85) Imagine you were asked to work for a residential construction company. How would you
build a moral case for this company to engage in corporate social responsibility and
environmentally sustainable business practices?
A) Socially responsible actions and sustainable business practices can lower the construction
firm’s costs and enhance employee recruiting and workforce retention.
B) Opportunities for revenue enhancement may also come from CSR and environmental
sustainability strategies by the construction firm.
C) Well-conceived CSR strategies and sustainable business practices are in the best long-term
interest of the owners of the construction firm.
D) Like any business, the construction firm must engage in practices that reflect ordinary
decency and civic-mindedness, and contribute to society’s well-being.
E) If the construction firm makes a strong commitment to socially responsible behavior, doing so
will reduce the risk of reputation-damaging incidents.
86) Following public revelations of pressures on bank staff to set up fraudulent accounts in order
to reach sales quotas, the CEO of Wells Fargo Bank was forced to apologize to and recompense
customers for whom the bank had set up false credit card and auto loan accounts. As a
consequence, over 100,000 account managers were terminated, a $186 million fine was paid to
the U.S. government, the CEO was forced to resign, and the company’s stock price also sharply
declined. Which of the following costs did Wells Fargo incur?
A) only visible and internal administrative costs
B) visible but not intangible costs
C) internal administrative costs, tangible costs, and intangible costs
D) internal administrative costs but not visible costs
E) visible and intangible costs
87) Valid business reasons for why companies should act in a socially responsible manner DO
NOT include
A) generating internal benefits (such as improved employee recruiting, workforce retention,
training, and worker productivity).
B) reducing the risk of reputation-damaging incidents.
C) acting in the best interest of shareholders in terms of increased stock price and financial
performance.
D) increasing buyer patronage and customer loyalty.
E) reducing the triple bottom line.
88) Ben & Jerry’s, Whole Foods Market, Stonyfield Farm, TOMS, Keurig Green Mountain, and
Patagonia all have engaged in visible and well-publicized activities as socially conscious
companies with which major result?
A) increasing buyer patronage
B) reducing the risk of reputation-damaging incidents
C) internal benefits such as improved efficiency and workforce retention
D) apparent correlations between CSR and their stock prices as well as other measures of
financial performance
E) reductions of their bottom lines by unspecified and unjustifiable amounts
89) Among the merits of why acting in a socially responsible manner is “good business,” what
remains to be proven in practice?
A) Companies with good reputations for contributing time and money to bettering society are
better able to attract and retain employees compared to companies with tarnished reputations.
B) That there is a high correlation between socially responsible behavior that addresses social
issues and a firm’s competitive advantage and financial performance.
C) To the extent that a company’s socially responsible behavior wins applause from consumers
and fortifies its reputation, a company may win additional patronage.
D) Operating in a socially responsible manner protects the company from consumer,
environmental, and human rights activist groups that are quick to criticize businesses whose
behavior they consider to be out of line.
E) Well-conceived social responsibility strategies help avoid or preempt legal and regulatory
actions that could prove costly to the company.
90) Does a substantial difference exist between ethics and business ethics?
91) Define ethical universalism, ethical relativism, and integrative social contracts theory.
92) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis that ethical standards are (or should be)
universal?
93) What are the differences between the school of ethical universalism and the school of ethical
relativism?
94) Relying on the principle of ethical relativism to determine what is right or wrong (1) presents
which major opportunities and (2) poses which problems for multinational companies trying to
decide which ethical standards to enforce companywide?
95) Is a competitive strategy based on ethical relativism a “one-size-fits-all” approach? Explain
your answer.
96) What is meant by integrated social contracts theory? What is its contribution to the debate
about ethical standards?
97) What is meant by (1) ethical universalism and (2) integrated social contracts theory? Which
of these two schools of thought do you believe is most inclusive? Explain the reasons for your
answer.
98) PepsiCo’s Global Code of Conduct plays a pivotal role in ensuring that PepsiCo’s employees,
managers, and directors around the world are complying with the company’s high ethical
standards. Which of the three schools of thought are reflected in PepsiCo’s Global Code of
Conduct? Please explain your answer.
99) Imagine you are CEO of a multinational company supplying infant care products to
emerging economies. Do you and your company have a duty to go beyond legal requirements
and conform to the ethical norms of the societies in which it operates?
100) What is the case for why business strategies should be ethical?