Chapter 4 - Terms

Question 1

Accommodative strategy

Answer 1

a social responsiveness strategy in which a company accepts responsibility for a problem and does all that society expects to solve that problem

Question 2

Concentration of effect

Answer 2

the total harm or benefit that an act produces on the average person

Question 3

Conventional level of moral development

Answer 3

the second level of moral development, in which people make decisions that conform to societal expectation

Question 4

Defensive strategy

Answer 4

a social responsiveness strategy in which a company admits responsibility for a problem but does the least required to meet societal expectations

Question 5

Discretionary responsibilities

Answer 5

the social roles that a company fulfills beyond its economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities

Question 6

Economic responsibility

Answer 6

a company’s social responsibility to make a profit by producing a valued product or service

Question 7

Employee shrinkage

Answer 7

employee theft of company merchandise

Question 8

Ethical behavior

Answer 8

behavior that conforms to a society’s accepted principles of right and wrong

Question 9

Ethical intensity

Answer 9

the degree of concern people have about an ethical issue

Question 10

Ethical responsibility

Answer 10

a company’s social responsibility not to violate accepted principles of right and wrong when conducting its business

Question 11

Ethics

Answer 11

the set of moral principles or values that defines right and wrong for a person or group

Question 12

Legal responsibility

Answer 12

a company’s social responsibility to obey society’s laws and regulations

Question 13

Magnitude of consequences

Answer 13

the total harm or benefit derived from an ethical decision

Question 14

Overt integrity test

Answer 14

a written test that estimates job applicants’ honesty by directly asking them what they think or feel about theft or about punishment of unethical behaviors

Question 15

Personal aggression

Answer 15

hostile or aggressive behavior toward others

Question 16

Personality-based integrity test

Answer 16

a written test that indirectly estimates job applicants’ honesty by measuring psychological traits, such as dependability and conscientiousness

Question 17

Political deviance

Answer 17

using one’s influence to harm others in the company

Question 18

Postconventional level of moral development

Answer 18

the third level of moral development, in which people make decisions based on internalized principles

Question 19

Preconventional level of moral development

Answer 19

the first level of moral development, in which people make decisions based on selfish reasons

Question 20

Primary stakeholder

Answer 20

any group on which an organization relies for its long-term survival

Question 21

Principle of distributive justice

Answer 21

an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that harms the least fortunate among us: the poor, the uneducated, the unemployed

Question 22

Principle of government requirements

Answer 22

an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that violates the law, for the law represents the minimal moral standard

Question 23

Principle of individual rights

Answer 23

an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that infringes on others’ agreed-upon rights

Question 24

Principle of long-term self-interest

Answer 24

an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that is not in your or your organization’s long-term self-interest

Question 25

Principle of personal virtue

Answer 25

an ethical principle that holds that you should never do anything that is not honest, open, and truthful and that you would not be glad to see reported in the newspapers or on TV

Question 26

Principle of religious injunctions

Answer 26

an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that is not kind and that does not build a sense of community

Question 27

Principle of utilitarian benefits

Answer 27

an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that does not result in greater good for society

Question 28

Proactive strategy

Answer 28

a social responsiveness strategy in which a company anticipates a problem before it occurs and does more than society expects to take responsibility for and address the problem

Question 29

Probability of effect

Answer 29

the chance that something will happen that results in harm to others

Question 30

Production deviance

Answer 30

unethical behavior that hurts the quality and quantity of work produced

Question 31

Property deviance

Answer 31

unethical behavior aimed at the organization’s property or products

Question 32

Proximity of effect

Answer 32

the social, psychological, cultural, or physical distance between a decision maker and those affected by his or her decisions

Question 33

Reactive strategy

Answer 33

a social responsiveness strategy in which a company does less than society expects

Question 34

Secondary stakeholder

Answer 34

any group that can influence or be influenced by a company and can affect public perceptions about the company’s socially responsible behavior

Question 35

Shareholder model

Answer 35

a view of social responsibility that holds that an organization’s overriding goal should be profit maximization for the benefit of shareholders

Question 36

Social consensus

Answer 36

agreement on whether behavior is bad or good

Question 37

Social responsibility

Answer 37

a business’s obligation to pursue policies, make decisions, and take actions that benefit society

Question 38

Social responsiveness

Answer 38

a company’s strategy to respond to stakeholders’ economic, legal, ethical, or discretionary expectations concerning social responsibility

Question 39

Stakeholder model

Answer 39

a theory of corporate responsibility that holds that management’s most important responsibility, long-term survival, is achieved by satisfying the interests of multiple corporate stakeholders

Question 40

Stakeholders

Answer 40

persons or groups with a stake, or legitimate interest, in a company’s actions

Question 41

Temporal immediacy

Answer 41

the time between an act and the consequences the act produces

Question 42

Whistle-blowing

Answer 42

reporting others’ ethics violations to management or legal authorities

Question 43

Workplace deviance

Answer 43

unethical behavior that violates organizational norms about right and wrong