desired future situation Turn

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

An act passed in 1978 to protect the civil rights of pregnant women, and ensures that women experiencing pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions would be treated the same as an employee with an illness or temporary disability

Americans with Disabilities Act

An act passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against a qualified worker with a disability who can perform the job task with or without reasonable accommodation

Family and Medical Leave Act Turn

An act passed in 1993 in an effort to expand the provisions of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to include any employee needing time off to address health-related problems Turn

Bribe

Providing someone with a monetary incentive or object of value to do something contrary to his or her job description

Integrity Tests

Also referred to as honesty tests, these tests typically gather information about the job candidate's behaviors and attitudes toward unethical workplace activities, such as theft

Utilitarianism

An "ends-based" consequentialist ethical theory in which right action is defined by the greatest good for all those affected by an action

Equal Pay Act

An act passed in 1963 that prohibits pay discrimination based solely on gender considerations

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

An act passed in 1967 that prohibits dismissing, or not promoting, anyone age 40 or older because the individual is considered "too old" for the job

Bill of Rights

Document protecting freedom of speech, press, and religion; freedom to petition the government; and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure

stakeholder

Any person or organization that is affected by, or could affect, an organization's goal accomplishment

Inherited Sin

Belief that a morally damaged soul joins the body at birth and needs to be healed

Code of ethics

Broad ethical aspirations that include a few general principles to guide behaviour

Well-Managed Organization

Community of people on a common mission to be effective, efficient, and ethical

Action Sequence

Consists of the motivation behind the act, the act itself, and the consequences of the act

Tabula Rasa

Defined by John Locke as a blank slate, on which people store moral rules and knowledge based on life experiences

Vision Statement

Describes what an organization aspires to become in the future

Mission Statement

Describes what an organization does and for whom

Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations

Federal guidelines that encourage, but do not require, companies to implement policies and procedures that reinforce ethical behaviors; if an employee commits a federal crime, the number and authenticity of business ethics best practices implemented by the company affect the fine assessed against the organization

Charters

Granted by the British government to allow several people to create an organization by pooling their financial resources; owners of chartered organizations were exempt from debtor's prison if the business venture failed

Facilitating Payments

Legal payments that expedite performance of "routine governmental action," such as obtaining permits, processing governmental papers, loading and unloading cargo, and scheduling inspections to transit goods across borders

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

Legislation that outlawed monopolies to increase competition

Polygraphs

Lie detectors that can be used as a job screen by federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as businesses, engaged in national security issues

Ethical Intention

Mentally committing to take an action that is morally appropriate

Four-Fifths Rule

Method for determining whether an organization is unfairly discriminating against job candidates based on a protected class factor such as race or gender, with the organization's protected class profile being within 80 percent of those in the region who are qualified to perform the job task

Cognitive Dissonance

Occurs when an individual holds inconsistent or contradictory attitudes and beliefs, which creates an unpleasant state of mind

Disparate Impact

Occurs when members of a protected class rarely make it through all the job-screening filters, suggesting that one of the decision rules could be unintentionally discriminatory Turn

Moral Imperatives

Principles compelling people to action, found in all cultures and major world religions

Caux Principles for Responsible Business

Principles developed by the Caux Round Table, an international network of business leaders from a variety of nations and cultures, to conceptualize how a responsible business should act in every nation

Stages of Moral Development

Refers to an evolutionary process that describes how individuals morally reason about the rightness or wrongness of events that occur in their lives

Reverse Discrimination

Refers to discriminating against a dominant or majority group member, such as Caucasian males, in favor of a historically disadvantaged or minority group member

Organizational Trust

Refers to having a positive attitude that another member of the organization will be fair and not take advantage of one's vulnerability in a risky situation

Moral Intensity

Refers to issue-related factors such as magnitude of consequence or proximity that determines the depth of a person's moral approval or disapproval

Fairness

Refers to making decisions according to rules not based on personal biases

Glass Ceiling

Refers to situations in which the hierarchical advancement of a qualified woman or minority group member is prematurely stopped at a lower level because of gender, racial, or ethnic discrimination

Undue Hardship

Refers to the cost and difficulty associated with making an accommodation

Dominant Group

Refers to the diverse characteristic that is held in common by a large number of employees, typically Caucasian males

Subordinate Group

Refers to the diversity characteristic held by a small minority of organizational members

Respect for Others

Refers to treating everyone with dignity

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB

Refers to work-related helping behaviors that go beyond normal job requirements, such as aiding others with job-related problems

Ban the Box Legislation

Removes the criminal records question from job application forms

Theft

The act of taking someone's property without that person's permission

Living Wage

The amount of money a full-time employee needs to exceed the poverty threshold or afford the basic necessities of life

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)

The belief that an individual's particular group membership (defined in terms of race, gender, religion, or ethnicity) is superior to membership in other groups

Human Nature

The moral, psychological, and social characteristics of human beings

Fraud

The use of one's occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of the employing organization's resources or assets

Conscience

The voice of pure goodness within us

Ethics

The set of principles a person uses to determine whether an action is good or bad