Business Ethics
Course Business Ethics FHNW (Business Administration IM)
Course Business Ethics FHNW (Business Administration IM)
All of these are ways of reducing pollution, except:
Chapter 12, p. 362
What concept refers to economic theories advocating the creation of a society where wealth and power are distributed evenly, relative to the amount of work expended in production?
Chapter 10, p. 280
Only 10% of employees observe abusive behavior in the workplace.
Chapter 3, Check your EQ
According to Table 3-1, 21% of employees observe abusive behavior in the workplace
To ensure that an ethics program addresses the needs of the average employee, it should include all of the following except ...
p. 232
Which of the following is not a benefit that primary stakeholders tend to provide to organizations?
Chapter 2, p. 32
Which of the following is not a conflict management style?
p. 319
The stakeholder perspective is useful in managing social responsibility and business ethics.
Chapter 2, Check your EQ
The six steps to implement this approach were provided in this chapter
Which of the following is not a way to avoid groupthink in small-group decision making?
p. 325
According to Kohlberg's model, as a person progresses through the stages of moral development, and with time, education, and experience, he/she
Chapter 6, p. 170
For an ethical compliance program to properly function,
Chapter 8, p. 230
Having acceptable personal ethics is probably not going to be sufficient to handle complex business ethical issues when an individual has
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
An important part of leadership is the implementation of employee-centred leadership. Employee-centred leadership recognizes that while not everyone will be a manager, every employee can and should practice leadership skills to support ethical decision making.
An essential component of employee-centred leadership is communication. Without communication all attempts at maintaining an ethical culture fail.
Evidence suggests that most firms understand the importance of communication in connection to leadership and that top management puts special emphasis on getting feedback from employees, listening to their concerns.
Chapter 11
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
Moral intensity and ethical issue intensity are similar concepts because they both relate to the individual’s perception of social or organisational pressure and the harm they believe their decisions will have on others.
Moral intensity is different from ethical issue intensity because the former relates to a company’s moral obligations regarding its corporate citizenship, and the latter relates to the importance of an event in the eyes of an individual person.
Regarding ethical issue intensity, it can be argued that senior employees and those with administrative authority play an important role as they typically dictate an organisation’s stance on ethical issues.
pp. 129-130
Sustainability is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment including all biological entities, as well as the mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies.
Chapter 12, Check your EQ
Sustainability is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all biological entities, as well as the mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
The prime goal of an ethical culture is the maximisation of the use of principles that contribute to ethical reasoning in difficult or new situations. Another, subordinate goal is to minimise the need for enforced compliance of rules.
Most ethical issues exist because of conflicts in values and belief patterns about right and wrong among and within stakeholder groups.
When unethical acts are discovered in organisations, in most instances cooperation or complicity facilitated the acceptance and perpetuation of the unethical conduct.
p. 15; p. 30
Among retail stores, _____ is a larger problem than customer shoplifting.
Chapter 3, p. 66
Which of the following leadership types has a strong influence on coworker support and building an ethical culture through increasing employee commitment and fostering motivation?
Chapter 11, p. 331
An unconscious reference to one's own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge is referred to as the ...
p. 276
The leader demands instantaneous obedience and focuses on achievement, initiative, and self-control.
Chapter 11, p. 330-331
You work as the assistant to the CEO of an internationally active pharmaceutical company. In order to promote your products, you regularly invite medical doctors (MDs) to seminars and conferences that also help to exchange ideas and share insights gained from experience. In this context, it has been common practice that your company covers all the travelling expenses of the participants and their spouses and also pay a substantial fee if participants are willing to make a contribution in the discussion forums. As this has been a common practice within the pharmaceutical industry, your company has not considered this approach as ethically questionable so far.
However, recently, a new law was passed in one of the countries where you do business that prohibits the payment of a substantial fee merely for the agreement to participate in a discussion. Yet, it remains unclear exactly which sum could be considered substantial. At the same time, the parliament of the country where your head offices are located is preparing a new law making the payment of excessive compensation to participants of company-organised international conferences illegal. In this context, the CEO has asked you to come up with a plan of action, proposing, with an emphasis on sound corporate citizenship, an ethically viable and commercially sound approach to the new situation.
Given the above information, which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct? See Visual with choices I, II, and III.
Chapters 1-3; 5, p. 300
Studies have found that more than a third of the unethical situations that lower and middle-level managers face come from _____.
Chapter 5
Business ethics deals with right or wrong behavior within a particular organization.
Chapter 1, Check your EQ
That stems from the basic definition
Three primary stakeholders are customers, special interest groups, and the media.
Chapter 2, Check your EQ
Although customers are primary stakeholders, special interest groups and the media are usually considered secondary stakeholders
Please fill in the missing part in a manner consistent with business ethics.
After identifying ethical risk areas, ethical leaders should develop policies and procedures for _____ and _____ misconduct. This process is an important part of risk management.
While companies might adopt risk management plans to deal with economic, marketing, and technological risks, they are less likely to consider _____ risks as a major area of concern.
pp. 332-333
Which-ones of the following terms belong to the same group (i.e., the same category)?
1) Egoism
2) Utilitarianism
3) Relativism
4) Consequentialism
5) Nonconsequentialism
Chapter 6
Please fill in the missing part in a manner consistent with business ethics. (p. 135/moderate)
A(n) _____ is a problem, situation, or opportunity that requires an individual, group, or organisation to choose among several actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical.
p. 135
Which leadership type values people, their emotions, and their needs and relies on friendship and trust to promote flexibility, innovation, and risk taking?
Chapter 11, p. 330
All of these are ways of reducing pollution, except:
p. 362
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
In the context of business ethics, the notion “ethics” refers to the decisions made within the framework of an organisation’s values. However, it does not refer to the specific behaviour of members of an organisation.
In the context of business ethics, the notion “ethics” refers to both, to a specific behaviour of members of an organisation as well as to a person’s personal philosophies about what is right or wrong.
In the context of business ethics, there exists a difference between an ordinary decision and an ethical-one. For instance, contrary to an ordinary decision, an ethical decision requires the weighing of values in order to reach a judgement regarding a situation the decision maker has not faced before.
p. 5
During the 1990s the institutionalization of business ethics was largely driven by which piece of legislation?
Chapter 1, p. 12
Act deontology requires a person use equity, fairness, and impartiality in making decisions and evaluating actions.
Chapter 6, Check your EQ
The rules serve only as guidelines, and past experience weighs more heavily than the rules
There exist positive links between environmental and economic performance. In connection thereto, a firm’s innovation strategy might lead to a better economic performance for all of the subsequent reasons except:
p. 367
_____ is a term used by Adam Smith to explain the inherent mechanisms at work in free market systems that keep commerce in equilibrium. It is also known as the “invisible hand.”
Chapter 10, p. 279
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
A company’s ethical culture has a positive effect on employee commitment and trust. However, investor loyalty is only marginally affected by a company’s ethical culture as investors are primarily interested in high returns on equity.
A company’s ethics and compliance program can support values and appropriate conduct. In this context, it is important to realise a company’s core values, which are derived from principles, might not be the same as an employee’s individual values.
A company’s value practices are distinct from its organisational practices, which are driven by technical or efficiency considerations.
p.16 and pp. 143
Which is the last of Kohlberg's stages of cognitive moral development?
Chapter 6, p. 170
There exist positive links between environmental and economic performance. In connection thereto, a firm’s innovation strategy might lead to a better economic performance for all of the subsequent reasons except:
p. 367
An unconscious reference to one's own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge is referred to as the ...
p. 276
Risk compartmentalization occurs when
Chapter 10, p. 278
An ethical compliance audit is designed to determine the effectiveness of ethics initiatives.
Chapter 8, Check your EQ
It helps in establishing the code and in making program improvements
Last year, your company, a supplier of electronic hard ware, adopted a new environmental strategy in which the long-term overlaps of shared values between the needs of the company and the needs of society and the environment receive special attention. In this context, your company has begun with the development of new technologies that should provide the means to extract, from electronic waste, the raw materials needed in the production of new units. In this sense, the company hopes both to better secure the supply of those needed raw materials in the future as well as comply with newly established legal environmental standards. However, the development of that technology proves to be more costly and more challenging than expected. And whilst the board of directors, at last year’s general assembly of shareholders, received great support for its decision to develop the new technologies, important shareholders have now voiced their serious concern that the strategy appears to be too costly, putting the company’s economic performance at risk.
The CEO is a much appreciated person; many consider him an ethical leader. However, he is not what one would call an authoritative, inspirational leader. Especially when it comes to communication, he appears to have trouble in bringing a message across in an inspiring manner. Many believe that it is because of this shortcoming that some shareholders don’t trust the companyto be able to successfully complete the development of the new technologies. Many believe that his resignation would solve that problem. He, however, does not seem to share that view.
In view of the above-described situation, which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct? See visual for I, II, and III.
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Flashcards
Please fill in the missing part in a manner consistent with business ethics.
The point at which a lie becomes unethical in business is based on the _____ of the statement and its _____ to distort the truth.
p. 70
Which of the following was developed in the 1980s to guide corporate support for ethical conduct by establishing a method for discussing best practices?
Chapter 1, p. 12
When a commercial states that a product is superior to any other on the market, the marketer risks accusations of
Chapter 3, p. 78
Time theft is the most commonly observed type of misconduct.
Chapter 3, Check your EQ
The most observed form of misconduct in Table 3-1 is misuse of company time
Which of the following is not one of the rights spelled out by John F. Kennedy in his "Consumers' Bill of Rights"?
Chapter 1, p. 10
Key ethical issues in an organization relate to fraud, discrimination, honesty and fairness, conflicts of interest, and privacy.
Chapter 3, Check your EQ
Fraud, discrimination, honesty and fairness, conflicts of interest, and privacy are key ethical issues that businesses face
Please fill in the missing part in a manner consistent with business ethics.
A(n) _____ orientation creates order by requiring that employees identify with and commit to specific required conduct, whereas a(n) _____ orientation strives to develop shared standards.
pp. 222-223
The perceived relevance or importance of an ethical issue to the individual, work group, or organization is
Chapter 5
Which of the following is not a cultural dimension identified by Geert Hofstede?
p. 275
Ethanol, fracking, and hydropower are all forms of alternative energy.
Chapter 12, Check your EQ
Fracking is not a form of alternative energy
Which of the following is not associated with the stakeholder interaction model?
Chapter 2, p. 36
According to the ethical decision-making framework, the absence of punishment provides a(n) _____ for unethical behavior.
Chapter 5, p. 135
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
The failure to include the issue of living wages in a company’s ethics program is highly likely to issue in subsequent legal problems. Moreover, such a company acts in highly unethical ways.
It is in many cases in the long-term interest of a company to also include potentially difficult issues related to different and differing religious beliefs in an ethics program.
As more and more countries are adopting policies of state financed national healthcare programs, including associates in a company healthcare program is no longer an important issue in business ethics.
Chapter 10
Which of the following is the first step in the ethical decision making process?
Chapter 5, p. 128
Social responsibility in business refers to maximizing the visibility of social involvement.
Chapter 2, Check your EQ
Social responsibility refers to an organization's obligation to maximise its positive impact on society and minimalize its negative impact
Transactional leadership strives to raise employees' level of commitment and to foster trust and motivation.
Chapter 11, Check your EQ
Transformational leadership strives to raise employees' level of commitment and to foster trust and motivation. Transactional leaders attempt to create employee satisfaction through negotiating, or "bartering," for desired behaviors or levels of performance
Please fill in the missing part in a manner consistent with business ethics.
Institutions are important in establishing a foundation for normative values. Therefore, _____ institutions (e.g. religion, education, family units) also impact a firm’s normative values inasmuch as they help individuals form their personal values and the moral philosophies they bring to the workplace. In a(n) _____ context, societal trends influence which values to adopt as well as when to adapt decisions to take into account new concerns.
p. 141
_____ identified four cultural dimensions that can have a profound impact on the business environment: individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity.
Chapter 10, p. 275
_____ are person-specific, whereas _____ are based on decisions made by groups or when carrying out tasks to meet business objectives.
Chapter 6, p. 154
_____ products encourage consumers to return and buy more. This approach is also known as planned obsolescence.
Chapter 10, p. 299
Which-one(s) of the following statement(s) is(are) correct?
Codes of conduct do not have to be so detailed as to take into account every possible situation, but they should provide guidelines and principles capable of helping employees achieve organisational ethical objectives and address risks in an accepted way.
Codes of conduct are formal statements of what an organization expects of its employees. They also help employees determine what behaviours are acceptable.
Codes of conduct provide rules and guidelines for employees to follow. They should be specific enough to be reasonably capable of preventing misconduct.
pp. 224-226
Business can be considered a game people play, like basketball or boxing.
Chapter 3, Check your EQ
People are not economically self-sufficient and cannot withdraw from the game of business
Sherry's leadership style often creates a negative working climate because of the high standards she sets. Sherry is most likely a(n) _____ leader.
Chapter 11, p. 331
An unconscious reference to one's own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge is referred to as the
Chapter 10, p. 276
All of the following are true regarding ethical decision making and leadership except?
p. 144; p. 314
In marketing communications, lying causes predicaments for companies because it destroys
Chapter 3, p. 78
Ethics is a part of decision making
Chapter 1, p. 3
Strong ethical leaders have a passion for all of the following except to ...
pp. 313- 315
Which of the following statements is false?
Chapter 11
Which of the following is not one of the six "spheres of influence" to which individuals are subject when confronted with anethical issue?
Those who ascribe to consumerism, ...
p. 298
The key goal of ethics training is to help employees identify ethical issues.
Chapter 8, Check your EQ
It is much more than that - it involves not only recognition but also an understanding of the values, culture, and rules in an organization as well as the impact of ethical decisions on the company
Which of the following has been identified by the Ethics Resource Center as the leading form of observed misconduct in organizations?
Chapter 3, p. 66
Which-one of the following statements is most likely to be correct?
pp. 13-17
Codes, rules, and compliance are essential in organizations. However, an organization built on _____ is more likely to develop a high integrity corporate culture.
Chapter 5, p. 139
Which of the following groups are not secondary stakeholders?
p. 32
What is not a common mistake when designing and implementing an ethics program?
Chapter 8, p. 232
Certain facilitating payments are acceptable under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Chapter 10, Check your EQ
A violation of the FCPA occurs when the payments are excessive of are used to persuade the recipients to perform other than normal duties
Fraud occurs when a false impression exists, which conceals facts.
Chapter 3, Check your EQ
Fraud must be purposeful rather than accidental, and exists when deception and manipulation of facts are concealed to create a false impression that causes harm
Which of the following is a common mistake made in implementing an ethics program?
p. 223
