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54. A deontologist wants to hurry across busy traffic because they are late for a
meeting, but they don’t want to wait for the “walk” signal. What question would the
deontologist ask to determine if the action is a categorical imperative?
a. “Should I place my own success in my career above the safety of those around me?”
b. “Should all people late for important meetings ignore crosswalk signals?”
c. “Is the traffic law that dictates one must wait for a crossing signal an ethical or
reasonable one?”
d. “Would most people sympathize with my decision to rush across before the signal?”
55. Why can deontology be problematic for a business?
a. Compulsive or consistent honesty is not conducive to good management.
b. Respecting every stakeholder or customer equally is likely not sound business
practice.
c. Constantly seeking the welfare of the poorest members of society is at odds with
seeking a company’s profits.
d. Seeking the benefit of the majority can be detrimental to some key stakeholders in
the minority.
56. What ethical theory is the highest level of moral reasoning?
a. virtue ethics
b. deontology
c. utilitarianism
d. moral absolutism
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57. An attempt to do which of the following is most likely to guide the decisions of a
virtue ethicist over multiple decisions?
a. Follow the “Golden Rule.”
b. Improve the welfare of everyone.
c. Make the majority of people happy.
d. Be kind and fair.
58. Why might virtue ethics cause problems for a manager?
a. Virtue ethicists often ignore the needs of others while pursuing perfect character.
b. Some virtues, when practiced in a real situation, are not compatible with others.
c. The constant practice of virtuous behavior is not typically in sync with the larger
business climate.
d. There is very little agreement on what constitutes virtuous behavior.
59. Which of the following is a deontological principle shared by/agreed upon by all the
major religions of the world?
a. Give yourself to the service of others.
b. See the good in all people.
c. Do no harm.
d. Do not steal.
60. In which of the following ways do the ethical theories compare or contrast with
Lawrence Kohlberg’s six stages of moral reasoning?
a. Egoism does not correspond well to any of Kohlberg’s stages.
b. Virtue ethics, the highest level ethical theory, matches Stage 6, Kohlberg’s highest.
c. Utilitarianism can be seen in every Kohlberg stage.
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d. Cultural relativism is seen most strongly in Stage 1 because of all the cultural
influences on early child development.
61. What is the decision maker’s first step in the critical thinking decision-making
process?
a. Consider the consequence of virtuous action to the self.
b. Decide whether or not the issue has ethical dimensions.
c. Ask what one’s peers would do in the situation.
d. List all options under consideration.
62. Reflect on the situation outlined in the text in which a Volkswagen engineer is
directed to create defeat device software to temporarily cheat on emissions tests by
turning pollution controls on only when being inspected by regulators. If the engineer is
following an egoist ethical theory, what question would be most important to ask about
the possible action options?
a. “Which option will bring the most benefit to stakeholders?”
b. “Which option will cause the most harm to my social group?”
c. “Which option will be most likely to get the company caught and punished?”
d. “Which option will benefit me the most?”
63. Reflect on the situation outlined in the text in which a Volkswagen engineer is
directed to create defeat device software to temporarily cheat on emissions tests by
turning pollution controls on only when being inspected by regulators. Which is the
lowest level ethical theory that suggests the engineer should not assist in the cheating
scheme?
a. social group relativism
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b. cultural relativism
c. virtue ethics
d. deontology
64. Reflect on the situation outlined in the text in which a Volkswagen engineer is
directed to create defeat device software to temporarily cheat on emissions tests by
turning pollution controls on only when being inspected by regulators. Why does
utilitarianism seem to suggest that the engineer should help Volkswagen cheat on
emissions?
a. Utilitarianism tends to consider only direct, immediate negative impacts into its
calculations.
b. Cheating would benefit the engineer’s in-group, such as managers and coworkers.
c. In calculating what benefits the greatest good, the tally seems to lean slightly in favor
of cheating.
d. Environmental impacts are generally not factored into a utilitarian calculation.
65. Reflect on the situation outlined in the text in which a Volkswagen engineer is
directed to create defeat device software to temporarily cheat on emissions tests by
turning pollution controls on only when being inspected by regulators. What aspect of
the Volkswagen engineering scandal would virtue ethics consider a more serious
problem than would utilitarianism?
a. respiratory illness caused by pollution
b. lying to regulators
c. damaging a public good
d. helping the social group
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66. Which of the following best represents the choice for the decision maker in the third
step of the critical thinking decision-making process?
a. Why have I ended up in this predicament?
b. What are all my options here?
c. How would the various ethical theories treat this issue?
d. Should I help with the cheating or not participate?
67. The decision maker in the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal ends up placing
the most value on the potential benefit to people working inside the company or
shareholders rather than the welfare of all stakeholders. Which ethical theories could
the decision maker be employing?
a. utilitarianism, social group relativism, deontology
b. deontology, virtue ethics, utilitarianism
c. egoism, social group relativism, cultural relativism
d. egoism, social group relativism, utilitarianism
68. What do utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics have in common?
a. They push the decision maker to make the most ethical choice.
b. They push the decision maker to consider what would be best for the majority of
people.
c. They seek to have the decision maker do the best for most people while still
protecting self.
d. They seek to have the decision maker consider primarily the virtuousness of their
own behavior.
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69. The text suggests that in the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal, choosing not
to participate will be personally damaging to the engineer who has been asked to create
a device that temporarily cheats emissions testing. How should the engineer deal with
this possibility?
a. Seek the help of a mentor to get moved to another project.
b. Quit the company rather than refuse to participate from inside the company.
c. Be a public whistleblower in order to gain public sympathy.
d. Pretend to go along with the scheme but undermine it from the inside.
70. Why does the text suggest that the Volkswagen managers and engineers may have
miscalculated the utilitarian analysis?
a. Benefits to VW and shareholders were calculated in the greatest good, but they
suffered overall.
b. The personal cost to the decision makers—particularly the engineers involved—was
particularly high.
c. The harm caused to the majority of stakeholders—through minimal rises in air
pollution—was smaller than anticipated.
d. Benefits to all stakeholders were calculated in the greatest good, and they were
higher than expected.
71. If the three highest-level ethical theories are in conflict about what to do in a
situation, what is considered to be the most important ethical choice?
a. trying to improve the lives of the majority of affected people
b. pursuing the greatest good
c. seeking to do the least amount of harm
d. respecting everyone and acting virtuously
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72. In which of the following situations should a decision maker most consider adjusting
the virtuous decision based on more pragmatic concerns?
a. Utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics are in alignment and the action they
recommend will result in job termination or material loss for the decision maker.
b. Utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics are in alignment and the action they
recommend is illegal.
c. All theory options disagree with virtue ethics and deontology and the virtue ethics
path is illegal.
d. Virtue ethics has an interpretation that counters all the other issues, but the virtuous
path will protect or benefit the decision maker.
73. An ethical conflict over a relationship with a new client arises in a sales company.
Multiple employees have various conflicting opinions and recommendations about the
issue. Who is likely to prevail?
a. the highest-level manager involved
b. the party who holds an egoist position
c. the new client
d. the party who holds a utilitarian position
74. Which of the following is a core flawed assumption of the conflict resolution
approach?
a. The highest-status person will be the most ethical.
b. Most people involved will come to the same ethical conclusion.
c. The egoist and utilitarian positions will almost always be in agreement.
d. The lowest-status person will be guided by the virtue ethics theory.
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75. By comparing ethical theories to foreign languages, the text is suggesting that
______.
a. ethical problems are best solved by having each participant attack it using a different
ethical theory
b. we should seek to find common ground by adopting the same ethical theory to work
on a problem
c. ethical theories are rarely compatible with each other when working on ethical
problems
d. ethical problems are best solved by viewing them from another’s perspective
76. A manager trying to achieve ethical consensus between two shift supervisors begins
by having each supervisor state their position as well as the values and reasoning that
underlie their position. What should the manager ask the supervisors to do next?
a. paraphrase the other supervisor’s position
b. summarize the other supervisor’s values and reasoning
c. work together to resolve the conflict
d. agree that the solution does not conflict with either supervisors’ values
77. How does the text suggest that managers sensitize employees to recognize when
ethically hazardous rationalizations are invoked?
a. by having employees study the work of philosophers of morality
b. by testing employees while on the job
c. as part of an ethics training session
d. through trial and error
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78. When a coworker expresses an ethically hazardous rationalization, what should you
advise them to do first before a decision is made?
a. apply the systematic rational ethical decision-making process questions
b. pause for additional ethical reflection
c. talk with you about it during the next scheduled break
d. double-check the employee manual or check with the HR rep
79. A five-year-old is most likely to make decisions based on what ethical theory?
a. egoism
b. social group relativism
c. cultural relativism
d. utilitarianism
80. An egoist is trying to solve an ethical problem at work and cannot reach an
agreement or an acceptable solution by prioritizing only self-interests. While trying to
expand thinking on this issue, what next mental step will the egoist most likely take?
a. try to make behavior as virtuous as possible
b. wonder how most stakeholders will be affected by the problem
c. consider interests of the larger social groups
d. consider maximize the benefit for the most number of people
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True/False
1. Individual-level values typically have greater impact on ethical decision-making than
societal values.
2. According to the text, in-group/loyalty is a value set that morally moves liberals.
3. Ethical judgement is typically more intuitive than reflective.
4. Most ethical philosophers would agree that some ethical reasons are more morally
acceptable than others.
5. As one rises through the levels of moral ethical reasoning, a person will tend to
consider the interests of progressively more stakeholders.
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6. In a social group relativism perspective, the decision made by a person will most
likely be based on what that person thinks the average citizen would choose.
7. Utilitarianism-based decisions will most often encourage the breaking of laws.
8. If an action satisfies the conditions of being a categorical imperative, then a
deontologist would likely support it.
9. With consistent practice, a person can become better at implementing virtue ethics
over time.
10. The Volkswagen engineers who participated in the cheating action likely made their
decision based on deontological calculations.
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Short Answer
1. With respect to the effects of individual characteristics on ethical behavior, name
some variables that may be further developed through personal initiative.
2. What would most moral philosophers say about two ethical theories in conflict with
one another?
3. Explain how a social group relativist makes a decision.
4. What is a problem with application of the deontology perspective?
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5. What is involved in the final step of the ethical decision–making process?
Essay
1. What are some ways that Geert Hofstede might say societal characteristics or
national culture could shape an individual’s moral consciousness?
2. What should be done if a manager is unable to achieve ethical consensus with
another manager?
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3. How does egoism align with the philosophies of Adam Smith and Ayn Rand?
4. How does virtue ethics differ from all the other ethical theories described in the text?
5. As a manager, you are faced with a problem involving a very popular and productive
employee. The employee has committed a highly unethical act, and you must decide
what to do. Using the critical thinking decision-making process, describe your first three
steps regarding this issue.
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