Ethics and Sustainability

Question 1

Insider Trading

Answer 1

When company insiders use confidential information to gain an advantage in stock market trading. This harm other investors

Question 2

Code of Ethics

Answer 2

A written statement that sets forth the principles that guide an organizations decisions

Question 3

Whistle-blowing

Answer 3

the disclosure of information by a company insider that exposes illegal or unethical behavior by others within the organization

Question 4

Ethical Lapse

Answer 4

A situation in which an individual or a group makes a decision that is morally wrong, illegal, or unethical

Question 5

Ethical Dilemma

Answer 5

A situation in which more than one side of an issue can be supported with valid arguments

Question 6

Conflict of Interest

Answer 6

A situation in which competing loyalties can lead to ethical lapses, such as when a business decision may be influenced by the potential for personal gain

Question 7

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Answer 7

the idea that a business has obligations to society beyond the pursuit of profits

Question 8

Profit-seeking companies are…

Answer 8

the economic engine that powers modern society. They generate the vast majority of the money in a nation’s economy

Question 9

Discrimination

Answer 9

The denial of opportunities to an individual on the basis of some characteristic that has no bearing on their ability to perform in a job

Question 10

Affirmative Action

Answer 10

programs that were developed to encourage organizations to recruit and promote members of groups whose past economic progress has been hindered through legal barriers or established practices

Question 11

Philanthropy

Answer 11

the donation of money, time, goods, or services to charitable, humanitarian, or educational institutions

Question 12

Strategic CSR

Answer 12

social contributions that are directly aligned with a company’s overall business strategy (the company helps itself and society at the same time)

Question 13

What does sustainability mean for a company?

Answer 13

Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 14

Triple Bottom Line

Answer 14

A framework that recommends that firms focus on social and environmental concerns as they do on profits

TBL posits that instead of one bottom line, there should be three:

1. profit
2. people
3. planet

TBL seeks to gauge a corporation’s level of commitment to CSR and its impact on the environment over time