Selling Today: Partnering to Create Value, 14e (Manning/Ahearne/Reece)
Chapter 3 Ethics: The Foundation for Partnering Relationships That Create Value
1) Which of the following is LEAST likely a characteristic of a person with a high level of
emotional intelligence?
A) self–confidence
B) professionalism
C) adaptability
D) optimism
E) empathy
2) In the partnering-style seller/buyer relationship, what is the foundation for creating value?
A) emotional intelligence
B) communication skills
C) customer–oriented strategies
D) organizational policies
E) ethical decision making
3) Individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence rarely display the qualities needed to be
successful in sales because they appear untrustworthy.
4) It is unusual for salespeople to have to think about ethics on the job.
5) People with high levels of ________ tend to display the characteristics needed for success in
sales, such as self–awareness, self-confidence, empathy, and adaptability.
6) What are the three elements of emotional intelligence?
7) Which of the following is a point of view that has most likely eroded character in business?
A) Innovation and aggressive development of markets should be rewarded.
B) Respect must be earned, not mandated.
C) Corporations exist to maximize shareholder value.
D) Integrity may not show immediate results but will eventually return to you.
E) Teamwork is a core value of successful companies.
8) If a potential client hints that they will give you a sale if you give them a gift, you should most
likely:
A) give the potential customer a gift
B) tell your sales manager you are giving the customer a gift in exchange for the sale
C) report this to your sales manager and ask for help turning the customer down
D) report the customer to the Better Business Bureau or other oversight group
E) refer the potential customer to another vendor who may more willingly participate in bribery
9) It is important to record the facts of an interaction with a customer in CRM software but not
your conclusions, because:
A) it is never appropriate to make conclusions from data without consulting the research
department
B) recording conclusions is a breach of ethics
C) coworkers could use this information to sabotage your sales
D) this information could become available to the customer in the future
E) the competition has access to the same databases you do
10) CRM software can most likely help a salesperson to:
A) develop better presentation skills
B) negotiate long-term contracts
C) fulfill commitments to customers
D) increase transactional sales
E) implement the marketing mix
11) Daniel Santiago has just taken a job as a sales rep with a family-owned company that uses its
ethics as part of its marketing campaign with the slogan, “Without integrity, service means
nothing.” After calling on several clients, however, he discovers that the sales rep who
previously covered his territory was giving kickbacks to customers in exchange for exclusive
contracts with the company. Daniel is fairly certain that his sales manager is not aware of this
arrangement. What should Daniel most likely do?
A) Daniel should say nothing and continue the kickback plan his predecessor started because it
seems to be the norm in this industry.
B) Daniel should avoid causing waves with his sales manager and go along with the kickbacks
for now, but tell his clients that he will not be able to continue them in the future.
C) Daniel should meet with his sales manager immediately to discuss the situation and ask for
guidance in how to tell the clients that he cannot continue the kickbacks.
D) Daniel should tell the clients that he cannot continue the kickbacks and say nothing to the
sales manager if he loses clients that his predecessor worked to develop.
E) Daniel should leave the company and look for a position in a firm that does not have a
mechanism for giving kickbacks.
12) Ron, a sales representative for a software firm, is giving a sales presentation to Mona, a
buyer for a large manufacturing firm. Making a sale to Mona would double Ron’s sales amount
for the month and lead to a large commission. As they’re engaging in small talk, Mona mentions
to Ron that she’s a huge fan of the local college football team. Ron‘s wife works at that college
and can get season tickets for the games. What should Ron most likely do?
A) Ron should ask Mona more about her interest in the football team to discover if she would
like tickets or if she already has her own.
B) Ron should ask his sales manager after the sales meeting if he should offer Mona tickets to
the games.
C) Ron should assume that by mentioning the team, Mona is subtly letting him know what her
preferences are so that he can give her a gift to win her business.
D) Ron should offer Mona season tickets to the games to influence her to buy the software
product he is selling.
E) Ron should let the comment go and continue with the presentation to win Mona’s business on
the merits of the product and price.
13) A sales rep is in a foreign country and has spent several days with a buyer for a large chain
of convenience stores. At the end of the week, the sales rep feels confident that the buyer is ready
to purchase, so he asks for the close. The buyer responds that he will be happy to place a large
order for the chain as soon as the sales rep gives him an appropriately-sized gift. What should the
sales rep most likely do?
A) The sales rep should give the buyer the gift.
B) The sales rep should tell the buyer that Americans are not allowed to give gifts in exchange
for business.
C) The sales rep should convince the buyer that he will give him the gift after the papers are
signed, and then refuse to give a gift after the order has been paid.
D) The sales rep should consult with his sales manager to determine if gift-giving is an ethical
and acceptable practice within the confines of an international business situation.
E) The sales rep should give the buyer the gift but make this contingent on a longer-term
relationship involving repeat orders.
14) Which of the following practices is most likely to be viewed by both salesperson and
customer as unethical?
A) The salesperson gives the customer a cut glass paperweight with the company’s name
engraved on it at the end of December.
B) A salesperson gives a potential customer tickets for front-row seats at a sold-out concert of
the potential customer’s favorite singer.
C) The company throws an annual party for its clients at company headquarters that includes a
buffet and open bar.
D) At a software convention, a software sales rep takes its top five clients out for dinner at an
expensive steakhouse.
E) A railway company gives all of its vendors a 20% discount on passenger rail services.
15) A company’s sales goals will never be in conflict with ethical behavior on the part of
salespeople.
16) Which of the following is most useful in guiding a salesperson in ethical behavior?
A) official company policies on bribes and kickbacks
B) salesperson’s actions at previous jobs
C) role model provided by sales manager
D) competitors’ actions
E) customer expectations and desires
17) When a customer reveals confidential information about a competitor to a salesperson, the
preferred course of action is for the salesperson to:
A) preserve the confidentiality of information they receive
B) accurately relate the details to top management
C) inform the competing company about the useful information in exchange for a sale
D) request that the customer not comment further because of the conflict of interest
E) clarify the details to make sure the information is correct
18) Which of the following statements is most likely true about conducting business in China?
A) Take the initiative and move quickly to close deals.
B) Bow slightly and shake hands when greeting others.
C) Making a toast during a banquet is considered bad luck.
D) The lowest ranking person in a room should be introduced first.
E) Handkerchiefs and clocks are appropriate gifts that suggest good luck.
19) The practice of reciprocity:
A) involves an illegal exchange of cash
B) is monitored closely by the FCPA
C) results in improved competition among sales and marketing firms
D) is illegal when one company pressures another company to join an agreement
E) is another name for slander
20) Reciprocity, as a corporate policy, is:
A) always a breach of ethics
B) illegal in the U.S., but not in other countries
C) only a worry if the heads of the companies know each other personally
D) easier to navigate if the companies are in different industries
E) occasionally a form of corporate blackmail
21) Which of the following would be the best application of principles regarding gift giving to
customers?
A) Give gifts before doing business with a customer.
B) Determine the gift-receiving policy of the customer’s company.
C) Once begun, maintain a regular and consistent pattern of gift giving.
D) Clearly explain the conditions you expect of the customer who accepts a gift.
E) Give a gift proportional to the sale you expect to make from the customer.
22) Which of the following would be most helpful to salespeople in dealing with bribery?
A) a well-established corporate policy on bribing
B) knowing that bribery is sometimes illegal
C) knowing that bribery is often unethical
D) a sales manager who has given bribes in the past
E) college coursework on bribery
23) Teresa Fallon sends a written proposal to a customer. In the proposal, she compares the
specifications of her product and a competing product. If the information about the competing
product is not true, she is using a form of defamation called:
A) business libel
B) business slander
C) product disparagement
D) puffery
E) bribery
24) What form of business defamation arises when an unfair and untrue oral statement is made
about a competitor?
A) business libel
B) reciprocity
C) bribery
D) puffery
E) business slander
25) Yukie, a salesperson for a North American car manufacturer, told one of her prospects that
Honda was being investigated in Japan for unfair labor practices. Although she had heard the
rumor from someone else, she was confident it was false. Yukie is guilty of:
A) libel
B) product disparagement
C) reciprocity
D) false advertising
E) slander
26) Which of the following is most likely a danger of Internet usage in sales?
A) changing information about products
B) sorting customer information with data mining
C) using extranets to place and monitor customer orders
D) providing customers with information about competitors
E) sending inappropriate e-mails to customers or to each other
27) If you view your employer’s instructions or influence as improper, then you should most
likely:
A) report your company to your industry’s governing body
B) do what everyone else is doing
C) compromise your values in order to keep your job
D) voice opposition to the practice if it is in conflict with your value system
E) follow the lead of your colleagues
28) According to the text, ________ influence ________, which then influence ________.
A) attitudes; behaviors; values
B) behaviors; attitudes; values
C) values; attitudes; behaviors
D) attitudes; values; morals
E) morals; attitudes; values
29) Which of the following most likely has the LEAST influence on a salesperson’s ethical
behaviors?
A) sales manager‘s actions
B) company policies and practices
C) salesperson’s personal values
D) consumer group statements
E) behaviors of top management
30) According to the author of Integrity Selling for the 21st Century, which of the following
statements about values is true?
A) Our values change frequently throughout life.
B) Most people find it easy to clarify their values.
C) A salesperson’s values contribute more to sales success than do techniques.
D) Values have only limited influence on our behavior.
E) Values should be aligned with the culture of the firm.
31) Harold Timmons is in a position to close a large sale if he conceals certain information that
the customer needs to make an intelligent buying decision. Harold’s sales manager encourages
him to withhold the information and says, “You will not be breaking any law.” Which of the
following statements would most likely help Harold in this situation?
A) A salesperson’s ethical sense must extend beyond the legal definition of right and wrong.
B) Cooling-off laws prevent customers from being harmed by unethical salespeople.
C) The code of ethics established by management justifies all ethical and unethical choices.
D) The firm’s moral tone is established by salespeople who have daily customer contact.
E) An action is ethical if a salesperson can defend it successfully to a group of peers.
32) In transactional sales, the customer’s primary focus is a trustworthy:
A) product
B) salesperson
C) organization
D) culture
E) industry
33) In consultative sales, the customer’s primary focus is a trustworthy:
A) product
B) salesperson
C) organization
D) culture
E) industry
34) In strategic alliance sales, the customer’s primary focus is a trustworthy:
A) product
B) salesperson
C) organization
D) culture
E) industry
35) Which of the following statements about culture is most likely FALSE?
A) Indirect communication is preferred in Africa.
B) Harmony is highly valued in Asian countries.
C) Gift giving is considered unethical in China.
D) Americans value promptness for business meetings.
E) Tactfulness is important when doing business in Arab countries.
36) In general, U.S. ethical codes when doing business in foreign countries tend to be:
A) more accepting of bribery but less accepting of libel
B) more accepting of libel but less accepting of bribery
C) more relaxed than the codes of other countries
D) the same as the codes of other countries
E) stricter than the codes of other countries
37) Accu–Tech, a small company in a tightly–contested market, discovers that sales reps of the
firm’s main competitor, Compu-World, have been making untrue and unfair oral statements
about Accu-Tech products and services. Which term best describes the actions of Compu-World
sales reps?
A) business libel
B) business slander
C) product liability
D) product disparagement
E) organizational reciprocity
38) Raj, a sales representative for a software firm, Orion, is giving a sales presentation to
Marion, a buyer for a large manufacturing firm, Global-Tech. A sales agreement between the
two firms would establish a partnering relationship and a strategic alliance. Which of the
following questions is most important to Marion as she makes a buying decision?
A) Is Raj a well–qualified sales representative?
B) Can Raj be trusted to offer viable solutions?
C) Will Raj’s product be delivered in a timely manner?
D) What competencies can Orion provide to Global-Tech?
E) Are the values and principles of Orion and Global-Tech similar?