Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
1. (p. 71) Ethics are primarily based on religious beliefs.
2. (p. 72) Ethical ideas are present in all societies, all organizations, and all individual persons.
3. (p. 72) If all people relied on ethical relativism, there would be no universal ethical standards
on which people around the globe could agree.
4. (p. 72) Business must develop its own definition of what is right and wrong, apart from
ethics.
5. (p. 73) Being ethical includes developing a sense of trust, which promotes positive alliances
among business partners.
6. (p. 74) Business cannot expect to be profitable while adhering to ethical principles of
conduct.
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
7. (p. 75) The U.S. Corporate Sentencing Guidelines provide a strong incentive for businesses to
promote their ethics at work.
8. (p. 75) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that firms maintain good financial practices, apart
from high ethical standards, in how they conduct and monitor business operations.
9. (p. 78) Employees would rather work for companies who share their personal moral values.
10. (p. 78 – 79) An ethical egoist acts for the benefit of others and sacrifices self-interest.
11. (p. 83) Only in the last decade have scholars found a positive relationship between an
organization’s economic performance and attention to spiritual values.
12. (p. 84) Managers in the same company are likely to be at the same stages of moral reasoning
at any given time.
13. (p. 84 – 85) For managers who reason at stages 2 and 3, their personal rewards, recognition
from others, or compliance with the company’s rules become their main ethical compass.
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
14. (p. 88) According to utilitarian reasoning, if the net costs are greater than net benefits, the
action is probably unethical because more harm than good would be produced.
15. (p. 86 – 90) Business managers should use all four methods of ethical reasoning – virtues,
utility, rights and justice – to better understand ethical issues at work.
16. (p. 71) A conception of right and wrong is:
Difficulty: Easy
17. (p. 71) People’s ethical beliefs come from:
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
18. (p. 72) People everywhere depend on ethical systems to tell them whether their actions are:
Difficulty: Medium
19. (p. 72) Businesses are expected to be ethical in their relationships with:
Difficulty: Easy
20. (p. 73) Why should business be ethical?
Difficulty: Hard
21. (p. 75) Business executives are finding that a trusting, ethical relationship with a business
partner is:
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
22. (p. 75) Under the U.S. Corporate Sentencing Guidelines, if a firm has developed a strong
ethics program, corporate executives found guilty of criminal activity may have their
sentence:
Difficulty: Easy
23. (p. 76) Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, corporations are required to:
Difficulty: Medium
24. (p. 76) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act:
Difficulty: Hard
25. (p. 76) What percentage of American CEOs in a 2008 said that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act had
done nothing to improve ethical standards at their businesses?
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
26. (p. 79) A bottom-line mentality in business is reflected in which statement?
Difficulty: Medium
27. (p. 80) A purchasing agent directing her company’s orders to a firm which she received a
valuable gift, is an example of:
Difficulty: Easy
28. (p. 81) Cross-cultural contradictions arise due to:
Difficulty: Easy
29. (p. 81) Which of the following examples best illustrate an ethics issue based on cross-
cultural contradictions?
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
30. (p. 81) As business becomes increasingly global:
Difficulty: Easy
31. (p. 82) According to a 2009 opinion poll, Americans hold a dim view of:
Difficulty: Medium
32. (p. 83) Scholars found that spirituality:
Difficulty: Hard
33. (p. 83) As an additional employee benefit to promote spirituality, companies have begun to
provide employees with the services of:
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
34. (p. 84) Which statement characterizes the moral reasoning typically found in a child?
Difficulty: Medium
35. (p. 85) Mature adults typically base their ethical reasoning on broad principles and
relationships such as:
Difficulty: Hard
36. (p. 86) All of the following values are present in most ethical decisions except:
Difficulty: Easy
37. (p. 86) Business managers need a set of ethical guidelines to help them:
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
38. (p. 87) Aristotle argued:
Difficulty: Hard
39. (p. 88) According to the utilitarian reasoning, if the benefits outweigh the costs, then the
action is ethical because it produces:
Difficulty: Easy
40. (p. 88) Utilitarian reasoning primarily considers:
Difficulty: Hard
41. (p. 88) The main drawback to utilitarian reasoning is that:
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
42. (p. 89) At the core of rights reasoning is the belief that:
Difficulty: Easy
43. (p. 89) Which of the following is not true about justice reasoning?
Difficulty: Hard
44. (p. 89) A just or fair ethical decision occurs when:
Difficulty: Medium
45. (p. 90) The reason(s) behind the uncertainty of an ethical or unethical decision is (are) that
different people and groups:
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
46. (p. 71-73) Briefly discuss the meaning of ethics.
47. (p. 73-78) Discuss why businesses should be ethical.
48. (p. 75 – 76) Explain the purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. What issues does the act address?
Discuss recent changes in regulatory interpretation of the Act.
49. (p. 78 – 81) There are four reasons stated in the textbook as to why ethical problems occur in
business. Identify the nature of each ethical problem and the typical approach taken in
response to the problem.
50. (p. 82 – 84) How does a person’s spirituality influence his/her ethical behavior? How have
organizations responded to increased attention to spirituality and religion at work attempting
to accommodate their employees?
Chapter 04 – Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
4-12
51. (p. 84 – 86) Define and discuss the six stages of moral development. What is the ethics
referent at each stage? What is the basis of ethics reasoning at each stage?
52. (p. 86 – 90) What are the four methods of ethical reasoning? Discuss the limitations of each of
the four methods.