Exam 2: Ethics and Social Responsibility: Doing the Right Thing

Mini-Case 2-1: Doing "good" but not doing the "right" thing Ed and Marci Buchanan are spouses and partners in a business called "Flags Unlimited." They made and sold a variety of national flags in various shapes. About 40 percent of their total revenues came from a single chain retailer, MegaMart USA that owned 798 stores throughout the United States. When Ed and Daisy started their company, their son's classmate's father was a senior buyer at MegaMart USA. The buyer, Arturo Higuain, encouraged Ed and Daisy to submit a bid to MegaMart USA and he helped the couple establish the relationship that led to subsequent recurring sales at the retailer. Higuain's wife, Lupe, was the head of the school's PTA and in charge for fund raising. Without Arturo's asking, the Buchanans started contributing significant sums of money to the PTA. Arturo never discouraged them from contributing. In a cost cutting move, Arturo was laid off from MegaMart USA and in his place, Cindy Carmichael became the buyer who interacted with the Buchanans. Cindy hinted to the Buchanans that there were other vendors willing to supply flags at a lower price than the Buchanans but that if they would contribute to the rebuilding of her (Cindy's)community's softball park, they would continue to sell their product at MegaMart USA. -Did the Buchanans act ethically in contributing to the school's PTA?

According to the ________, one should "treat other people the way you would like them to treat you."

Business ethics is a sensitive and highly complex issue, but it is not a new one.

________ responsibility is how an organization responds to the needs of the many elements in society.

The various groups and individuals who affect and are affected by a business are called ________.

What is ethics and how is it different from social responsibility?

Social entrepreneurs start businesses so that they can create innovative solutions to society's most vexing problems.

Ethical behavior is doing what is ________.

The driving force behind immoral management is ________.

Ethical behavior has no impact on a company's bottom line.

One of the best ways to identify your own cultural biases is to get exposure to people who are not like you.

The United States is moving toward a "minority majority."

Injury-related absences from work are ________ times higher for workers with drinking problems.

________ sets behavioral boundaries for decision makers.

A recent survey finds that ________ percent of consumers expect companies to operate responsibly regarding social and environmental issues.

Socially responsible business owners focus on the three Rs: reduce, reengineer, and recycle.

Employees' moral stance is the broadest and most fundamental definition of ethical standards.

Ethical behavior is doing what is "right."

________ entrepreneurs are finding the resources to tackle challenging problems such as habitat destruction, AIDS, hunger, and poverty.

Actions that are legal, however, may not be ethical.