Business & Society, 16e (Lawrence)
Chapter 18 The Community and the Corporation
1) The term community refers to a company’s area of local business influence.
2) The term community is sometimes improperly used to refer to a range of groups that are affected
by an organization’s actions, whether or not they are in the immediate vicinity.
3) The community relies heavily on business, but business is not mutually dependent on the
community.
4) Civic engagement is a major way in which companies carry out their corporate citizenship
mission.
5) Social capital refers to the norms and networks that enable collective action.
6) Community relations departments work primarily on the national level to link the corporation to
community stakeholders.
7) The construction industry has taken the lead in creating programs to revitalize neighborhood
housing.
8) Corporations are prohibited from giving more than 10 percent of their income for philanthropic
purposes.
9) Foreign-owned corporations typically establish and use corporate foundations less frequently
than U.S. firms.
10) Corporate charitable donations are defined as gifts of products or services.
11) Many companies have turned to technology to improve the amount and effectiveness of
employee volunteerism.
12) Strategic philanthropy emphasizes the links between corporate contributions and business
goals, such as creating demand for a product or service.
13) All corporate contributions benefit the donors directly.
14) Many community problems are people problems, involving hopes, attitudes, sentiments, and
expectations for better human conditions.
15) A license to operate refers to a formal license every firm must obtain from local municipalities
in order to conduct business there.
16) Communities depend on business for:
A) Schools.
B) Health care.
C) The arts.
D) All of the above.
17) Business depends on the community for:
A) Education.
B) Public services.
C) Transportation systems.
D) All of these answers are correct.
18) Which type of business community consists of people who work near the company?
A) Site community.
B) Virtual community.
C) Community of interest.
D) Employee community.
19) The relationship between business and the community is accurately described by:
A) It is one of mutual interdependence.
B) Business has more responsibility toward community than the community does toward business.
C) Communities possess more social power than businesses do.
D) All of these answers are correct.
20) The term civic engagement describes:
A) The active involvement of businesses and individuals in improving communities.
B) A competitive, free market environment.
C) Strong governmental regulation to control businesses at the municipal level.
D) A close and collaborative business-government relationship.
21) A good way for a business to express its commitment to corporate citizenship is:
A) By establishing community relations programs.
B) By behaving responsibly toward all its stakeholders.
C) By correcting problems associated with its operations.
D) All of these answers are correct.
22) Why should businesses get involved in the community?
A) To win local support for business activity.
B) To build social capital.
C) To meet stakeholder demands.
D) All of these answers are correct.
23) Social capital is a phrase that refers to all of the following, except:
A) The goodwill that is engendered by the fabric of social relations.
B) A close relationship between companies and groups in the community.
C) The norms and networks that enable collective action.
D) Funds set aside for company events.
24) What is the primary goal of a community relations department?
A) To improve the financial bottom line.
B) To build relationships with important community groups.
C) To collaborate with other company teams to create policy.
D) Both of these answers are correct: To build relationships with important community groups;
and to collaborate with other company teams to create policy.
25) Which of the following is not a reason for businesses to establish community relations
departments?
A) Working with local governments.
B) Managing donations of goods and services.
C) Encouraging employee volunteerism.
D) Managing international relations projects for economic development.
26) Most corporate community relationship departments consist of how many team members?
A) Around 100, on average.
B) A single individual typically suffices.
C) An average team size is 12.
D) Fewer than three people plus a manager.
27) What is one reason that firms partner with communities to increase economic development?
A) To expand environmental sustainability.
B) To develop workplace skills.
C) To control the rate of entrepreneurship.
D) To avoid paying higher taxes.
28) Which industry(ies) have taken the lead in revitalizing neighborhoods?
A) Construction companies.
B) Life insurance firms.
C) Health insurance companies.
D) Both of these answers are correct: Life insurance firms; and health insurance companies.
29) Minority enterprises often do business in locations with:
A) Low crime rates.
B) Excellent transportation.
C) Low-quality public services.
D) High-income clientele.
30) Minority, women, and disabled veteran-owned firms are accurately described by which of
these?
A) They often operate at an economic advantage.
B) They have a medium rate of business failure.
C) They face limited competition from more established firms.
D) They often partner with larger firms in a diversity supplier role.
31) As communications improve and people around the world are able to witness the horrors of
natural disasters, terrorism, and war, international relief efforts by corporations are becoming:
A) Less important.
B) More important.
C) Obsolete because of social media.
D) A liability because of negative media.
32) Another term for corporate giving is corporate:
A) Welfare.
B) Goodwill.
C) Philanthropy.
D) Citizenship.
33) In 2017, the smallest source of philanthropic contributions in the United States came from
which organization?
A) Individuals.
B) Foundations.
C) Corporations.
D) Bequests.
34) Corporations contribute about what share of all giving in the United States?
A) Nearly 50 percent.
B) Only about five percent.
C) A very generous 75 percent.
D) Sadly, less than one percent.
35) What was the primary motivator for corporate giving, according to the National Bureau of
Economic Research?
A) Financial.
B) Philanthropical.
C) Political influence.
D) Popularity.
36) The share of all giving made up by in-kind contributions of products and services has been:
A) Rising steadily over the past decade.
B) Declining steadily over the past decade.
C) Remaining relatively constant over the past decade.
D) Declining sharply over the past decade.
37) How do companies encourage their employees to volunteer their time?
A) By sponsoring specific projects.
B) By offering recognition for service.
C) By publicizing opportunities to serve.
D) All of these answers are correct.
38) Which industry gives the most in-kind contributions?
A) Pharmaceutical companies.
B) High-technology companies.
C) Grocery retailers.
D) Publishing houses.
39) When Fidelity partnered with the Capital Good Fund to service loans to disadvantaged
communities, this was an example of:
A) An in-kind contribution.
B) Skills-based volunteerism.
C) Community-based philanthropy.
D) Organizational support.
40) According to a Harvard Business Review study, which of the following is not an area in which
corporate contributions are most likely to enhance a company’s competitiveness?
A) Context for strategy and rivalry.
B) Demand conditions.
C) Stakeholder management.
D) Factor conditions.
41) Factor conditions are strategic contributions focusing on:
A) The supply of trained workers, physical infrastructure, and natural resources.
B) Policies that create a more productive environment for competition.
C) The demand for a product or service.
D) All of these answers are correct.
42) Which of the following is not a strategy to help companies get the most benefit from their
contributions?
A) Use targeted business methods to assess the impact of gifts.
B) Align priorities with employee interests.
C) Establish priorities even if they conflict with the firm’s core values.
D) Draw on unique competencies of the business.
43) A financial services firm decided to assess the return on its social investment in an educational
program in local schools. As part of its assessment, it measured the improvement in learning
among students who had participated in the program, compared with the learning of students who
had not. Which of the following elements was assessed?
A) Inputs.
B) Outputs.
C) Impacts.
D) Value creation.
44) Collaborative partnerships between business, government, and communities have been
particularly successful in which social area?
A) Law enforcement.
B) Education.
C) Health care.
D) Immigration.
45) What primary form of corporate giving did Salesforce contribute when working with the Red
Cross, according to the case Salesforce’s 1+1+1 Integrated Philanthropy Model?
A) Cash.
B) In-kind contributions.
C) Skills-based assistance.
D) Moral support only.
46) Discuss both the community services desired by businesses and the requests made to
communities by businesses.
47) Analyze why a business may wish to get involved in community relations. What benefits
accrue to businesses that actively participate in their communities?
48) In your opinion, what are the most pressing and significant concerns facing communities
today? Why do you think so? How would a business’s community relations department address
that concern?
49) Discuss the three forms of gifts typically made by corporations and their foundations. Which
form of gift do you think is most valuable, and why?
50) Explain four strategies that businesses can use to help them get the most benefit from their
contributions. Cite examples of companies that adopt these strategies.
51) Describe the four elements of a complete assessment of the return on social investment. How
might each of these elements be measured? Which would be the hardest to measure, and why do
you think so?
52) Describe a collaborative partnership between a business and community that attempts to
address a social problem. What strengths does each party bring to the collaboration?