It is possible to assess the “ethical culture” of an organization through use of survey
instruments.
Recognizing how much effort an employee exerts at work, and the dynamic that not
working hard can affect other workers, is an example of an ethical sensitivity.
According to the conventional level of moral reasoning, being “good” or “right” means
to be in accordance with societal rules.
Labor unions were originally intended to reduce power imbalances between owners and
laborers.
Capitalism was chosen as the economic system for the newly formed United States
because it was the easiest way to become competitive with Britain.
Though most corporations use them, in reality, codes are ineffective in signaling that
employees will be held personally accountable for their ethical choices, and in
providing an additional safeguard against pressures from managers, peers or external
constituents to behave unethically.
For legal reasons, tests that measure general personality traits can be combined with
those that diagnose personality disorders or mental disabilities.
Tools such as the “Code of Ethics Toolkit” are readily available for large and small
organizations to guide development of their own codes.
Reputation management is a minor concern for most organizations.
Ethical beliefs are followed by ethical intentions which are always followed by ethical
behaviors.
A simple ethical decision-making framework that helps individuals to analyze the basis
of their actions compels the individual to ask: “How would my mother (or other
individual you respect) feel if what I”m planning to do appeared on the front page of a
newspaper?”
The terms “mission statement” and “vision statement” should be used interchangeably
in the workplace.
Employee theft only occurs at middle- and lower-levels of organizations.
When two ethical theories such as the “Golden Rule” and individual self-interest are in
conflict, self-interest takes precedence.
The criterion for determining whether work being performed is considered equal is
whether the same job title is assigned to both men and women.
To avoid discrimination, job candidates are allowed to falsify responses to job-related
questions on application forms and submitted materials such as resumes.
Environmental management is best implemented within one dedicated department or
business unit that can devote time to becoming eco-friendly.
In today’s litigious environment, some former employers will only verify dates of
employment, which may be a sign of negative employee appraisal, rather than provide
detailed feedback on a job candidate’s employment history.
Applying universal ethical principles such as justice and equality is associated with the
preconventional level of moral development.
A useful early strategy in environmental action within an organization is to identify
“low-hanging fruit” to encourage success in achieving goals, which will help employees
gain confidence for implementing more complicated solutions.
Confidentiality is an issue that is outside of the area of concern for a Code of Conduct.
Because perceptions of a manager’s ethical leadership are subjective, assessment tools
that can be used to evaluate a specific manager are unfair.
Adam Smith asserted that laborers must be tightly controlled to preserve economic
growth.
It is most important to provide ethical training to lower-level employees, because most
ethical challenges occur at that level of the organization.
There does not seem to be a measurable correlation between personal integrity and
successful leadership in management.
Most organizations face no ethical challenges.
Upper-level managers establish the overall ethics tone that is then filtered throughout an
organization; as such, training can help these leaders achieve consensus on how to
address difficult behaviors.
Liberals and conservatives tend to differ in their prioritization and framing of ethical
dilemmas.
Moral imperatives are principles compelling people to action.
Employers may ask employees about being an alcoholic, because alcoholism is not
characterized as a disability.
Corporate philanthropy shouldn”t be framed as part of an organization’s public relations
strategy nor should it be linked with strategy.
The biggest source of retail industry theft is customers.
A Code of Conduct is sometimes referred to as a Values Statement.
It is always best to utilize an ethics workshop facilitator who is not a member of the
organization, but rather an expert from outside.
An organization’s Codes of Conduct should be the same across all business units, work
functions and stakeholders.
Employees are more likely to discuss an ethical concern with a manager if these types
of discussions occur on a regular basis.
Legal costs are the only cost associated with unethical behaviors.
A solid ethical argument exists supporting the relativist approach to international
corporate citizenship, particularly around issues such as sweatshops.
Because individuals are more likely to discuss work-related ethical issues with family
and friends than with coworkers or executives, realistically, ethics training is unlikely to
be effective.
Harassment becomes unlawful when the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to
create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider ___________.
a) normal
b) hostile
c) tiresome
d) unfriendly
e) none of the above
Diversity training is susceptible to which of the following problems, which can be
addressed through careful design of the training?
a) over-emphasizing the negative characteristics of the dominant group
b) over-emphasizing employee differences to the exclusion of common ground
c) a trainer who lacks credibility with either the dominant or subordinate group
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
In the most developed stages of moral reasoning, individuals rely on _______________
for determining right and wrong.
a) group norms and rules
b) universal ethical principles
c) egoism
d) none of the above
e) all of the above
U.S.-born _______________ unionized immigrant farm workers in California and led a
10-year nationwide boycott against grapes picked by nonunion workers.
a) Che Guevera
b) Cesar Chavez
c) Samuel Gompers
d) Taft Hartley
e) none of the above
The best predictor of future performance is/are __________________, encapsulated on
tools such as resumes.
a) behavioral test scores
b) reference checks
c) past performance
d) age
e) none of the above
On April 22, 1970, the first ___________ was held, designed to educate students and
others about the need to preserve natural resources and unite environmental
organizations around a common cause.
a) Transcendentalist Day
b) Earth Day
c) Walden Movement
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Over time, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been supplemented with
legislation prohibiting discrimination based on which of the following characteristics?
a) age
b) pregnancy
c) disability
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
A useful framework, used by communities and business around the world, emphasizing
environmental analysis and action plan development is known as:
a) LEED certification
b) The Natural Step
c) Greening
d) Cap and Trade
e) none of the above
An approachable manager displays which of the following characteristics?
a) authoritarian leadership
b) honesty and transparency
c) discourages dissent
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Which of the following characteristics is not associated with those representing a
servant leader?
a) altruistic calling
b) emotional healing
c) wisdom
d) organizational stewardship
e) none of the above
An effective way of presenting ethics training to employees is to frame it as a method of
___________.
a) continuous improvement in the organization
b) determining whether unethical behavior has occurred
c) ensuring appropriate consequences for unethical behavior
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Which of the following attributes should characterize an ethics and compliance officer?
a) insider status and well-networked
b) high position that exemplifies authority
c) operational experience
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Many managers falsely continue to assume that the best way to motivate employees is
through _____________ and the threat of disciplinary action.
a) job enrichment
b) recognition
c) achievement
d) financial rewards
e) none of the above
Which of the following are among the competitive advantages of environmental
management?
a) cost savings
b) reputational enhancement
c) attracting and retaining quality employees
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
According to theorist Tom Jones, an issue’s moral intensity is likely to vary based on
which of the following factors?
a) magnitude of consequences
b) social consensus
c) probability of effect
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Which of the following are considered universal ethical principles?
a) the “Golden Rule”
b) justice
c) equality
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
____________ refers to the stakeholder’s standing in society or to the claim being
made.
a) Power
b) Legitimacy
c) Urgency
d) Primary
e) none of the above
Which of the following organizational factors are associated with employee silence?
a) work culture discourages dissent
b) loyalty to the organizational members is not aligned with ethics
c) no established reporting system exists
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, issued in 1991, were an attempt by the government
to:
a) mandate policies and procedures that reinforce ethical behavior
b) require widespread consumer protections
c) require widespread worker protections
d) encourage managers to implement policies and procedures that reinforce ethical
behavior
e) none of the above
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s “Green Masters Program Checklist”, which
focuses onactions organizations can take to be more environmentally friendly, includes
all but which of the following categories?
a) energy
b) climate change
c) water
d) waste
e) none of the above
Which of the following observer factors are not associated with employee silence?
a) low moral intensity
b) lack of evidence
c) lack of empowerment
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Approximately ___________ of all organizations monitor email use by employees.
a) three-fourths
b) one-half
c) one-fourth
d) one hundred percent
e) none of the above
One method that may assist in more equitable levels of executive pay that limits
incentives for stock price manipulation is:
a) extended payout periods for stock options
b) lump-sum stock option payouts
c) elimination of stock options
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
A(n) ____________ goal can be vulnerable to encouraging employee temptation
toward dishonesty and to behave unethically if that is the only way they can achieve the
goal by the specified deadline.
a) incremental
b) stretch
c) foundation
d) reach
e) none of the above
In 2009, the federal government tried to determine “fair compensation” for top
executives that accepted federal bailout funds by:
a) limiting the total amount of compensation
b) regulating stock options
c) mandating lump sum payments
d) requiring cash bonuses
e) none of the above
Which of the following is not among the three most common forms of embezzlement:
a) taking money from a store where one shops regularly
b) employees writing fraudulent checks that they or their friends cash
c) taking money from cash revenues
d) processing fraudulent invoices
e) none of the above
Observers of ethical misconduct will often remain silent when they perceive reporting
as a violation of ___________ to employees, managers, and the organization.
a) loyalty
b) whistleblowing
c) professionalism
d) silence
e) none of the above
According to Torbert’s management role model typology, which of the following
management types is most strongly motivated by reward and punishment?
a) opportunist
b) diplomat
c) achiever
d) strategist
e) none of the above
Identifying environmental risks in an organization involves exploring which of the
following phases of the value chain?
a) suppliers
b) company operations
c) customers
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Individuals whose beliefs are consistent with a liberal political persuasion tend to focus
on which of the following value sets?
a) ingroup/loyalty
b) fairness/reciprocity
c) authority/respect
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Because employees may be cynical about the extent to which wrongdoers actually face
prescribed consequences for their behavior, a useful tool in ethics training includes
which of the following?
a) a list of prescribed behaviors and associated consequences
b) a strict Code of Conduct that outlines punishments for unethical behaviors
c) information on previous unethical behavior at the organization, and the associated
consequences that occurred
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
External whistleblowing is the result of the failure of ______________ within an
organization.
a) ethical values
b) internal communication systems
c) privacy
d) employee loyalty
e) none of the above
Authoritarian leaders rule according to the saying “my way or the highway,” tend to
expect absolute loyalty, and consider taking suggestions from subordinates as a
leadership weakness.
Discuss why good people occasionally behave unethically. Provide at least three
examples of unintended unethical behaviors.
Acts with a high likelihood of causing harm have high moral intensity.
Define the stakeholder conception of business ethics, and identify at least three
examples of stakeholders in business.
Discuss the steps associated with best practices in the internal reporting process.
A useful step in ethics training involving exploring ethical scenarios is to encourage
discussion of minority viewpoints.
Small businesses generally face fewer problems with unethical behaviors than do large
organizations.
Characteristics such as age and race are considered dimensions of diversity, but factors
that are within our control, such as personality, are not.
Diversity can contribute to improving organizational performance or be the source of
detrimental prejudices and stereotypes.
Capitalism was touted by Adam Smith and his followers as ethically superior to
government-controlled mercantilism due to its emphasis on individual freedom and
competition.
When organizations face tight budgets, ethics training should be eliminated to focus on
more immediate concerns, and then resumed when the organization is healthier.
Define and provide an overview of the Optimal Ethics Systems Model.
A useful method of ethics training can include formulation of “games” modeled after
quiz shows designed to raise awareness of ethical issues at work.
In cases of wrongdoing, judges can reduce fines if an organization has implemented a
Code of Ethics.
Identify and define at least four major issues surrounding labor rights in the U.S.
capitalist economy, from the founding of the United States through recent history
including the 2009 federal bailout.