Deck 1: Ethical Theory, Philosophical Foundations, Our Reasoning Flaws, and Types of Ethical Dilemmas

Question 1

The Rights Theory is generally associated with Plato and Aristotle.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A credo consists of how you define yourself by job title and income.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Self-interest is the same as selfishness.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Locke and Rawls are contractarians.

Question 5

Locke and Rawls develop their ethical theory on the basis of a tabula rasa.

Question 6

Robert Nozick is the leading thinker for utilitarianism.

Question 7

An ethical breach is not necessarily a violation of the law.

Question 8

Unwritten rules of conduct are part of our normative standards.

Question 9

Laura Nash provides tools for examining how a company got into an ethical dilemma.

Question 10

Kant is part of the utilitarian school of thought on ethics.

Question 11

"We all don't share the same ethics" fails to consider common values that do exist in business.

Question 12

Ethical egoism is selfishness.

Question 13

Hank Greenberg's ability to find a way around rules was evident from his conduct as a soldier in London.

Question 14

Kant would label paying lower wages in developing countries than the wages paid in developed economies as unethical.

Question 15

Kant and Rand do not agree on the importance of self-interest in ethical theory.

Question 16

Hank Greenberg was ousted from his position as CEO of AIG.

Question 17

"It's a gray area," is an example of ethical analysis.

Question 18

Robert Solomon is a proponent of virtue ethics.

Question 19

Third-trimester abortions would be supported under a Rights Theory.

Question 20

Part of a credo includes a list of lines you would never cross to be successful.

Question 21

A member of the city council who is employed by a waste management firm would have a conflict of interest in voting on the city's award of a contract for the handling of the city's waste.

Question 22

It is not plagiarism to use facts obtained from several sources that are footnoted or listed as sources.

Question 23

An agreement by an agent to accept a 10% commission from a seller who will sell goods to the agent's employer is ethical so long as the agent would have chosen that seller anyway.

Question 24

Payments of royalties from drug sales by a pharmaceutical firm to the university where a researcher conducting studies has validated the firm's claims is a conflict of interest.

Question 25

Having loan applicants pay for the expenses of bank officer travel for purposes of evaluating collateral is not a conflict of interest.

Question 26

Taking information from a confidential file accidentally left on your desk is not unethical.

Question 27

Purchasing agents accepting a pleasure trip from a supplier when no bids are pending is still an ethical violation.

Question 28

A conflict of interest is unethical only if those involved actually change their decision based on the benefits to be derived.

Question 29

Giving preferential treatment in contract bidding to the daughter of a member of the company board is not a conflict of interest.

Question 30

An illegal act is an unethical act.

Question 31

The element of balance in the Blanchard/Peale ethical model requires an examination of the issue from the perspective of the affected party.

Question 32

A physical fitness expert retained by a fitness magazine to evaluate walking shoes has a conflict of interest if she has an endorsement contract with one of the shoe companies that manufactures the shoes she will be evaluating.

Question 33

The failure to disclose that your college degree was withheld because of outstanding parking fines and violations is unethical.

Question 34

It is plagiarism to rewrite the phrasing of another source and not use quotes or a footnote.

Question 35

A physician conducting a study on a new prescription drug manufactured by a firm in which he is a 10% shareholder does not have a conflict of interest so long as his stock ownership is disclosed in his report on the drug.

Question 36

Using positive law as an ethical standard means simply compliance with the law.

Question 37

A real estate agent who recommends a management firm to an apartment complex buyer without disclosing that the agent owns 50% of the firm has committed an ethical violation.

Question 38

A major donation by one of your long-term suppliers to a non-profit organization run by your spouse should not create perception problems so long as your purchasing decisions are based on the merits.

Question 39

A valid ethical barometer is the reaction of family and friends outside the business setting to your proposed decision.

Question 40

A commercial broker who accepts fees from both the seller and the buyer of the business without disclosure to either has not committed an ethical violation if both parties are happy with the transaction.

Question 41

"The lawyers have okayed this," is a signal that the decision/action is legal and ethical.

Question 42

If I discovered that I unintentionally violated a federal environmental regulation, I should just wait and see if anything happens before taking any action.

Question 43

Accepting gifts from suppliers and vendors is not a problem so long as no bid decisions are pending.

Question 44

Taking advantage of a party in a contract situation due to the party's inexperience, and not due to any lack of disclosure on your part, is ethical.

Question 45

If I worked in purchasing in my company, it would be unethical for me to accept season tickets for my city's NBA team from the company that has supplied catering for the company's training sessions.

Question 46

The failure to speak out when an ethical or legal lapse occurs within your firm is in itself an ethical violation.

Question 47

Attending a class on company time would be unethical.

Question 48

You are a building inspector for the county. A friend of yours is a plumbing contractor. Under county regulations, all steps in plumbing construction from the initial dig to the final installation of sink and bathroom fixtures requires an inspection sign-off. Your plumbing contractor friend has just called and wants to take you to dinner for your birthday at a five-star restaurant. Because you are friends anyway, the dinner presents no ethical problems.

Question 49

If I discover that a fellow employee is reporting falsely his overtime hours, it is best for me to say nothing and ignore the situation.

Question 50

Labeling infertility surgery as "diagnostic surgery" in order to allow the patient to recover the costs from an insurer is unethical.

Question 51

If my supervisor asked me to cover for him by lying about his whereabouts, I should agree to do it but remind him that I can't make it a habit.

Question 52

With respect to #55, using your work computer and paper to complete the case analyses would be unethical.

Question 53

A supplier has just been awarded a large contract by your company. As an employee in purchasing, you were largely responsible for awarding that supplier the contract. The supplier's sales representative has just called and would like to take you to lunch to thank you for the support. Going to lunch with the sale representative does not present any ethical problems.

Question 54

Your company's policy on company vehicles is that no family members may use them or ride in them. It would be unethical to use a company car to drive you and your spouse to a movie.

Question 55

The failure to disclose relevant information about a product or service is unethical.

Question 56

Long-term relationships create ethical and legal obligations between the parties through conduct and accommodations.

Question 57

A company executive exerting pressure on a scientist and her university to delay disclosure of study results harmful to the company and its products would be unethical.

Question 58

You are taking a graduate level course in management that will help you in performing your duties at work. Each week you must submit case analyses to your professor. Using work time to complete the analyses would be unethical.

Question 59

Ethical choices often prove costly to firms in the short term.

Question 60

"Everyone else does it," is a signal of an ethical pitfall.

Question 61

You work for a construction firm that is submitting a bid for the construction of a new company headquarters building for Smithco. A friend you have known since high school works in Smithco's capital budgeting area and has full knowledge of all the bids from all firms. It would be unethical for your friend to share that information with you before you submitted your bid.

Question 62

Alice is a co-worker who is going through a divorce and has two small children. Alice's husband is not paying the child support the temporary court order requires. As a result, Alice is broke until she can get her court hearing. Alice has been able, through diverting checks returned to the company, to take about $2200 from the company to "temporarily help her cover her bills," as she has explained to you. You must report Alice's embezzlement.

Question 63

It is not your responsibility to report a co-worker who leaves the office early each day without taking time off.

Question 64

A newspaper reporter is interviewing you about your experiences in working for a member of Congress. You have indicated you have information about his private life but will not share it. The reporter responds, "Tell me, just between you and me." You share the information and a quote from you on the private life of the member of Congress appears in the newspaper the next day. The reporter was unethical in violating a trust.

Question 65

Following positive law is not the full extent of ethics.

Question 66

Conduct may comply with the law but still be unethical.

Question 67

Your supervisor has had a calendar with pictures of naked women on the inside panel of his desk for several months. A secretary spotted the calendar and commented to your supervisor that it was not appropriate for an office. Your supervisor took down the calendar and has asked you to back him up if any complaints are filed. He has asked you to say that you never saw the calendar. It would not be unethical for you to do as your supervisor requests because he has removed the calendar.

Question 68

Your college of business is sponsoring a case competition. All teams must watch the other teams compete. The order of presentation is by luck of a draw. The team that is the last to present left during one of the presentations, went to the computer room and redid its PowerPoint slides and restructured its presentation based on what other teams had presented. This team has done nothing wrong.

Question 69

With respect to #66, it is not necessary for the company to take any action to correct the problem or refund money for those who already own the new calculator.

Question 70

The mayor owns property next to one of the proposed sites for the city's new baseball stadium. The mayor has a conflict of interest and should not vote on the location of the stadium when the city council takes action on the site.

Question 71

With respect to #73, it would be unethical for you to hire your friend to get him to bring the information to your company.

Question 72

Alice is a secretary in your department. Alice is also a member of the American Guild of Organists. Alice has been placed in charge of the Guild's national convention. Each time you pass by Alice's desk or go to her to have some work done, you notice she is on the phone discussing or working on the convention. Alice's work on the convention during work hours is an ethical violation.

Question 73

Your supervisor has told you that he wants to "get rid of Jane." Jane is a Hispanic female co-worker who is very bright and capable and hardworking. Your supervisor has asked you to document everything Jane does and says that will help build a case for termination. You should do as your supervisor tells you.

Question 74

You should disclose to your employer if a relative of yours has submitted a bid for work with your company.

Question 75

It would not be unethical for you to accept two employment offers in case one fell through.

Question 76

You work for a school district as a facilities coordinator. You drive to the various schools in the district and supervise construction and remodeling and assess various building needs. When you are traveling around to the various schools, you use a district vehicle that is clearly marked as such. One day you stop at the country club and have lunch before heading to the next school since the country club is on the way. You also stop at the bank drive-thru teller to do some personal banking business. Both the lunch and the bank stop are ethical breaches.

Question 77

It would not be unethical to continue interviewing for positions after you have already accepted employment with a particular firm.

Question 78

Although you are not part of your company's engineering group, you have discovered a major flaw in the company's new paper-thin solar calculator. The calculator adds when the subtract button is pressed if there are more than 3 figures to the right of the decimal point. Since it is not your area, you should do and say nothing.

Question 79

Using things of minimal value that belong to your employer for personal reasons (such as paper, paper clips, pens) is not an ethical violation.

Question 80

Your company has several outdated computers sitting in a storage closet that no one is using. You have taken one home and set it up for personal use. This is unethical conduct.