A commons is a shared resource, such as land, air or water that a group of people uses
collectively.
Companies that have name recognition also have a good reputation.
The proportion of working women that have told researchers they have been sexually
harassed on the job is between 40 and 70 percent.
The U.S. PRISM program was designed primarily to protect public privacy.
The public may react strongly against a firm, even when their intentions are good.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently reported that the global costs
of cybercrime run as high as $1 million.
The U.S. Corporate Sentencing Guidelines provide a strong incentive for businesses to
promote their ethics at work.
Institutional investors have little incentive to hold their shares and organize to change
management policy.
Some firms require managers to sign a consensual relationship agreement to protect
against harassment suits related to failed office romances.
Huge businesses can disproportionately influence politics, shape tastes, and dominate
public discourse.
Businesses and governments often clash over who should have access to personal data
found on devices such as smartphones and automobile black boxes.
Regulatory activity often is cyclical.
Businesses must wait for a public issue to arise before forming a political strategy.
An emerging method of auditing suppliers involves gathering factory conditions
directly from employees using their mobile phones.
Stakeholder materiality is a method companies use to prioritize the relevance of the
stakeholders and their issues.
Suppliers that dump toxic chemicals, emit air pollution, or reduce biodiversity have
little impact on the lead firm that buys their products.
The U.S. Department of Labor has ruled that employees who are economically
dependent on the employer should be classified as independent contractors.
Under U.S. law, lobbying activities must be disclosed publicly.
The term community refers to a company’s area of local business influence.
Boards of directors in the United States are required to staff their compensation
committees exclusively with outside directors.
Cost-benefit analysis is often used to determine the costs of regulation.
A 2013 survey of senior supply chain managers from more than 800 global firms found
that the primary reason for engaging in supplier social responsibility was to improve the
financial bottom line.
Businesses should stick to pursuing profits and have no legal right to be engaged in
political activities.
Productivity rises more quickly when countries produce goods and services for which
they have a natural talent.
The most important part of building a firm’s reputation is winning trust from its key
stakeholders.
The Clean Air Act of 1990 incorporated the concept of tradable allowances as a key part
of its approach to pollution reduction.
The way an organization presents itself to its stakeholders is known as the corporate
reputation.
An argument against corporate social responsibility is that it imposes unequal costs
among competitors.
An example of direct communications is through a company website.
Some women and persons of color have spoken out against affirmative action,
preferring to achieve personal success without receiving preferential treatment.
Key employees must be identified in advance of a crisis so that they are ready to
address the issue.
Corporations are prohibited from giving more than 10 percent of their income for
philanthropic purposes.
The public relations function is a boundary-spanning role that primarily involves the
flow of information to and from the organization.
Foreign-owned corporations use foundations:
A. More frequently than U.S. firms.
B. Less frequently than U.S. firms.
C. About as often as U.S. firms.
D. Only for setting up disaster relief.
Which of these programs offer a common auditing tool for sharing data on the labor,
environmental and ethical practices of suppliers?
A. Sustainable Compliance Initiative.
B. Federal Trade Commission.
C. Sedex Global.
D. Both A and C, but not B.
The purpose of the media relations department is to manage a firm’s:
A. Customer support.
B. Relationship with the public.
C. Public image.
D. Both B and C, but not A.
When a company puts its commitment to social and environmental responsibility into
practice worldwide, not only locally or regionally it is called:
A. Corporate Social Responsibility.
B. Global Sustainability.
C. Global Corporate Citizenship.
D. Community Investing.
The primary goal of a “vulture fund” is to:
A. Provide countries with debt-relief.
B. Pay back loans in default.
C. Increase global financial stability.
D. Make a profit.
Life-cycle analysis involves:
A. Accurately recording the production costs at each stage of a product’s life cycle.
B. Collecting information regarding the lifelong environmental impact of a product,
from extraction to disposal.
C. Reducing recycling costs for disposable products.
D. Increasing productivity while improving the environment.
A free enterprise system refers to:
A. Economic assets that are privately owned and exchanged in an open market.
B. Property ownership by a centralized government.
C. A mix of privately owned and government controlled economic assets.
D. An index of economic freedom.
A member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA) must:
A. Promote the integrity of and uphold the rules governing global capital markets.
B. Act with integrity, competence, diligence, respect, and in an ethical manner with the
public.
C. Maintain and improve their professional competence.
D. All of the above.
When an employee believes their employer has done something that is wrong or
harmful to the public, and he or she reports alleged organizational misconduct to the
media, government, or high-level company officials, what has occurred?
A. Insider trading.
B. Hot-lining.
C. Whistle-blowing.
D. Snitching.
A business and its stakeholders coming together for face-to-face conversations about
issues of common concern is:
A. Stakeholder networks.
B. Stakeholder motivation.
C. Stakeholder systems.
D. Stakeholder dialogue.
Software piracy is a major problem in which part of the world?
A. Globally.
B. North America only.
C. Asia only.
D. North America and Asia.
A Harris poll indicated that since 2008, the number of firms with a reputation of
distinction have:
A. Stayed about the same.
B. Increased somewhat.
C. Increased dramatically.
D. Decreased.
Polygraph testing:
A. Is encouraged by the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988.
B. Is used by 85 percent of U.S. companies as a pre-employment screening procedure.
C. Has been replaced by written psychological tests.
D. Is used by 85 percent of U.S. companies to discover employee theft.
The phase of technology that focuses on building material goods and manual labor is:
A. Agrarian.
B. Service.
C. Industrial.
D. Information.
Which of the following statements is not true about arable land?
A. It is a nonrenewable resource.
B. Over 20 percent of the irrigated lands in developing countries have been salinized.
C. Poor farming practices have caused arable lands to turn into deserts.
D. Soil erosion has threatened many of the arable lands.
Cybersecurity experts recommend including which essential elements for an
incident-response plan for cyberattacks?
A. Support from executive leadership.
B. Involvement by all functional departments.
C. Focus on how to respond to a breach.
D. All of the above.
In the U.S., most solid waste ends up:
A. Recycled.
B. Composted.
C. Incinerated.
D. In landfills.
Corporate citizenship refers to a set of beliefs stating that socially responsible behavior
is a good idea.
Once an organization has implemented the issue management program, it must:
A. Use trade associations or consultants to follow high priority issues.
B. Study the results and make necessary adjustments.
C. Not limit the number of public issues the firm can address.
D. Pick a selected number of issues to address immediately.
By raising and lowering the interest rates at which private banks borrow money from
the government, the Federal Reserve Bank:
A. Influences the size of the nation’s money supply.
B. Influences the value of the dollar.
C. Minimizes investor confidence about the nation’s future.
D. Both A and B, but not C.
A firm can affect the general public’s opinion of its reputation through:
A. Television advertisements.
B. Billboard messages.
C. Blogs written by CEOs.
D. All of the above.
Which law allows individuals who sue federal contractors for fraud to receive up to 30
percent of any amount recovered by the government?
A. False Standards Act.
B. Economic Priorities Act (as amended in 1999).
C. U.S. False Claims Act (as amended in 1986).
D. Fair Labor Standards Act.
Which of the following countries is not one of the top 15 Internet users?
A. Singapore.
B. United Kingdom.
C. China.
D. United States.
Mature adults typically base their ethical reasoning on broad principles and
relationships such as:
A. Human rights and constitutional guarantees of human dignity.
B. Universal principles of justice.
C. Customs and traditions show by their peers.
D. Both A and B, but not C.
Which of the following statements accurately describe the role of chief sustainability
officer?
A. Typically reports to the CEO.
B. Supervises staff across functional areas.
C. Requires strong interpersonal skills.
D. All of the above.
Stakeholder groups can include:
A. Shareholders.
B. Business support groups.
C. Environmental activists.
D. All of the above.
A corporation’s issue management activities are usually linked to:
A. The board of directors.
B. Top management.
C. Both the board of directors and top management levels.
D. The strategic governance committee.
The most successful global businesses in coming years will be those companies that:
A. Develop short-term partnerships between companies in developing countries to
transfer environmental technologies.
B. Recognize the imperative for sustainable development as an opportunity both for
competitive advantage and ethical action.
C. Avoid fully accounting for environmental costs in calculating measures of production
such as the gross domestic product (GDP).
D. Produce products with a limited useful life.
Which of the following is an argument in favor of corporate social responsibility?
A. Lowers economic efficiency and profit.
B. Discourages government regulation.
C. Places responsibility on business rather than individuals.
D. Imposes unequal costs among competitors.
A visual representation of the many links between a lead firm and its suppliers,
superimposed on a geographical map is called a:
A. Linked list.
B. Supply chain map.
C. Supply web.
D. Network map.
In 2013 what percentage of large firms issued triple bottom line reporting in a single
document?
A. 10 percent.
B. 45 percent.
C. 72 percent.
D. 93 percent.
Once an issue has been identified, its implications must be:
A. Acted upon.
B. Analyzed.
C. Segmented.
D. Deleted.
The term “Glass walls” refers to:
A. Fewer opportunities for direct upward advancement.
B. Fewer opportunities to move sideways into jobs that lead to the top.
C. Reliance on word of mouth by recruiters for top positions “the old boys’ network”
from which women are excluded.
D. A company’s lack of commitment to diversity.
Over time the role of the CIO:
A. Has remained the same.
B. Has decreased in level of responsibility.
C. Has changed dramatically, superseding the role of the chief executive officer.
D. Has changed dramatically, becoming more integrated into the overall strategic
direction of the firm.
The three strategies of globalization can be summarized using what three words?
A. Channels, operations, and chains.
B. Export, locate, and purchase.
C. Sell, make, and buy.
D. Ethics, import, and sell.
Describe how general systems theory can be applied to a business.
Answer:Answers may vary.
What are the various stages of the business-stakeholder relationship?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Define each key element of the public policy process and provide an illustration or
example for each element.
Answer:Answers may vary.
Define suppliers and explain their interests and power, especially as related to lead
firms. How has globalization affected the supply chain?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Describe the iron law of responsibility.
Answer:Answers may vary.
Do you believe the rapid economic development of poorer countries helps or hurts the
environment? Why?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Should all businesses venture into e-commerce, or is it better for only certain types of
businesses?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
How do new technologies increasingly enable businesses to collect and use vast
amounts of personal data about their customers and potential customers? Explain. Do
you think these trends benefit consumers or not, and why?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
As the use of electronic communication at work has risen, new ethical issues involving
worker privacy have emerged. Should employers be allowed to read employee e-mail,
inspect their Facebook pages or blogs, or access files located on a personal computer at
work? Why or why not?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Workers in the United States enjoy several important legal guarantees. Discuss three
major worker rights. What are the U.S. laws and regulations that govern each? How do
such policies compare with those of other countries?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Discuss some of the interventions that different governments have taken to control
information technology in their nations. How have these steps affected individual
privacy rights as well as public security?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Discuss the following statement: “Effective sustainability management makes firms
more competitive.”
Answer:Answers may vary.
What are the appropriate civil and criminal penalties for companies that violate
environmental laws? What types of guidelines exist for sentencing environmental
wrongdoers?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Discuss why a manager should, or should not, be considered a stakeholder.
Answer:Answers may vary.
How can global action networks help global problem solving?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Why have U.S. institutions become more active as investors? How has this trend spread
to other countries?
Answer:
Answers may vary.
Why does international regulation occur?
Do you believe that support programs for work and family primarily benefit women
employees, men employees, or both equally? Explain.
Answer:Answers may vary.