ch 6 Flashcards
the first step in the ethical decision-making process?
Recognizing that an ethical issue exists
When confronted with an ethical issue, workplace, family, religion, legal system, community, and profession are known as an individual’s six _______.
spheres of influence
The relevance or importance of an ethical event or decision in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or
organization is referred to as _______.
ethical issue intensity
Studies have found that more than a third of the unethical situations that lower- and middle-level managers face come
from which of the following?
a. Stakeholder expectations and pressures
b. Pressures to satisfy customers
c. Pressures from the government to perform at a high level
d. Internal pressures and ambiguity surrounding internal organizational rules
e. Struggles to obey relevant laws
d. Internal pressures and ambiguity surrounding internal organizational rules
According to the ethical decision-making framework for unethical behavior, the absence of punishment provides ____
Opportunity
Which of the following has been found to decrease unethical practices and increase positive work behavior?
a. A high level of educational attainment
b. A high level of community involvement
c. Charismatic leadership
d. A strong religious belief system
e. The existence of good personal values or morals
e. The existence of good personal values or morals
the situation when subordinates simply follow the directives of a superior without
question, demonstrating the influence that workplace significant others can exert?
Obedience to authority
Multiple elements work on individuals to affect their behavior. While an individual may intend to do the right thing,
Organizational or social forces
Normative approaches focus on which of the following?
a. How organizational decision makers should approach an issue
b. Methods for adopting values and norms within an organization
c. Models that describe an individual’s moral philosophies
d. Ways to determine the moral intensity of an ethical issue
e. Positive outcomes, including firm probability and benefits to society
a. How organizational decision makers should approach an issue
can be defined as a set of values, norms, and artifacts, including ways of solving problems shared by members of an organization?
Corporate culture
an individual expects to receive from others in the social environment in terms of overt social approval, status,
and esteem is referred to as
external rewards
Codes, rules, and compliance are essential in organizations. However, an organization is more likely to develop a high integrity corporate culture when it is built on
Informal relationships
Following the ethical directives of a superior
Obedience to authority
Those who have influence in a work group and provide advice and information in both formal and informal ways are related to
Significant others
Studies have shown that within an organization, which of the following will have more impact on a worker’s decisions
on a daily basis than any other factor?
Significant others
External and internal rewards relate to which part of the ethical decision-making framework?
Opportunity
Philosopher John Rawls believed which of the following to be true?
a. Political institutions significantly influence the development of values.
b. Ethical decision-making models should only use normative approaches.
c. Competition should be completely free of government intervention.
d. Justice principles are beliefs that everyone can accept.
e. Opportunity factors have the greatest influence over business ethical decision making.
d. Justice principles are beliefs that everyone can accept.
the first sign that an unethical decision has occurred?
Guilt
People who go with the flow because they feel the events in their lives are uncontrollable believe in
external locus of control
Which of the following is an individual factor that affects business ethics?
a. Nationality
b. Corporate culture
c. Obedience to authority
d. Significant others
e. Opportunity
a. Nationality
involves values and norms that prescribe a wide range of behavior for organizational members?
Corporate culture
an ethical corporate culture need in order to monitor the complex ethical decisions being made by employees?
Shared values and proper oversight
Those who have influence in a work group are referred to as significant others. Which of the following are examples of this concept?
a. Peers, managers, coworkers, and subordinates
b. Family members, peers, and coworkers
c. Spouses and friends
d. Employees in similar job situations
e. Employees who hold the same job
a. Peers, managers, coworkers, and subordinates
Which of the following is true of research concerning nationality and the ability to make ethical decisions?
a. Research shows no relationship between the two.
b. Research shows it is hard to interpret in a business context because of cultural differences.
c. Research suggests that organizations should be very concerned about an employee’s nationality.
d. Research suggests that corporations pay a lot of attention to such research.
e. Research suggests that the influence of nationality on corporate culture is growing.
b. Research shows it is hard to interpret in a business context because of cultural differences.
Which of the following is true concerning the relationship between business ethics and age?
a. It shows a negative correlation.
b. It is simple, and greater experience leads to better ethical decision making.
c. It is complex, although experience helps older employees make ethical decisions.
d. It suggests that employees with less experience have a greater ability to deal with complex industry-specific
ethical issues.
c. It is complex, although experience helps older employees make ethical decisions.
Employees who believe they control the events in their lives by their own effort and skill are referred to as having a(n)
_______.
internal locus of control
For people who begin the value shift that leads to unethical decisions, which of the following are usual justifications to reduce and eliminate guilt? (Select four)
a. I need a paycheck and can’t afford to quit right now.
b. Those around me are doing it so why shouldn’t I?
c. If I don’t do this, I might not be able to get a good reference from my boss when I leave.
d. If I don’t do this, I might never be promoted.
e. This is in keeping with my personal morals and the code of conduct, so it is okay.
a, b, c, d
refers to the ability to perceive whether a situation or decision has an ethical dimension?
Ethical awareness
individuals’ perceptions of social pressure and the harm they believe their decisions will have on others?
Moral intensity
The ethical decision-making process in business includes which of the following? (Select four)
a. Individual factors
b. Opportunity
c. Ethical issue intensity
d. Society’s view of the decision
e. Organizational factors
a, b, c, e
Which type of culture reflects the integrity of decisions made and is a function of many factors, including corporate policies, top management’s leadership on ethical issues, the influence of coworkers, and the opportunity for unethical behavior?
Ethical
Which of the following are true with regards to organizational factors? (Select four)
a. Employees approach ethical issues on the basis of what they learned from others in the organization.
b. An alignment between a person’s own values and the values of the organization help create positive
organizational outcomes.
c. Congruence in personal and organizational values is related to commitment, satisfaction, motivation, ethics, work stress, and anxiety.
d. Ethical choices in organizations are most often made individually.
e. Just as a family guides an individual, specific industries give behavioral cues to firms.
a, b, c, e
The motivational “carrots and sticks” superiors use to influence employee behavior are part of the concept of _______.
immediate job context
is/are important in establishing a foundation for normative values?
Institutions
How organizational decision makers actually approach ethical issues relates to which of the following?
Descriptive approaches
are central to an organization and provide directions for action?
Core values
In the form of industry standards, normative business ethics takes into account which of the following types of reality outside the legal realm?
Political
Which type of institutions include religion, education, and individuals such as the family unit?
Social
Which of the following are true regarding institutions? (Select four)
a. Stakeholders closely align with institutions.
b. The regulatory system aligns with political institutions.
c. There is no clear link between institutional theory and the stakeholder orientation of management.
d. Competition relates to economic institutions.
e. Personal values and norms derive from social institutions.
a, b, d, e
A higher probability that firms cut corners because margins are low is generally created by
Competition
The thought experiment used by John Rawls that examined how individuals would formulate principles if they did not know what their future position in society would be is known as
Veil of ignorance
states that economic and social equalities should be arranged to provide the most benefit to the least-advantaged members of society?
Difference principle
Values have which of the following characteristics? (Select four)
a. Provides guidance to organizations
b. Subjective and related to choice
c. Widely accepted
d. Used to develop norms
e. Differs across cultures and firms
a, b, d, e
Familiarizing employees with company values and training them to recognize common ethical scenarios helps them
generate _______.
ethical awareness
Organizations are found to make a greater contribution than those based simply on compliance, or obeying laws and regulations when they have ethics programs based on which of the following orientations?
Values
Which of the following is the last step in the ethical decision-making process?
a. Individuals’ intentions and their decision regarding what action they will take
b. Evaluation of whether the decision is an ethical issue
c. Analysis of individual, organizational, and opportunity factors
d. The application of moral philosophies to the decision
e. How others in the organization view the decision
a. Individuals’ intentions and their decision regarding what action they will take
reflects the integrity of decisions made and is a function of many factors?
Ethical culture
In the workplace, an organization’s values often have a greater influence on a decision than the person’s own values.
a. True
b. False
True
A study has found that those with an external locus of control were positively correlated with ethical decision making,
whereas those with an internal locus of control were negatively correlated.
a. True
b. False
False
The ethical decision-making model presented in the text will be able to determine explicitly whether a decision is ethical or unethical.
a. True
b. False
b. False
The terms moral intensity and ethical issue intensity can be used interchangeably.
a. True
b. False
b. False
A firm’s core values provide a blueprint into the firm’s purpose as well as how it views ethical decision making and
prioritizes stakeholders.
a. True
b. False
a. True
Which of the following statements about opportunity is true?
a. Opportunity results from motivational “carrots and sticks” superiors use to influence employee behavior.
b. Opportunity can be eliminated in a corporation.
c. Opportunity directly relates to barriers to individual ethics.
d. Opportunity relates directly to the power of the industry rivals’ suppliers over other rivals.
e. Opportunity relates to being lucky in preventing misconduct.
a. Opportunity results from motivational “carrots and sticks” superiors use to influence employee behavior.
states that each person has basic rights that are compatible to the basic liberties of others?
Equality principle
