Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 15: Organizational Ethics, Sustainability, and Social
Responsibility
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Many companies seek integrity in job applicants and even test for ______.
A. accountability
B. ethics
C. authority
D. sustainability
2. Business schools have ______ the number of ethics-related courses to help students
prepare to face ethical dilemmas during their careers.
A. doubled
B. reduced
C. quadrupled
D. tripled
3. ______ is the application of a set of values and principles to make the right, or good,
choice.
A. Authority
B. Responsibility
C. Sustainability
D. Ethics
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
4. The ability to make ethical choices is related to a person’s level of ______
development.
A. safety
B. security
C. mature
D. moral
5. Most people are at the ______ level of moral development.
A. preconventional
B. conventional
C. postconventional
D. multiconventional
6. Alexander did not make many sales this quarter. He considered adding a few fake
entries to his quarterly report. However, he decided not to do so when the boss
mentioned that the new computer software is designed to catch any inconsistencies. It
appears Alexander is at the ______ of moral development.
A. preconventional level
B. conventional level
C. postconventional level
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
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D. neoconventional level
7. Matthew received a promotion after turning in an important project. Matthew did not
tell his supervisor that the majority of the project was done by someone else. He really
wanted the promotion and decided not to mention that someone else was responsible
for the successful project. It appears Matthew is at the ______ of moral development.
A. preconventional level
B. conventional level
C. postconventional level
D. neoconventional level
8. Stefon used to always work his full shift. Several of his coworkers would clock out for
lunch and then clock back in a few minutes later but still take an hour for lunch and get
paid for the time they are at lunch. Stefon decided he should do the same thing so that
he would be paid the same as his coworkers for doing the same amount of work. It
appears Stefon is at the ______ of moral development.
A. preconventional level
B. conventional level
C. postconventional level
D. neoconventional level
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
9. At the beginning of each school year, several workers in the office steal office
supplies such as highlighters and staplers from the supply closet for their children.
Jacob’s son just entered first grade and Jacob plans to join the rest of the crowd by
helping himself to some good supplies. It appears Jacob is at the ______ of moral
development.
A. preconventional level
B. conventional level
C. postconventional level
D. neoconventional level
10. Tanner is aware that many of his friends share unregistered software that is helpful
in their jobs. One friend offered to give him a copy of the software. Tanner politely
declined the offer and bought himself a registered copy of the software. It appears
Tanner is at the ______ of moral development.
A. preconventional level
B. conventional level
C. postconventional level
D. neoconventional level
11. Nathan knows that many of his fellow salespeople try to sell clients products the
clients do not need or want. Nathan believes this is wrong. He prides himself on
learning what each client needs and wants so that he can sell them the products that
are the best for them. It appears Nathan is at the ______ of moral development.
A. preconventional level
B. conventional level
C. postconventional level
D. neoconventional level
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
12. The reason employees behave unethically at times is usually for ______ gain, to
avoid getting into trouble, or because they don’t believe the rules apply to them.
A. cultural
B. organizational
C. personal
D. societal
13. People are more ______ when they believe they will not get caught.
A. ethical
B. accountable
C. sustainable
D. unethical
14. James knows that the company’s new widget has a defect in it that will cause it to
break after 3 months of use. He decides to say nothing about it because the company
really needs the income from the new widget. It appears James’s justification for his
unethical behavior is ______.
A. everyone else does it
B. I did it for the good of others or the company
C. I was only following orders
D. I’m not as bad as the others
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
15. Nicole regularly inflates invoices to get a larger commission on her sales. She
knows that most salespeople at her organization inflate their invoices by about 20%.
Nicole only inflates hers by 10%. She figures if anyone gets caught, hers will look like
honest mistakes compared to the others. It appears Nicole’s justification for her
unethical behavior is ______.
A. disregard or distortion of consequences
B. I did it for the good of others or the company
C. I was only following orders
D. I’m not as bad as the others
16. Melissa’s boss told her to change the numbers on a balance sheet to make things
look better for an upcoming board meeting. Melissa does not want to do it, but she
really needs the job. She decides to go ahead and make the change. It appears
Melissa’s justification for her unethical behavior is ______.
A. disregard or distortion of consequences
B. I did it for the good of others or the company
C. I was only following orders
D. I’m not as bad as the others
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
17. Rather than buy 10 copies of a software package for his 10 employees, Zachary
decides to just make 10 copies of the software he bought for his own use. He realizes
that this is illegal and that technically he should buy the 10 copies. However, Zachary
believes making copies does not harm anyone and saves him a lot of money. It appears
Zachary’s justification for his unethical behavior is ______.
A. everyone else does it
B. I did it for the good of others or the company
C. I was only following orders
D. disregard or distortion of consequences
18. The general guide to ethical decision-making that states “do unto others as you
would have them do unto you” is called the ______.
A. Golden Rule
B. four-way test
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. discernment and advice
19. Which general guide to ethical decision-making asks these four questions: (1) Is it
the truth? (2) Is it fair to all concerned? (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendship?
(4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
A. Salesforce.com
B. Rotary
C. Nordstrom
D. Exxon-Mobil
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
20. The general guide to ethical decision-making which tries to create win-win results for
all everyone affected by the decision is called the ______.
A. Golden Rule
B. four-way test
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. discernment
21. The stakeholders’ approach tries to create ______ results for all stakeholders
affected by the decision.
A. lose–lose
B. lose–win
C. win–win
D. win–lose
22. When making a difficult decision, Matthew considers whether his response is true
and fair. He also asks himself if the response will build goodwill and be beneficial to all
concerned. It appears Matthew is using the ______ ethical approach.
A. Golden Rule
B. four-way test
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. discernment and advice
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
23. When making a decision on how to discipline an employee, Peter asks himself how
he would feel if someone made the decision about him. It appears Peter is using the
______ ethical approach.
A. Golden Rule
B. code of ethics
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. discernment and advice
24. When making decisions about how to conduct performance appraisals, Spencer
always rereads the company’s handbook so he can make sure he conducts the
appraisal interviews fairly and in compliance with the organization’s ethics policies. It
appears Spencer is using the ______ ethical approach.
A. Golden Rule
B. code of ethics
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. discernment and advice
25. When making decisions about how to conduct performance appraisals, Bjorn always
thinks about how he can get the employee to work harder in the next year and how he
can help the employee reach the employee’s goals for development. He also considers
how both he and the employee can work together to best benefit the organization. It
appears Bjorn is using the ______ ethical approach.
A. Golden Rule
B. four-way test
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. code of ethics
26. Carl was dealing with a difficult ethical problem. Unsure what to do, Carl asks Andrei
his opinion about the situation. It appears Carl is using the ______ ethical approach.
A. Golden Rule
B. four-way test
C. stakeholders’ approach
D. discernment and advice
27. Most organizations today use a ______ to project the values and beliefs of the
organization to their employees.
A. code of ethics
B. glass ceiling
C. mission statement
D. safety statement
28. ______ are our basic concepts of good and bad, or right and wrong.
A. Principles
B. Norms
C. Responsibilities
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
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D. Values
29. A primary objective of a ______ is to define what the organization is about and
make it clear that the organization is based on honesty and fairness.
A. vision statement
B. glass ceiling
C. mission statement
D. code of ethics
30. ______ are a basic application of a person’s values.
A. Responsibilities
B. Authorities
C. Principles
D. Sustainabilities
31. ______ is the idea that everyone in an organization must be accountable for their
own actions.
A. compliance
B. personal responsibility
C. principles
D. ethics
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
32. ______ in the organization is responsible for the ethical conduct of business.
A. No one
B. Managers
C. Everyone
D. Some
33. The ______ factor can identify applicable laws or industry regulations that must be
adhered to as part of the code of ethics.
A. compliance
B. responsibility
C. sustainability
D. accountability
34. ______ is the right to give orders, enforce obedience, make decisions, and commit
resources toward completing organizational goals.
A. Accountability
B. Responsibility
C. Sustainability
D. Authority
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
35. ______ is one type of organizational power, and it is based on the position that a
person occupies in the organization, not on the person and their individual knowledge or
skills.
A. Authority
B. Accountability
C. Sustainability
D. Responsibility
36. Rebecca informed all her employees that their ethical decision-making would be
covered during performance appraisals. In other words, Rebecca let everyone know
that being ethical was a part of the job and they would be appraised on it. It appears
Rebecca is using her _______ to try to create an ethical workplace.
A. authority
B. responsibility
C. accountability
D. doing the right thing
37. ______ is the obligation to answer for something or someone; it is the duty to carry
out an assignment to a satisfactory conclusion.
A. Accountability
B. Authority
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
C. Sustainability
D. Responsibility
38. When an employee is given ______, the employee has to accept a position-based
obligation to the organization to use those resources that the employee was given to
help the organization meet its goals.
A. sustainability
B. authority
C. responsibility
D. accountability
39. Maxwell did not complete his assignment. When his boss asked him why, Maxwell
replied that he did not consider the assignment to be part of his job. His boss pointed
out that the assignment was in his job description. It appears Maxwell is shirking his
______ for the project.
A. authority
B. responsibility
C. accountability
D. doing the right thing
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
40. ______ is the personal duty to someone else (a higher level manager or the
organization itself) to use organization resources effectively to complete an assignment.
A. Responsibility
B. Principles
C. Accountability
D. Authority
41. ______ is a right to give orders, and responsibility is an obligation to answer for
those orders.
A. Accountability
B. Authority
C. Sustainability
D. Responsibility
42. Authority is a right to give orders, and ______ is an obligation to answer for those
orders.
A. accountability
B. sustainability
C. principles
D. responsibility
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
43. ______ can be granted by the organization but responsibility has to be accepted by
the party.
A. Ethics
B. Principles
C. Authority
D. Values
44. To be allowed to use the ______ given, the person must accept or assume
responsibility.
A. accountability
B. authority
C. sustainability
D. value
45. A ______ is a payment meant to cause someone to make decisions that may help a
person or an organization but do significant harm to other organizations or other
stakeholders in the decision.
A. bequest
B. gift
C. bribe
D. present
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
46. Sydnie was concerned that her shipment would not reach her customers in time. To
expedite the shipment, she paid a friend on the loading dock to prevent a truck from
leaving until Sydnie could get to the truck with the package. It appears that Sydnie
engaged in ______.
A. bribery
B. corrupt payments
C. discriminatory labor practices
D. unethical marketing practices
47. Concerned that her new office building would not meet new environmental
standards, Sarah made large contributions to several prominent politicians in exchange
for being permitted to continue with construction on the building. It appears that Sarah
engaged in ______.
A. discriminatory labor practices
B. corrupt payments
C. discriminatory labor practices
D. unethical marketing practices
48. Acme Global has been selling a new widget, which it claims improves children’s
hand–eye coordination. It was revealed that the organization knew the widget did no
such thing but decided not to fix the problem or withdraw the widget from the market. It
appears Acme Global engaged in ______.
A. unethical marketing practices
B. corrupt payments
C. discriminatory labor practices
D. unethical environmental practices
Lussier, Human Resources Management 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
49. Being ______ means going beyond legal and economic obligations to do the right
things by acting in ways that benefit society.
A. socially responsible
B. ethical
C. savvy
D. perceptive
50. ______ refers to exploring the responsibilities of business and its role in society.
A. Corporate social responsibility
B. Justification
C. Sustainability
D. Accountability
51. ______ is based on the belief that organizations have some responsibilities to
society beyond that of making profits for the shareholders.
A. Sustainability
B. Corporate social responsibility
C. Accountability
D. Authority