Exam 3: Conducting Business Ethically and Responsibly

Some actions, such as stealing food during a famine, may be illegal yet considered by some people to be ethical.

In Canada, a manager who discriminates against minorities in hiring exhibits both unethical and illegal behavior.

Hi-Fly, Inc. was accused of discharging residue from its production processes into a nearby pond on the company's premises. When challenged about this, the owner said, "We own the pond, and we can do whatever we want on our private property." Which of the following approaches to social responsibility does this attitude indicate? obstructionist accommodative defensive proactive private property rights

In Brazil, the term "jeitinho" is used to denote strict adherence to bureaucratic rules.

Which of the following is the best means of showing responsibility toward employees? Provide employees with equal opportunities without regard to race, sex, or other irrelevant factors Provide rewards for employees who go beyond the call of duty Provide a stock ownership plan for employees Provide a grievance system for employees Recruit employees from minority groups

Is downloading music ethical or unethical? Is it illegal or legal? Why?

You are managing a company that either has to cut the dividend or cut 10% of the company's workforce. What do you do? Why?

Are ethics influenced by a business firm's policies? Are business firms influenced by a person's ethical values? Explain.

At the end of an especially good year, a company decides to give bonuses to its sales employees. Two salespersons are included: Tracy shows a better-than-average sales record, whereas Colin was only an average salesperson. Colin has a reputation for being a straight shooter who complies strictly with the company's ethical code. On the other hand, Tracy made some deals that, as coworkers confided to middle managers, were "on the edge" of dishonesty. When the company's ethics panel reviewed one such deal, it was found to have been compliant with the letter of the stated code. Nevertheless, the financial officer recommends that both employees be given the same bonus. Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the financial officer's position? The employees had received and duly signed a statement agreeing to uphold the company's code of ethics. The coworkers who reported the alleged shady deals had ethical incidents in their own personnel files. The firm recently conducted a social audit, which revealed concern about the firm's tolerance of predatory practices by sales personnel and their impact on workplace morale. The company's code gives very detailed definitions of what separates a responsible business transaction from one that includes dishonesty. The strong sales performance of this department was a major factor in improving the firm's viability during an economic downturn.

Briefly describe an issue of managerial ethics relating to behaviour toward employees.

Consumer rights include the right to safe products, the right to be informed, the right to be heard, and the right to a refund.

Paramount Pizza wants to be seen as a socially responsibility company. It can support its claim of being a socially responsible company by using more nutritious ingredients even if they are more expensive. cutting employees' wages and benefits in order to boost the company's stock price. reducing pizza size while holding the price constant. packaging products in material that costs less, even if customers object to the change. taking actions to force competitors into bankruptcy.

Which of the following is correct with regard to pollution? Noise pollution is now a greater concern than air or water pollution. Developing countries like China have a good record on air pollution because as their industrialization proceeds, they can install effective pollution control devices on new installations. There is a worldwide consensus among all people that our climate is warming and that warming is caused by human activity in the form of air pollution. Global warming will hurt some people and benefit others. All of these are correct.

Unlike the U.S., Canada has no federal legislation that protects whistleblowers.

When evaluating a decision based on the ethical norm of utility, a manager will focus on which of the following questions? Does the decision optimize the satisfaction of all constituencies? Is the decision consistent with what we regard as fair? Does the decision respect the rights of the individuals involved? Is the decision consistent with people's responsibilities to each other? How much will the decision cost if it is wrong?

A plumbing supply firm can win a contract with a home-building business by promising to get 500 faucet assemblies of a certain make by Tuesday morning. Actually, the customer representative finalizing the deal knows that their supplier normally takes an extra day to get them to the firm. But lately, due to the housing slowdown, shipments have been arriving a day earlier. The customer representative therefore promises Tuesday delivery to the home-building business, reasoning that if the faucets do come a day later, as they often do, he can come up with a plausible excuse. Which of the following, if true, undermines the customer representative's ethical position? The representative knows that a snowstorm has disrupted travel at the hub through which the faucets will be shipped, so there is no way they will arrive by Tuesday. The contract with the home-building company is important to win, as the plumbing supply firm is short on cash and needs the proceeds of the deal to pay off some pressing debts. The home-building firm is notorious for finishing its units well after the scheduled date, so a delay in the faucets will not make that much difference. The housing slowdown seems likely to go on in the firm's area, so it's probable that shipments will continue to come in a day early. The customer representative and the head engineer for the home-building business play golf together regularly.

Breaking the law in a totalitarian regime in order to carry out humanitarian efforts would probably be seen by most people as ethical but illegal. ethical and illegal. unethical but legal. unethical and illegal. the is no consensus on how this behaviour should be classified.

What is social responsibility?

Which of the following statements is correct with regard to the conflict of interest idea in business? Conflicts of interest exist only in peoples' minds. A conflict of interest occurs when an activity benefits an individual at the expense of the employer. A conflict of interest occurs when employees of equal rank have a disagreement. A conflict of interest occurs when a boss and a subordinate have a disagreement. All of the statements are correct.

What is price fixing?