Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability

Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, and Strategy- CH9

1 Ethical principles in business

A) concern the behavioral guidelines a company's top management and board of directors set for company personnel regarding "what is right" and "what is wrong" in conducting the company's business.

B) deal chiefly with the actions and behaviors required to operate companies in a socially responsible manner.

C) are arrived at by picking and choosing among the consensus ethical standards of society to come up with a set of ethical standards that apply directly to operating a business.

D) are not materially different from ethical principles in general and have to be judged in the context of society's standards of right and wrong, not by a special set of rules that business people decide to apply to their own conduct.

E) involve behavioral guidelines for balancing the interests of non-owner stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities in which the company has operations) against the interests of company shareholders.

2 According to the school of ethical universalism,

A) what behaviors are "ethically right" and "ethically wrong" vary across religions, but the boundaries of what is ethical or not are universal within religions.

B) concepts of right and wrong universally apply to all business situations within a given country but can vary across countries or cultures.

C) ethical guidelines exist only when there is universal agreement as to what behaviors are "ethically right" and "ethically wrong"; anything not universally viewed as unethical is thus within the bounds of what is ethically permissible.

D) all societies and countries have some definition of what is ethically permissible (in this sense ethics are universal); however, the definitions of what is ethically permissible vary according to the prevailing religious doctrines in each country.

E) The most important concepts what is right and what is wrong are universal and transcend culture, society, and religion.

3 If one adopts the thinking of the school of ethical relativism, then

A) there are multiple sets of ethical standards because what is ethical or unethical depends on local customs and social mores and can vary from one culture or nation to another.

B) there is a "one-size-fits-all" set of authentic ethical standards.

C)the preferred set of ethical standards is the one which society at large has put in place in the form of laws and regulations.

D)the prevailing ethical standards are the product of a system of "integrated social contracts."

E) no ethical standards are ever truly "authentic"—they exist only to the extent that there is a temporary shared conviction among company managers and company personnel that a particular behavior is either ethically permissible or ethically impermissible.

4 Paying bribes and kickbacks to expedite winning orders from customers or to facilitate business transactions

A) is ethically acceptable according to both the school of ethical relativism and the school of ethical universalism, provided the payment of such bribes and kickbacks is permitted by local laws.

B) is a thorny ethical issue for multinational companies because in some countries such payments are considered unethical whereas in other countries the payment of bribes and kickbacks is very much in accord with local customs and social mores (which makes such payments "ethically acceptable" according to the school of ethical relativism).

C) is a clear violation of ethical principles in all countries.

D) is ethically acceptable according to "integrated social contract theory."

E) is a clear violation of ethical standards only if one accepts the arguments and reasoning of the school of ethical relativism.

5 According to integrated social contracts theory,

A) the views and principles of the school of ethical universalism are definitely wrong; the view is that ethics is a matter of personal responsibility not a matter of management concern.

B) universal ethical principles based on the collective views of multiple societies form a social contract that all individuals and organizations have a duty to observe in all situations.

C) the standards of what is ethically permissible and what is not should be based on a code of ethical and moral conduct which each society/country/culture adopts and then enacts into law.

D) the standards of what is ethically permissible should be determined by the terms of an "ethics contract" which each company employee signs as a condition of employment.

E) the only valid ethical standards are those which are universal—and then only if the standards are not absolute and provide some wiggle room according to the circumstances of the each situation.

6 Unethical managerial behavior tends to be driven by such factors as

A) overzealous or obsessive pursuit of personal gain, wealth, and other selfish interests; a company culture that puts the profitability and good business performance ahead of ethical behavior; and heavy pressures on company managers to meet or beat performance targets.

B) the lack of a company code of ethics.

C) a lack of training in what is ethical and what is not.

D) confusing differences between what is ethical behavior in one's personal life and what is ethically permissible in business.

E) All of the above factors.

7 The business case for an ethical strategy

A) relates to the company's business model and business-level strategy.

B) must be articulated by the company's senior managers and reinforced by pronouncements from the board of directors.

C) starts with managers who understand there is big difference between adopting values statements and codes of ethics that serve merely as window dressing and those that truly paint the white lines for a company's actual strategy and business conduct.

D) emphasizes that pursuing unethical strategies not only damages a company's reputation but can also have costly consequences that are wide ranging.

E) can be effectively made by executives subscribing to the damage control approach to managing a company's ethical conduct.

8 Which one of the following is not a key trait of the ethical culture approach to managing ethical conduct?

A) The ethical culture approach is favored at companies where top managers are very concerned about gaining employee buy-in to the company's ethical standards, business principles, and corporate values and see the company's code of ethics and/or its statement of corporate values as integral to the company's identity and ways of operating.

B) The ethical culture approach is especially well-suited for companies that favor a light approach to ethics compliance.

C) There are strong peer pressures from coworkers to observe ethical norms.

D) Compliance procedures need to be an integral part of the ethical culture approach to help send the message that management takes the observance of ethical norms seriously and that behavior that fall outside ethical boundaries will have negative consequences.

E) The integrity of the ethical culture approach depends heavily on the ethical integrity of the executives who create and nurture the culture.

9 The notion of social responsibility as it applies to businesses concerns

A) a company's duty to operate in an honorable manner, provide good working conditions for employees, be a good steward of the environment, and actively work to better the quality of life in the local communities where it operates and in society at large.

B) a company's duty to put the public interest ahead of shareholder interests.

C) societal expectations that all company stakeholders will be treated equally and fairly.

D)a company's duty to establish socially acceptable core values and to have a strictly enforced code of ethical conduct.

E) the responsibility that top management has for ensuring that the company's actions and decisions are in the best interest of society at large.

10 An environmental sustainability strategy consists of a company's deliberate actions to

A) provide good working conditions for employees and to actively work to enhance the quality of life in the local communities where it operates and in society at large.

B) redesign products and alter production practices to satisfy the expectations of various environmental protection groups.

C) meet the current needs of customers, suppliers, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders in a manner that protects the environment, provides for the longevity of natural resources, maintains ecological support systems for future generations, and guards against ultimate endangerment of the planet.

D) apply universal norms regarding the protection of the environment to its everyday operations.

E) balance commonly held views about what constitutes environmentally appropriate actions against its ability to make a profit