Kant believed that we should always act
a. in such a way that we can will the maxim of our action to be a local law.
b. in a way that treats success as an end in itself, never merely as means.
c. in a way that would be universally unacceptable to all rational beings.
d. in a way that we can will the maxim of our action to become a universal law.
Answer:
Conflicts of interest may exist when employees have financial investments
a. in suppliers, customers, or distributors with whom their organizations do business.
b. in sports teams.
c. and question the wisdom of the deal.
d. that lead to office romance.
Answer:
Which statement is accurate in its description of consumer protection?
a. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has the power to order recalls.
b. Statistics show that, in fact, safety regulations rarely succeed in increasing safety.
c. Critics agree that the cost of safety regulations and product recalls are negligible.
d. Safety regulations permit people to choose to save money by purchasing riskier (but
less expensive) products.
Answer:
Which of the following is an accurate statement?
a. Adam Smith defends capitalism by appealing to the idea of a natural, moral right to
property.
b. Adam Smith denies that human beings are, by nature, acquisitive creatures.
c. A common defense of capitalism is the argument that people have a fundamental
moral right to property and that our capitalist system is simply the outcome of this
natural right.
d. Utilitarians oppose capitalism in principle.
Answer:
Which of the following characteristics distinguishes moral standards from other sorts of
standards?
a. moral standards are purely optional
b. moral standards take priority over other standards, including self-interest
c. moral standards cannot be justified by reasons
d. moral standards must be set or validated by some authoritative body
Answer:
According to common law, to legally dismiss an employee, an employer
a. cannot have bad motives.
b. is obligated not to discriminate.
c. must have good cause.
d. need have no reason at all.
Answer:
A “trade secret”
a. is legally equivalent to a patent or copyright.
b. need not be treated confidentially by the company in order to be protected.
c. can become part of an employee’s technical knowledge, experience, and skill.
d. is a narrow, precise concept that the law defines in great detail.
Answer:
Our relationship with the law is best described by which of the following?
a. To a significant extent, law codifies a society’s customs, norms, and moral values.
b. The law is a completely adequate guide to the moral standards that we should follow.
c. The law makes all immoral conduct illegal.
d. Violating the law is always immoral.
Answer:
In union terms, a direct strike occurs
a. when an organized body of workers withholds its labor to force the employer to
comply with its demands.
b. when union members and their supporters refuse to buy products from a company
being struck.
c. when workers who have no particular grievance of their own and who may or may
not have the same employer decide to strike in support of others.
d. when people refuse to patronize companies that handle products of struck companies.
Answer:
The famous experiments by social psychologist Solomon Asch show
a. the truth of utilitarianism.
b. the power of peer pressure has been greatly exaggerated.
c. business organizations put more pressure on individual integrity than do other kinds
of organization.
d. even temporary groups can pressure people to conform.
Answer:
The code or principles of conduct that a person accepts
a. constitute the whole of his or her morality.
b. can be distinguished from the person’s morality in a broader sense that includes his or
her values, ideals, and aspirations.
c. rarely guide his or her conduct in practice.
d. are always attained from his or her religion.
Answer:
The Donald Wohlgemuth case shows that
a. trade secrets can be patented.
b. trade secrets often become an integral part of an employee’s total job skills and
capabilities.
c. employees need to divest themselves of any skill acquired while handling trade
secrets.
d. “noncompete” or “nondisclosure” contracts are always legally valid.
Answer:
U.S. companies have a history of paying off foreign officials for business favors. Such
acts were declared illegal by
a. the U.S. Customs department.
b. the Vice President.
c. the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977.
d. the United Nations.
Answer:
For years Bayer aspirin advertised that it contained “the ingredient doctors recommend
most.” This is an example of
a. ambiguity.
b. psychological appeals.
c. exaggeration.
d. concealed facts.
Answer:
Of these four arguments, which of the following is the most plausible argument
AGAINST affirmative action?
a. Compensatory justice forbids affirmative action.
b. Blacks and whites are already equal in socioeconomic terms.
c. Affirmative action violates the rights of white men to equal treatment.
d. Affirmative action is the same thing as fixed numerical quotas.
Answer:
The philosopher Tom Regan
a. claims that no impartial morally sensitive person could approve of the treatment of
animals in factory farms if he or she knew what was going on.
b. argues against the use of governmental regulations to control the actions of
businesses.
c. believes that the FTC should be abolished.
d. denies that non-human animals have any moral rights.
Answer:
To be successful any test used by a corporation must be
a. sound.
b. valid.
c. created outside the corporation using the test.
d. one that can be used by any organization for any position.
Answer:
Corporations differ from partnerships and other forms of business association in two
ways. One of these is that
a. they are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.
b. they are formed simply by an agreement entered into among their members.
c. they must be publicly registered or in some way officially acknowledged by the law.
d. their shareholders are entitled to their share of the company’s profits as soon as they
are ascertained or determined.
Answer:
The example of Huckleberry Finn shows
a. one should always obey one’s conscience.
b. when in doubt, one should ignore one’s conscience.
c. we shouldn’t rely uncritically on what our conscience says.
d. unlike most people, Huckleberry Finn lacked a conscience.
Answer:
In association with labor and capital, Mill had contrasting views of
a. freedom of speech.
b. farmers’ markets profit.
c. welfare.
d. profit sharing.
Answer:
Some argue for the narrow view of corporate social responsibility on the ground that
managers have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize the profits of their shareholders.
As discussed in Chapter 5, one problem with this argument is that
a. companies do not usually have a clear chain of command.
b. promises don’t override all our other obligations.
c. managers don’t always know how to maximize profits.
d. stockholders don’t expect company managers to make money for them.
Answer:
Shaw and Barry mention three arguments for legally protecting trade secrets. Which of
these is one of them?
a. Trade secrets are the intellectual property of the employee who developed them.
b. Employees who disclose trade secrets violate the confidentiality owed to their
employers
c. Trade secrets are patented.
d. Trade secrets are trademarked.
Answer:
Which of the following is true?
a. a company is never permitted to test for legal drugs
b. drugs can’t harm employee performance
c. business writers agree that drug testing is more cost effective than voluntary drug
assistance programs
d. media sensationalism and political posturing can get in the way of sensible answers
to the drug problem
Answer:
Choose the statement that gives the most accurate description of etiquette:
a. the rules of etiquette are a fundamental branch of morality
b. conformity with the rules of etiquette is sufficient for moral conduct
c. etiquette refers to a special code of social behavior or courtesy
d. the rules of etiquette are backed by statutory law
Answer:
Due care is
a. based on the principle of caveat emptor.
b. based on the principle “let the buyer beware.”
c. the idea that consumers and sellers do not meet as equals and that consumer’s
interests are particularly vulnerable to being harmed by the manufacturer.
d. based on the principle of absolute liability.
Answer:
Choose the factual statement concerning wages:
a. An employer’s financial capabilities are irrelevant to the question of fair wages.
b. A fair wage is whatever an employee is willing to accept.
c. Extrinsic, non-job-related considerations are often relevant to setting fair wages.
d. A fair wage presupposes a fair work contract.
Answer:
What quality is more important in predicting who gets fired than job-performance
ratings or even prior disciplinary history?
a. race c. age
b. sexual orientation d. gender
Answer:
How did Aristotle view morality?
a. It’s necessary for us to try to be virtuous or excellent human beings.
b. Moral judgments are true because God commands them of us.
c. Moral judgments are determined differently by each culture.
d. It’s never right to help ourselves when we can help other people instead.
Answer:
In the corporate world, the board of directors will typically
a. rubber stamp the policies and recommendations of the management.
b. write the policies and procedures.
c. be there just for show.
d. hire and fire people for key management positions.
Answer:
The veil of ignorance proposes that
a. those in the original position are supposed to choose principles on the basis of
self-interest, agreement seems unlikely.
b. one group would be supportive of another group benefiting even though the rules are
different.
c. people are fully knowledgeable about themselves or situation allowing them to have
a partial or biased point of view.
d. agreement is difficult to attain.
Answer:
One decisive case in the legal transition away from the reasonable-person standard in
matters of advertising, sales and marketing was FTC v. Standard Education.
Answer:
According to “Battling Over Bottled Water,” water is the lifeblood of the earth.
Answer:
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 forbids companies to pay kickbacks in the
United States, but permits them to pay kickbacks to companies outside the United
States.
Answer:
According to the “maximin” rule, you should select the alternative under which the
worst that could happen to you is better than the worst that could happen to you under
any other alternative.
Answer:
One study suggests a positive correlation between job satisfaction and longevity.
Answer:
As a general rule, the burden is on an organization to establish the legitimacy of
infringing on what would normally be considered the personal sphere of the individual.
Answer:
According to Alfie Kohn, competition promotes individual and group achievement
better than cooperation.
Answer:
Employees have a legal right to refuse to work when it exposes them to imminent
danger.
Answer:
“Weasel words” are words used to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement.
Answer:
Due process requires specific and systematic means for workers to appeal discharge or
disciplinary decisions.
Answer:
Legally a corporation is a thing that can endure beyond the natural lives of its members
and that has incorporators who may sue and be sued as a unit and who are able to
consign part of their property to the corporation for ventures of limited liability.
Answer:
An isolated or occasional remark or innuendo inevitably constitutes sexual harassment.
Answer:
If you do the right thing only because you think you will profit from it, then you are
truly motivated by moral concerns.
Answer:
What is insider trading?
Answer:
The paradox of hedonism (or the paradox of selfishness) is that people who are
exclusively concerned with their own interests tend to have happier and more satisfying
lives than those who are concerned about other people.
Answer:
According to proponents of broadening corporate responsibility, corporations should
welcome the outside opinions of society as a whole, local communities, customers,
suppliers, employees, managers, and stockholders.
Answer:
When weighing the decisions to dismiss employees, companies need to remember that
employment affects families and communities, not just individuals.
Answer: