Task EW - Ethics at Work

Please answer the following questions after reading and studying "Ethics At Work".

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Chapter 1:

1. Some people are better at ethics than others.

Agree Disagree

2. It has been discovered that a product has a defect that can cause injury. Recalling the product immediately would be the right thing to do

A. If it would have good PR value.
B. If it would minimize company liability.
C. Because it would prevent harm.
D. If the intent of the recall is to protect people from harm.
E. Because the law would require it to protect people from harm.
F. All of the above.

 3. Categorize each term as one of the following:

 A. Term whose meaning is generally agreed upon.
 B. Terms that are very likely to have different meanings to different people.
 C. Term that only experts use and understand.

4. In each set of parentheses, select the word that you think is appropriate to make the sentence true and complete.

"Ethical decisions are ( like/ unlike) business decisions, because they usually ( do/ don't) require and analysis of facts.

Though sometimes neither of them may be certain, ethical decisions ( like/ unlike)  business decisions ( are/ are not) almost always subjective or arbitrary."

5. "Companies within industry A typically seek to make 2 percent."

Based on this information, for each of the following indicate whether you agree or disagree.

5A. Companies within industry B are typically less ethical than than companies within industry A.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

5B. Companies in both A and B are equally unethical, because you can't try to make a profit and be ethical at the same time.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

5C. The amount of profit a company makes has nothing to do with whether or not the company is ethical.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

5D. The amount of profit made is one, but only one, factor in determining whether or not a given company is ethical.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

6. With a limited budget, you are trying to make the most cost-effective decision for advertising an upscale home appliance. Your choice is between the Herald and the News. The Herald has larger circulation and reaches a higher-income demographic. The Herald is mainly bought at newsstands and other locations. On the other hand, the News is delivered to more homes, and it has a longer "table life" (i.e., it stays in home longer). It costs 13 percent more to advertise in the Herald.

Which statement is correct?

A. Having more facts would likely help in the decision-making process.
B. If the facts were quite different, the decision would probably be different.
C. Even if no more facts were available, the decision won't be arbitrary.
D. All of the above. 
D. None of the above.

7. You must implement serious cost savings, but you also want to do the right thing. Once of the alternatives available to you is to reduce wages across the board by cutting back on hours throughout the workforce. Another alternative is to achieve the same dollar savings by laying some people off. You know that 84 percent above the median for comparable jobs. There is a general economic downturn in the region, and unemployment is high.

Which statement is most correct?

A. Having more facts would likely help in the decision-making process.
B. If the facts were quite different, the decision would probably be different.
C. Even if no more facts were available, the decision won't be arbitrary.
D. All of the above

8. Josh thinks it is unfair that a new employee gets the same amount of vacation time as an "old-timer." "It's not fair," he says, "for everyone to receive the same amount of benefits when they haven't  put in the same amount of work." Megan, on the other hand, thinks it is fair as long as everyone is treated equally. "We all get the same vacation time: we're all treated the same. It's fair."

Which statement is most correct?

A. Josh and Megan have a disagreement about the facts.
B. Josh and Megan are using "fair" in different ways.
C. Josh and Megan are both being arbitrary.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

9. Which statement is most correct?

A. Through experience and training, a person can become better at business, but not at ethics.
B. Experience and training can't help make a person better at business, but they can help someone become better at ethics.
C. Experience and training can't help make a person better at business or ethics.
D. Through experience and training, a person can become better both at business and at ethics.
 

10. Which statement is most correct?

A. To make a profit, somewhere along the line you must be unethical.
B. If A makes more profit than B, then A must be more unethical than B. 
C. Every company wants to make as much profit as possible.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
 

11. Which statement is most correct?

A. It's OK to cheat in school, because school is competitive and the stakes are high.
B. It's OK to cheat in sports, because sports are competitive and the stakes are high.
C. It's OK to cheat in business, because business is competitive and the stakes are high.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

Chapter 2:

12. "When people have disagreements about ethical issues, it's always because they have different values."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

13. Which things, if any, on the following list do you have?

14. Pick one attribute from the following list, and for each of the others try to determine if you value them more than that one, less, or about the same.

15. "When value conflict, there can be no basis for resolving the conflict."

A. Agree
B. Disagree
                 

16. Which of the following do you believe to be correct about the Golden Rule? (No, not the rule that "the guy with the gold makes the rules.")

A. If everyone live by the Golden Rule, there would be no conflicts.
B. If no one lived by the Golden Rule, there would be conflict all the time.
C. Some people practice the Golden Rule; others don't. Therefore, sometimes there's conflict and sometimes there's not.
D. The Golden Rule has nothing to do with conflict.
E. None of the above.

Pg 25 Wrap-up questions:

17. A clothing retailer tells its salespeople to treat customers that way that they, the salespeople, would want to be treated. The company does this because they believe that it is good for business -- customers will return more often, and they will ten to spend more.

Which statement is most correct?

A. This proves that business and morality don't conflict.
B. This is an example of a nonmoral application of the Golden Rule.
C. Company decisions are always driven by profit.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

18. Connect the values with the company principles that are meant to implement those values.

19. If employee morale is important to a company for the reason that high morale leads to greater productivity, that would show that, in this case, employee morale has 

A. Instrumental value.
B. Intrinsic value.
C. Both of the above.
D. Neither of the above.
 

20. Alan thinks that the company ad campaign is morally objectionable. all the ads feature attractive, young people who are having a great time at some wonderful setting such as the beach or a ski resort. Alan believes this misleads consumers to think that if they use the product, then they too are going to be "beautiful people" who enjoy similar experiences.

David on the other hand, doesn't think the ads are morally objectionable at all. He believes that they mislead no one and that no one thinks using the product would have the kind of effect on their lives.

Which statement is most correct?

A. David and Alan disagree about whether or not something is morally objectionable, hence they must have different values.
B. David and Alan disagree about whether or not the ad campaign is morally objectionable, but their disagreement is not based on different values.
C. A disagreement about what is or isn't morally objectionable can occur only between people who share the same values.
D. All of the above.

21. Which statement is correct?

A. A company's values may change, but an individual's values will remain constant.
B. A company's values may change, and so may those of an individual.
C. A company's values won't change, but those of an individual may change.
D. A company's values won't change, and neither will those of an individual.

22. There is a choice between awarding a bonus in one lump sum or spreading it out in payments over the year. It is possible that different people, applying the Golden Rule, could come up with different decisions?

A. Yes
B. No

Chapter 3:

Warm up questions pg 28.

23. We all get out value and our ideas of right and wrong from such different sources, these is little hope of ever having agreement on such matters.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

24. Which phrase do you think would be the correct choice to make the following sentence true and complete?

"Religious people are ( more likely than less likely than about as likely as) anyone else to see things as 'black and white' when it comes to assessing more issues."

25. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

25A. Our views about right and wrong are more strongly influenced by those who are close to use than by the larger culture.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

25B. Our views about right and wrong are more strongly influenced by the mass media than by those who are close to us.
A. Agree
B. Disagree 

25C. Most people get their notions of right and wrong from the law.
A. Agree
B. Disagree 

25D. Only a few people get their notions of right and wrong from religion.
A. Agree
B. Disagree 

25E. In business matters, most people get their notions of right and wrong from company codes, rather than from the culture at large.
A. Agree
B. Disagree 

26. With which of the following statements do you agree the most?

A. The moral values of our society have changed, and for the worse.
B. The moral values of our society have changed, and for the better.
C. The moral values of our society have changed, but they are neither better nor worse.
D. The moral values of our society haven't changed, but behavior has.
E. None of the above.

27. "Different cultures may have different values, but none is any better or worse than another."
A. Agree
B. Disagree 

Wrap-up questions pg 38:

28. What statement is most correct?

A. Sometimes subcultures will be opposed to the values of the larger culture.
B. Sometimes subcultures will be supportive of the values of the larger culture.
C. Both of the above.
D. Neither of the above.

29. The belief that a society's moral standards are on the decline presupposes that

A. Cultural attitudes are the determiner of right and wrong.
B. Right and wrong are purely subjective, relative to each individual.
C. Religion is no long influenced by the law.
D. There are some standards of morality independent of prevailing cultural attitudes.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

30. Different companies are liable to have different codes regarding accepting gifts. Some prohibit receiving gifts altogether. Some set a dollar-value limit. Others only offer guidelines. The fact that these differences exist shows that company ethical codes have no basis in general morality.
A. True
B. False 

31. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Some laws have nothing to do with morality.
B. If something is immoral, then it is also prohibited by law.
C. Usually, we learn moral right and wrong from the law.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

32. Even if people belong to different religions, you can count on the fact that they will hold the same beliefs about what is right and what is wrong, and that they will have no flexibility on those points.
A. True
B. False 

Chapter 4:

Warm-up questions pg 40

33. "It is virtually impossible to predict the consequences of our actions."
A. Agree
B. Disagree 

34. Which of the following statements do you think is correct?

A. Sometimes even the best business decision will have a downside, but that doesn't happen with ethical decisions.
B. Sometimes even the best business decision and the best ethical decision will have a downside.
C. If anyone truly makes the best decision possible -- Whether a business decision or an ethical decision -- there will be no downside.
D. None of the above.

35. "Last quarter more than 150 companies gave to relief efforts for disaster victims. Now, that may be nice for the victims, but no one should give any moral medals to the companies. Anytime a company does something, there always something in it for them. They always act out of self-interest."

A. Agree
B. Disagree 

36. "Any company that wants ethical behavior from its employees should have a published set of rules to follow so that employees would never have any doubt about what is the right thing to do."

A. Agree
B. Disagree 

37. Even though the law did not require it, Johnson & Johnson recalled the product Tylenol when it was learned that there had been disastrous cases of tampering. In order to know whether Johnson & Johnson did the ethically right thing, we would need to know

A. The results of their action.
B. Their motives.
C. Whether what they did was required by moral rules.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

Wrap-up Questions pg 49

38. Although faced with severe business problems, the directors of the ABC Company voted to pay bonuses to its key executives. In part, this was done as an incentive to keep the executives from jumping ship. It was felt that it would be inadvisable to make the bonus decision public at this time, even though it was bound to be learned at a later date.

Shortly thereafter, the company won a major package of wage and benefit concessions from its employees. Employees felt this was preferable to going through what appeared to be an imminent bankruptcy.

Later, at the time of the S.E.C. filing, news of the bonuses produced a tremendous backlash. The employee groups renewed on their concessions, saying they had been obtained under false pretenses; a significant consumer boycott was mounted, and ABC stock plummeted.

Which statement seems most correct?

A. The directors did not pay sufficient attention to the long-term consequences of their action.
B. The directors did not pay sufficient attention to the interests of all the stakeholders.
C. The directors may have meant to act in the best interests of the company.
D. There is no apparent reason to think that the directors acted out of self-interest.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

39. "If we lay off 10 percent of our people now, it will certainly cause a great deal of hardship. The economy is down, and they are not likely to find other jobs. On the other other hand, if we try to hang on as we are, and we keep hemorrhaging cash, we may have to let 20 percent go in the Spring. We could try cutting back on everyone's hours, but I don't think that can effect enough of a savings to matter."

This illustrates the notion that

A. There is always a right or wrong choice.
B. Motive is what counts.
C. We can always find a rule to show us the right thing to do.
D. Sometimes the best choice may be the "least worst" alternative.

40. The awards program that Jordan devised was supposed to build incentive and camaraderie in the sales team. Instead, it resulted in resentment, divisiveness, and jealousy.

This is an example of a case where we might want distinguish intentions from

A. Results.
B. Rules.
C. Stakeholders.
D. Self-interest.

41. "Regardless of the good consequences for consumers, Johnson & Johnson must have figured out a benefit to the company from its Tylenol decision. We know this, because we know that all actions -- be they of a corporation or an individual -- are based on self-interest."

Can this viewpoint be proven?

A. Yes
B. No

42. Mary Lynne, is procurement, found an incredible way to "beat the system" and to charge all sorts of personal purchases to the company in a manner that could never be traced. Her co-worker, Erik, was very disturbed by this and sought to convince her not to continue. In the course of their discussion, he appealed to her by saying, "What if everyone did this?"

In saying this, it was Erik's intention to

A. Call Mary Lynne's attention to the consequences of her behavior.
B. Point out to her that many others might follow her example.
C. Appeal to the notion that, if it would be bad for everyone to do something, it wouldn't be right for one person to do it.
D. Appeal to the notion that if one person shouldn't do something, no one else should do it.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

Chapter 5:

Warm-up Questions pg 52

43. "We always want to avoid the philosophy that the ends can justify the means."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

44. Which statement do you think is more correct?

A. A system can't be justified if people receive unequal rewards and benefits.
B. A just system is one that will distribute benefits equally.
C. A policy is fair only if everyone is treated according to the rules.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

45. Which statement do you think is most correct?

A. Some companies treat everyone according to the rules, but the rules really aren't fair.
B. Some companies treat everyone according to the rules, and the rules are fair.
C. Some companies have fair rules, but they don't treat everyone according to the rules.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

46. "Rationalizing behavior is the same as justifying it."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

47. "I know I shouldn't have used the company credit card then. I was desperate. My own card was maxed out, and I promised my wife I would get those tickets. I'll never do it again."

This is an example of

A. Justification.
B. Rationalization.
C. Excuse.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

Warm-up questions pg 60

48. Which of the following statements is/are true?

A. Ends can always justify means.
B. Ends can never justify means.
C. Ends can sometimes justify means.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

49. "I know that it was harsh and unfair to take the Switzer account away from Sue. But the client wanted Natasha; and if we hadn't done that, we would have lost the business altogether, and 30 people would have been out of work."

This is an attempt to

A. Justify.
B. Rationalize.
C. Excuse.
D. Do all of the above.
E. Do none of the above.

50. "Sure we fudged a bit on the fat content, but so does everyone else in the industry."

This is an example of

A. Justification.
B. Rationalization.
C. Excuse.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

51. "Of course our compensation policy is fair. Everyone is treated according to the rules."

Which assessment seems most correct?

A. This confuses first- and second-level questions of fairness.
B. This confuses ends with means.
C. This confuses rationalizations with excuses.
D. None of the above.

Chapter 6:

Warm-up questions pg 62

52. Which statement do you think is most correct?

A. In both business and ethics there are strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.
B. In business, but not in ethics, there are strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.
C. In ethics, but not in business, there are strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.
D. In neither business nor ethics are there strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.

53. Suppose you are in an ethical quandary about a situation at work. Do you think it would be a good idea to seek the counsel of a friend or colleague?

A. Yes
B. No

54. Choose the word or phrase that you think best completes the sentence.

( A few Some Most All None) of the ethical issues is business can be settled by referring to professional, organizational, or company codes.

55. "One respect in which ethics and business decisions are alike is that, in both arenas, we want to ignore 'gut' feelings, and stick to analysis and projections."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

56. "It works for business decisions, and it works for ethical decisions. Heck, it works for any kind of decisions. You just use the 'Ben Franklin' method. Make two columns. Set out the reasons for on one side, and the reasons against on the other. Then add them up. the answer will be obvious."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

Wrap-up questions:

57. Which statement is most correct?

A. In both business and ethics, there are strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.
B. In business, but not in ethics, there are strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.
C. In ethics, but not in business, there are strategies and decisions-making procedures that can be relied upon always to produce correct decisions.
D. In both business and ethics, there are strategies and decision-making procedures that can be relied upon to increase the likelihood of making correct decisions.

58. In ethics, as in business, there are no easy decisions.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

59. When faced with complex or difficult ethical decisions,

A. You should always consult with the stakeholders.
B. Don't let yourself be influenced by your friends.
C. Try to overcome your instinctive reactions.
D. Do all of the above.
E. Do none of the above.

60. The BDL Company archives all email that goes out of and into company computers, and it maintains a record of all Internet use. At any time, the information technology department can access the screen of any user. It was a deliberate management decision that the employees of BDL not be made aware of these company practices and capabilities.

Which statement seems most correct?

A. This is another example of the means being used to justify the ends.
B. Employees were stakeholders in this decision.
C. A decision such as this one is best made without consultation.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

61. When a businessperson is confronted with a decision that has ethical implications, the Golden Rule test applies to

A. Customers.
B. Executives.
C. Employees.
D. Stockholders.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

Chapter 7:

Warm-up Questions

62. "Doing the right thing" generally requires rising above one's day-to-day character.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

63. Which word or phrase do you think best completes the sentence?

( Anyone No one Only a few Most people) can change their habits of behavior.

64. "Virtue is an outmoded concept, suitable only to a bygone era."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

65. If there's one essential trait needed to live an ethical life, it would be

A. Caring for others as much as yourself.
B. Caring for others more than yourself.
C. Always taking others into consideration.
D. Looking out for yourself first, and then taking others into consideration.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

66. Categorize each character trait as:

 A. Desirable in all contexts.
 B. Desirable only in some cont.
 C. Undesirable only in some contexts.
 D. Undesirable in all contexts.

Wrap-up Questions:

67. Marcia is the type of boss who is not only demanding but also abusive. She is known for her yelling tirades, and there are countless stories of her publicly demeaning subordinates who she believed were not performing up to her standards.

Which of the following statements is most correct?

A. From this, we know enough to make inferences about the productivity of Marcia's department.
B. We can infer that it is not likely that Marcia takes all stakeholders into account when making a policy decision.
C. It is likely that Marcia is dishonest.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

68. If she chose to, Marcia could probably learn not to be so abusive to subordinates.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

69. which of the following statements is correct?

A. Certain character traits may be considered virtues in some contexts, but not in all.
B. Not all virtues are ethical virtues.
C. Some ethical virtues are also valuable character traits in business.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

70. If a company has a reputation for integrity

A. It can be expected to stand behind its product and/or services.
B. Its products and/or services will always be the best priced in the marketplace.
C. Its products and/or services will always outperform the competition.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

71. Living ethically requires that you always put the interests of others before your own.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

Chapter 8

Warm-up questions.

72. An organization can have the effect of making people who belong to it better.

A. Agree
B. Disagree

73. Which statement seems the most correct to you?

A. Just as an organization may have many levels of management, it may have many levels of leadership.
B. Large organizations may have many managers, but they can have only one leader.
C. Businesses don't have leaders; they have bosses and/or managers.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

74. The job of communicating a company's values to its employees

A. Is best accomplished by professional experts.
B. Can't be done by management.
C. Has to start at the top.
D. Starts from the bottom up.
E. Is best done implicitly, rather than explicitly.
F. All of the above.
G. None of the above.

75. "A company that is really serious about ethics and values would require the same training for all of its employees, including management."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

76. "Leadership can't be accomplished by example, because those who are leaders will have very different jobs from those who are to be led."

A. Agree
B. Disagree

Wrap-up Questions

77. Good leadership will ____ the beneficial effects and influences that the members of an organization may have on one another.

A. Enhance
B. Neutralize.
C. Overcome.
D. Minimize.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

78. Suppose that honesty and dependability are among a company's core values. It would be the job of leadership to develop a single company-wide training program showing how those value are realized in the same ways in every division, be it research and development, advertising, sales, or production.

A. True
B. False

79. Those who lead must have the same jobs and responsibilities as the ones whom they lead.

A. True
B. False

80. If a company wants to foster certain values throughout its organization, then it is the job of company leadership to

A. Articulate those values.
B. Develop programs to train on those values.
C. Be examples of those value at work.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.

81. One reason why it is difficult for companies to teach or encourage ethical behavior is that the character traits that constitute ethical virtues have little value in the world of business.

A. True
B. False

Please Note:  If you filled out the answers directly on this page, please print this page or write down the answers before you proceed to submit them by clicking on "Assignment"