MGT 5015 Quiz Set

Part 3 of 7 Know Ethics

Question 1
1. Rights-based ethical theories:
 
 Are generally classified as modern versions of Utilitarianism
 
 Determine the moral worth of an action regardless of their consequences
 
 Are largely consequentialist in nature
 
 Classify corporate social responsibility among the positive rights that must be enforced by government.
0.5 points  
Question 2
2. One advantage of the Utilitarian ethical principle is that:
 
 It is very egalitarian as all people and groups affected are counted.
 
 It has a broad stakeholder component that is similar to modern business constituent group analysis.
 
 It conforms to the way most people think about acting by focusing on the consequences of an action.
 
 All are advantages.
0.5 points  
Question 3
3. Which of the following is not accurate?
 
 One benefit to being a sincere ethical emotist is that one is morally infallible.
 
 One convenience to being an ethical emotist is that one can change one’s mind about a moral issue simply by expressing a different feeling about an action.
 
 Morality is a societal-based phenomena according to the doctrine of ethical relativism.
 
 Cultural relativism is a prescriptive ethical theory that sets forth moral norms.
0.5 points  
Question 4
4. Which of the following is NOT part of the beliefs of Kantian ethics?
 
 All like cases should be treated alike.
 
 Treating others as you want to be treated.
 
 Choosing a course of action that produces the greatest good for society.
 
 Abiding by the rules applied to others in making decisions.
0.5 points  
Question 5
5. Which statement is FALSE about the ancient Greek philosophers?
 
A. Plato’s conception of a Just State is an organizational ideal that evidences a distrust of democracy.
 
B. Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean advises one to be virtuous by selecting the virtuous “mean” between two vice extremes of deficiency and excess.
 
C. Aristotle’s Ethics of Virtue puts primary emphasis on developing and cultivating good moral traits of character.
 
D. The Sophists believed that justice, ethics, and morality were universal, objective, permanent, and unchanging norms and standards.
0.5 points  
Question 6
6. Which is false about the Sophists of ancient Greece?
 
 They were teachers for-hire, philosophers, and probably the first known business consultants.
 
 They were relativists who did not believe that there was any universal, objective, intrinsic truth to anything.
 
 They believed that ethics had instrumental value and thus should be taught and learned.
 
  None; all are true.
0.5 points  
Question 7
7. A major criticism that Kant would make of Utilitarianism is that:
 
a. It is an egalitarian doctrine that registers the pleasure and pain of everyone affected by an action.
 
b. It counts the pleasure and pain of animals since they feel pleasure and pain.
 
c. It is an immoral ethical doctrine because it can morally legitimize the suffering of a minority in an effort to achieve the greater good for society as a whole.
 
d. It is difficult to get an accurate definition of "society" so as to determine societal moral norms.
0.5 points  
Question 8
8. President Abraham Lincoln very succinctly explained his rationale for his condemnation of and opposition to slavery, to wit: "As I would not be a slave, so I shall not be a master." Lincoln's reasoning best exemplifies what ethical theory?
 
a. Legal Positivism of Thomas Hobbs
 
b. Ethical Relativism of the Sophists
 
c. The Categorical Imperative of Immanuel Kant
 
d. Utilitarianism of Bentham and Mills.
0.5 points  
Question 9
9. The Golden Rule, “Do onto others as you would want them to do unto you,” is most directly reflected by what ethical theory?
 
 Ethical relativism
 
 Utilitarianism
 
 Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean
 
 Kantian ethics
0.5 points  
Question 10
10. Machiavellian “ethics” is basically premised on the views of:
 
 The Roman Catholic Church
 
 Socrates
 
 The Sophists
 
 The Italian parliament.
0.5 points  
Part 4 of 7 Apply Ethics
Question 1
1. Corporate ethics codes and ethics departments today are:
 
 Usually required for all corporations by Congressional legislation in the United States.
 
 In the long-term ethical egoistic interest of the corporation.
 
 Indications to the corporation's stakeholders that it is committed to moral behavior.
 
 B and C.
0.5 points  
Question 2
2. A key aspect of business leadership today is:
 
 Creating and communicating a vision.
 
 Securing acceptance of the vision and inspiring followers to realize the vision.
 
 Convincing followers and stakeholders that the vision is an inherently moral one.
 
 All of the above.
0.5 points  
Question 3
3. Which of the following is the most correct statement?
 
 A true code of ethics will have a general constituency or stakeholder obligation section, but need not have a moral practices or rules section.
 
 To be effective, a code of ethics must contain an adherence statement in which not only the employees but also the company itself agrees to be bound by the code.
 
 A company's ethics workshop or training must always be conducted by an attorney since all moral questions are legal issues too.
 
 An employee may be morally required to engage in "whistleblowing" but only if the employee is protected by a federal or state whistleblower protection statute.
0.5 points  
Question 4
4. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
 
 A theory that says that morality and ethics should be based on law is called Legal Positivism.
 
 When a person looks to an outside source for moral rules or commands, he or she might be characterized as an ethical emotist.
 
 An ethical theory that maintains that people must choose the action of follow the rule that provides the greatest good to society is called Utilitarianism.
 
 An ethical theory that says that people owe moral duties that are based on universal rules is called Kantian ethics.
0.5 points  
Question 5
5. Mandatory, random, observed drug testing by an employer ethically could be deemed:
 
A. Moral pursuant to Ethical Egoism for the employer if it conducts the testing in a careful and proper manner and as a result reduces accidents, lost time at work, and health care costs.
 
B. Moral pursuant to Utilitarianism if the drug testing reduces illegal drug use in society for the betterment of the people as a whole even though some people may feel their rights to privacy have been or may be infringed upon.
 
C. Immoral pursuant to Kantian ethics if some people feel that mandatory, random, observed drug testing is a disrespectful and demeaning act and an invasion of their privacy.
 
D. All of the above.
0.5 points  
Question 6
6. Edward Executive makes $100,000 a year. Ned Newguy, a recent business school graduate, is willing to do Ed's job for $55,000. Ed has been with the company for 30 years. In a cost-saving move, the company fires Ed and replaces him with the younger and cheaper Ned Newguy. This action could be
 
 Illegal
 
 Immoral pursuant to Kantian ethics
 
 Moral pursuant to Ethical Egoism
 
 All of the above.
0.5 points  
Question 7
7. Ace Tool Company's decision-makers view a particular risk in the use of Ace's product as open and obvious to consumers. Continuing to market the product without explicitly telling consumers of the risk very likely would NOT be justified from a perspective of
 
 Machiavellian ethics
 
 Kantian ethics
 
 Ethical Egoism
 
 Utilitarian ethics
0.5 points  
Question 8
8. Big Sneaker Multinational Company has an Asian manufacturing facility which would be regarded as a "sweat-shop," where young, teen-age girls are exploited, working for poor wages and with minimal safety precautions, as well as some of the girls being sexually harassed by managers in the making of sneakers. The company, however, is acting legally in Asia and, moreover, produces a lot of money for the Asian and U.S. economies, the company's shareholders and distributors and retailers; and furthermore the U.S. consumer gets a very good product at a reasonable price. The Asian girls have some type of a job, at least. Under these circumstances, Kant based on his Categorical Imperative would say:
 
a. If those type of working conditions are considered to be normal and the customary practice in Asian societies then the facility is a moral one.
 
b. If the facility produces the greater good for U.S. and the Asian society then it is a moral one despite some suffering by the employees.
 
c. If the facility produces overall good for the company, despite a little bad publicity which the "PR people" can handle, then it is moral.
 
d. If the working conditions at the facility are not improved and if the sexual harassment of the girls is not stopped, the facility is an immoral one as it fails the Kingdom of Ends and Agent/Receiver tests.
0.5 points  
Question 9
9. A company is considering using its local agents to pay a bribe in the form of a very expensive “good will” gift to a foreign government official in order to assure approval by the official for a contract with the foreign government that the company desperately needs to survive. How best would Machiavelli “ethically” advise the company?
 
A. Do not pay the bribe as bribery is a legal wrong everywhere with no exceptions and thus bribery is everywhere immoral.
 
B. Do not pay the bribe as bribery is “categorically” a moral wrong everywhere and at all times and with no ethical exceptions.
 
C. Pay the bribe since it is absolutely necessary, but be smart, shrewd, and very careful about it, and then know that you have acted in a “virtuous” manner.
 
D. Pay the bribe only if you have the full express approval of the U.S. Department of Justice Legal Affairs Department as well as the Business Ethics Office and also the approval of foreign government official’s government.
0.5 points  
Question 10
10. If the conduct of International Software Corporation is found to be unethical, it could suffer
 
 Lost profits
 
 Negative publicity
 
 Adverse legal consequences if the conduct also violated the law
 
 All of the above.

Part 5 of 7 - Know Social Responsibility

Question 1
1. A conservative interpretation and definition of corporate "social responsibility" would typically reflect the view that:
 
 Corporate social responsibility should be mandated and closely regulated by global organizations, such as the United Nations.
 
 There is insufficient government regulation in the U.S. in place to deal with corporate socially responsible decision-making.
 
 Social responsibility decisions in business should be decided according to philosophical Natural Law and Natural rights ethical principles.
 
 It could in the long-term, self-interest of business to "get involved" in the community in a prudent manner.
0.5 points  
Question 2
2. Lea, a vice-president of International Pharmaceuticals, Inc., does not apply Utilitarianism to business moral issues. One major problem with this ethical theory is that it
 
 Advocates social change through violent revolution when people are not treated justly
 
 Forces the individual to conform to the norms of society as to what it means to be socially responsible
 
 Justifies human costs that some may find morally unacceptable
 
 Promotes utopian societies such as Plato's conception of the Just State.
0.5 points  
Question 3
3. Nobel Prize winner Professor Emeritus Milton Friedman would favor a corporate code of conduct that would:
 
 Maximize profits at all costs.
 
 Maximize profits based on open and free competition.
 
 Maximize profits as long as the corporation "plays within the rules" without fraud, deception, or other illegality.
 
 B and C only.
0.5 points  
Question 4
4. Today, critics of the corporation argue for various corporate governance reform proposals to improve the legal, moral, and socially responsible behavior of the corporation. Which of the following is the most convincing argument AGAINST these proposals?
 
 These proposals are inadvisable because corporate managers should never have any duty other than to maximize profits for the shareholders
 
 These proposals are unnecessary because market forces invariably operate to deter any corporate misbehavior
 
 These proposals are unnecessary because existing law already establishes clear standards for what is and is not moral corporate behavior globally
 
 These proposals are inadvisable because they will reduce corporate ability to respond quickly to changing business conditions and therefore will create allocational inefficiency.
0.5 points  
Question 5
5. Which of the following is a true statement?
 
A. Pursuant to a sustainability approach to social responsibility it would be inappropriate for a business to undertake charitable acts for the benefit of the community if doing so reduces profits in the short-term but increases profits in the long-term.
 
B. Social responsibility audits are not mandated for all corporations by the Federal Trade Commission.
 
C. Under a sustainability approach to social responsibility, the modern business corporation only owes any responsibility to the shareholders since they are the owners of the corporation.
 
D. One problem with a stakeholder approach to corporate social responsibility is that it is often difficult to determine how the interests of the different stakeholders should be balanced.
0.5 points  
Question 6
6. Not being socially responsible most likely subjects one and one's company to:
 
 Civil legal liability based on the principle of Last Resort.
 
 Criminal legal liability based on the principle of Nonfeasance.
 
 Moral condemnation for the failure to rescue the poor in the local community.
 
 Criticism in the local community for not being a "good corporate citizen"
0.5 points  

Part 6 of 7 - Apply Social Responsibility

Question 1
1. Which statement is incorrect regarding the application of the term "social responsibility" to business?
 
 Social responsibility by business in the form of civic and charitable contributions to the local community usually is legally required when a local government is suffering a budget deficit.
 
 Today's business executives and managers are well advised to pay attention on the changing perceptions in society as to what constitutes socially responsible behavior by business.
 
 Social responsibility is the notion that a person or business should get involved in civic and charitable affairs in the community.
 
 Social responsibility can include a business seeking to obtain good publicity and a good reputation in the community for its charitable and civic contributions.
0.5 points  
Question 2
2. A few years ago, a large clothing manufacturer decided that it had to close its last operating manufacturing facilities in the United States and locate the production to plants located in countries with low labor costs. The manufacturer provided the workers who lost their jobs with a much larger severance package than was required by their employment contracts and by statute. This caused considerable expense to the company. In making this decision, which of the following is true about how the company must have viewed the relative importance of the theories of business values discussed in the text?
 
 Profit maximization was equal in importance to corporate social responsibility.
 
 Corporate social responsibility was more important than profit maximization.
 
 Profit maximization was more important than Utilitarian ethics.
 
 The company did not believe in the value of legality.
0.5 points  
Question 3
3. Charlotte is the CEO of a large successful company. She is considering how and to what extent her company should be involved in the communities where it has major facilities. How would you best advise her today?
 
A. Do nothing since a company cannot be sued for being socially non-responsive or for that matter for being socially irresponsible.
 
B. Be very altruistic to the point of being saintly in helping out in the local communities.
 
C. Be socially responsible in a prudent, smart, shrewd, and strategic sense.
 
D. Be a moral hero in the community by “helping to it hurts.”
0.5 points  
Question 4
4. The executives of Home Depot Corporation are considering whether their corporation should be a “socially responsible” one and thus give money to local charities and get involved in civic and community events. Today, they would best
be advised to:
 
A. Do nothing unless the law explicitly requires the company to be socially responsible.
 
B. Be extremely socially responsible regardless of the effect on the company’s “bottom-line.”
 
C. Be socially responsible in a smart, shrewd, strategic, and long-term sense (and let the media know about it!).
 
D. Do not even consider the issue, since social responsibility is merely an “academic” issue for business students to ponder over and has no “real-world” implications for modern day business.