Exam 6: Managing Responsibly and Ethically

Approaches to Social Responsibility (Scenario) Marco was confused. His management class was focusing on social responsibility, and his assignment was to find examples of businesses that used different approaches toward social responsibility. He had three good examples but was not sure which case was an example of which concept. The first business was a fishing company that had been subject to protests from environmentalists. In their efforts to balance the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders, the company decided to change their harvesting methods so that dolphins would no longer be caught with tuna. The second company was a fast-food restaurant whose primary objective was to maximize profits for its owners. Restaurant employees were paid minimum wages and benefits in accordance with local labour laws. The third business was a bank that spent millions of dollars a year on charitable causes. The bank's managers felt they had an ethical responsibility to do the right things and act in ways that are good for society. -The approach taken by the fishing company is generally thought to be more ________ than the approach taken by the bank.

The ________ approach toward environmental issues exhibits the highest degree of environmental sensitivity and is a good illustration of corporate social responsibility.

The most outspoken advocate of the classical view of social responsibility is economist and Nobel laureate ________.

Two Opposing Views of Social Responsibility (Scenario) The board of directors of Acme Generating Corporation is meeting to consider the construction of a new electricity generation facility somewhere along the Muspetan River basin. The city of Muspetan has a high Air Pollution Index and the increasing amount of garbage is adding to the city's woes. Director Appleton would like the facility to be a coal-burning plant located in a remote area because the cost involved is moderate. Director Witworth wants a nuclear plant because this will not add to the city's already serious pollution problem, while taking care of its electricity requirements. Director Jossleman wants a plant that uses combustible fuels collected from the city's garbage. He wants the plant to be located near the downtown government area so that the steam could be used for heating the government buildings after it has passed through the generating turbines. -Director Witworth is following which of the social responsibility views?

In a short essay,discuss some of the ways in which managers can encourage ethical behavior and create a comprehensive ethics program.

Which of the following determinants of ethical issue intensity considers how close the potential victims are?

Joe Black,owner of Honest Joe's Car Wash,pays his workers the minimum wage and benefits stipulated in the provincial Employment Standards Act.Joe is following a social ________ approach.

Employees who raise ethical concerns or issues to others inside or outside the organization are called social activists.

Moral Development (Scenario) Jerri has been daydreaming about stealing some money from the petty cash file at her employer's office in order to pay some overdue bills. But in reviewing the chapter on ethics from her management course, she learns that there are three levels of moral development, each composed of two stages. She becomes ashamed about her idle thoughts of stealing and reads on to try to learn more about the levels and stages of moral development. -Jerri is a conscientious person who has never broken a promise and has always tried to live up to her family's expectations.This suggests she is operating at the ________ level of moral development.

Social Responsibility and Issue Intensity (Scenario) Rick is president of a company that manufactures secondary wood products for the construction industry. Recently, there have been many reports of a plywood sub-flooring product that has been failing in a number of commercial locations, resulting in several complaints about ruined floor coverings and, in one instance, the partial collapse of a floor, which injured three people. The manager of research and development has asked marketing to stop selling the product while he runs some tests to determine the source of the problem. However, third-quarter earnings reports are due out in two weeks and public knowledge of problems concerning this lucrative product are likely to delay the financing of the company's expansion plans and cause stock prices to tumble. Rick has a dilemma. Should he continue to sell the product and delay research efforts in order to maintain the expansion plans, but risk causing more damage and injury? Or should he immediately stop sales of the product and run the necessary tests, thereby placing the expansion plans at risk and causing potential losses for the company's shareholders? -If Rick makes his decision based solely on the desire to maximize profits to satisfy the shareholders,he would be operating under the ________ view of social responsibility.

An organizational culture most likely to encourage high ethical standards is one that is ________.

The ________ approach toward environmental issues is a good illustration of social obligation.

Ethical reasoning at the ________ level of moral development indicates that moral values reside in maintaining expected standards and living up to the expectations of others.

According to the model of the evolution of an organization's social responsibility,stage 3 is characterized by an added interest in ________.

A firm that engages in social actions in reaction to some popular social need is taking a social ________ approach.

When a firm advertises that it only uses recycled paper products it is ________.

A personality measure of a person's convictions is ________.

The ________ approach to environmental issues is when an organization chooses to respond to multiple demands made by groups in its internal and external environments.

Advocates of social responsiveness believe it is more ________ than social responsibility.

Managers play an especially important role in business ethics because they set the tone of the culture and are role models for other managers and employees.