Deck 3: Social Responsibility and Ethics

Question 1

Stakeholders are all those who are affected by or can affect the activities of the firm.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The media, social interest groups, and consumer groups are all considered primary stakeholders.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The primary stakeholders of a firm are those who have a formal, official, or contractual relationship with the organization.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Stakeholder is simply another word for stockholder.

Question 5

Secondary stakeholders are those individuals or organizations that have a formal, official, or contractual relationship with the organization.

Question 6

If Ace Lumber had a contract with Centex to provide the company with building materials, from Centex's perspective Ace Lumber would be a primary stakeholder.

Question 7

If you owned stock in IBM, you would be considered to be a primary stakeholder of the IBM Corporation.

Question 8

If you live near a stream and are affected by the pollutants that a nearby chemical factory puts into the stream, then you are a primary stakeholder of the chemical factory.

Question 9

In a very general sense, corporate social responsibility is defined as the interaction between business and the social environment in which it exists.

Question 10

To be considered a moral agent, a business must act in a way that is considered moral.

Question 11

Milton Friedman's perspective on social responsibility is best characterized as social responsiveness.

Question 12

In direct contrast to H.R. Bowen's concepts of social contract and moral agent, the economic responsibility perspective of social responsibility argues that corporations cannot be moral agents.

Question 13

The four primary perspectives of corporate social responsibility are economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, and philanthropic responsibility.

Question 14

Proponents of the economic responsibility perspective argue that corporations cannot be moral agents.

Question 15

The legal responsibility perspective argues that business should act in ways that are consistent with public policy.

Question 16

The economic responsibility perspective of social responsibility stipulates that businesses should act in a way that is consistent with society's view of responsible behavior as well as with established laws and policies.

Question 17

Supporters of the legal responsibility perspective include a "broad pattern of social direction" in the concept of public policy.

Question 18

An organization that is primarily focused on making a profit within the "rules of the game subscribes to the economic perspective of social responsibility.

Question 19

The four faces of social responsibility are legal/responsible, illegal/responsible, legal/irresponsible, and illegal/irresponsible.

Question 20

Social responsiveness implies a proactive and tangible effort to contribute to the well-being of society.

Question 21

Simply failing to act in a socially responsible way is a social responsibility strategy referred to as accommodation.

Question 22

Organizations will typically behave in ways that are consistent with their overall strategy for responding to social issues.

Question 23

Most organizations use very similar approaches to corporate social responsibility-with maximizing shareholder wealth the dominant perspective of all firms.

Question 24

The Manville Corporation's handling of the asbestos issue can best be described as a proactive approach to corporate social responsibility.

Question 25

Proactively seeking to improve the welfare of society is a social responsibility strategy referred to as proaction.

Question 26

Organizations that pursue a reaction strategy respond to social challenges only when it is necessary to defend their current position.

Question 27

All organizations should pursue the social responsibility strategy of proaction.

Question 28

Ethics is defined as behavior that is morally accepted as "good or "right as opposed to "bad or "wrong in a particular setting.

Question 29

Instrumental values are defined as personal and social values.

Question 30

The two types of values that provide a foundation for an individual's sense of ethics are referred to as instrumental values and terminal values.

Question 31

A situation in which a person must decide whether or not to do something that, although beneficial to oneself or the organization or both, may be considered unethical is called a social responsibility decision.

Question 32

Managers today must act in a socially responsible fashion; thus, ethics is solely the task of top management.

Question 33

Values are based on what a person has learned through interactions with family, friends, teachers, and peers.

Question 34

Terminal values are also known as means-oriented values.

Question 35

The three international ethical issues that have been subject to the greatest scrutiny by the media, government and others are corruption, inadequate labor conditions, and environmental responsibility.

Question 36

In most cases, the ethical standards and social responsibility of an organization or business do not reflect the personal values of the organization's founders or dominant managers.

Question 37

Values are the relatively permanent and deeply held preferences of individuals or groups. They are the basis upon which attitudes and personal choices are formed.

Question 38

Values are developed from everything learned from parents, family, teachers, peers, friends, etc.

Question 39

Generally, an organization's value system is referred to as organizational culture rather than values.

Question 40

According to a study conducted by International Communication Research, nearly one half of American workers have engaged in unethical behavior as a result of technology.

Question 41

The human rights approach is often referred to as a cost-benefit analysis because it compares the costs and benefits of a decision.

Question 42

The main drawback of the utility approach is the difficulty of accurately measuring both costs and benefits.

Question 43

Because of its many limitations, cost-benefit analysis is rarely used in business.

Question 44

The approach to business ethics that emphasizes the overall amount of good that can be produced by an action or a decision is referred to as the human rights approach.

Question 45

The utility approach to business ethics emphasizes the overall amount of good that can be produced by an action or a decision.

Question 46

The main limitation on using the human rights approach as a basis for ethical decision-making is the difficulty of balancing conflicting human rights.

Question 47

When applying the justice approach to business ethics, decisions are based on an equitable, fair, and impartial distribution of benefits (rewards) and costs among individuals and groups.

Question 48

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act governs the actions of U.S. firms engaged in international business activities.

Question 49

At the association level, groups can join together and establish codes of ethics for their industry or profession and provide mechanisms for monitoring and disciplining members who violate the code.

Question 50

At the individual level, the challenge for organizations is to develop employees' awareness of business ethics as well as to help them confront complex ethical issues.

Question 51

A Code of Ethics describes the general value system, ethical principles, and specific ethical rules that a company tries to apply.

Question 52

Effective codes of ethics can generally only serve the short-term interests of an organization.

Question 53

Ethics statements and social responsibility policies are sufficient by themselves to cause people to behave in socially responsible ways.

Question 54

The primary purpose of a code of ethics is to give a company a legal defense when illegal or unethical acts are committed by employees.

Question 55

A company may have a very high ethical code of conduct but if the CEO and top management don't support it, it will not produce ethical behavior in the company.

Question 56

It is unimportant whether the CEO follows the company's code of conduct.

Question 57

The content and approach of ethics training programs may differ depending on an organization's goals.

Question 58

Ethical training programs have been shown to help employees avoid rationalizations often used to legitimize unethical behavior.

Question 59

The content and approach of ethics training programs are generally the same across different organizations.

Question 60

Rationalizations used to justify organizational misconduct include: the activity is not really illegal or immoral; it will never be found out; the company will condone it because it helps the company; and, it is in the individual's or company's best interest.

Question 61

A whistleblower is someone who exposes organizational wrongdoing in order to preserve ethical standards and protect against wasteful, harmful, or illegal acts.

Question 62

One major reason for the increase in reported incidents of whistleblowing is that most organizations and employees support whistleblowers coming forward with their information.

Question 63

Any individual who is affected by or can affect the activities of an organization is referred to as a/an

A) associate.
B) stockholder.
C) corporate constituent.
D) primary role-holder.
E) stakeholder.

Question 64

Even though you may not use a cell phone, you are a __________ of the wireless communications industry because you are affected by everyone else's use of the phones.

A) corporate constituent
B) stakeholder
C) stockholder
D) fundamental observer
E) vested participant

Question 65

The current perspective of __________ is much broader than in years past and encompasses such groups as the government, consumers, owners, employees, and communities throughout the globe.

A) stakeholders
B) investors
C) implied constituents
D) stockholders
E) primary role-holders

Question 66

Rick Anderson owns a construction company. He recently signed a contract with a local motel to do some remodeling work. From the perspective of the motel, Rick is a

A) tertiary stakeholder.
B) primary stockholder.
C) secondary stockholder.
D) primary stakeholder.
E) secondary stakeholder.

Question 67

__________ stakeholders are those who have a formal, official, or contractual relationship with the organization.

A) Primary
B) Tertiary
C) Secondary
D) Ancillary
E) Downriver

Question 68

Ms. Jones used to enjoy hanging some things outdoors to dry rather than always using her dryer. Since the new manufacturing plant opened however she has stopped hanging things outdoors because she often finds gray spots on her laundry. Ms. Jones is a __________ of the new manufacturing plant.

A) tertiary stakeholder
B) primary stockholder
C) subsequent stockholder
D) primary stakeholder
E) secondary stakeholder

Question 69

For most organizations, members of local community groups, the media, the ACLU, and consumer groups are all considered to be

A) primary stakeholders.
B) quasi-stakeholders.
C) tertiary stakeholders.
D) minor stakeholders.
E) secondary stakeholders.

Question 70

The traditional view of socially responsible behavior considers only the stockholders. Contemporary theory recognizes a much broader group of constituents, referred to as

A) stakeholders.
B) corporate constituents.
C) implied constituents.
D) explicit constituents.
E) primary role-holders.

Question 71

Corporate social responsibility is an organizational issue concerning the obligations of __________ to __________.

A) business-society
B) industry-government
C) business-industry
D) industry-society
E) business-individuals

Question 72

In the early 1950s H.R. Bowen proposed the concept of __________, that businesses and managers have an obligation to "pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action that are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society."

A) business ethics
B) management
C) social responsibility
D) human resource management
E) business reengineering

Question 73

According to H.R. Bowen, the concept of social responsibility rests on two premises:

A) public responsibility and economic responsibility.
B) individual scrutiny and corporate scrutiny.
C) moral principle and social principle.
D) legal entity and individual entity.
E) social contract and moral agent.

Question 74

The concept of social responsibility rests on two premises, social contract and

A) legal entity.
B) social agent.
C) moral agent.
D) corporate scrutiny.
E) public responsibility.

Question 75

A business is called a __________ when it fulfills its obligation to act honorably and to reflect and enforce values that are consistent with those of society.

A) moral principle
B) public entity
C) legal entity
D) moral agent
E) consumer agency

Question 76

An implied set of rights and obligations that are inherent to social policy and assumed by business is referred to as

A) moral agent.
B) public entity.
C) legal entity.
D) moral contract.
E) social contract.

Question 77

Because owners of restaurants operate at the pleasure of society, we expect them to comply with the guidelines of society including the rules and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration regarding food preparation and sanitary working conditions. This expectation is based on the social responsibility premise referred to as

A) legal contract.
B) ethical contract.
C) discretionary agent.
D) moral contract.
E) social contract.

Question 78

Television networks have been criticized for airing programs during prime-time viewing hours that contain material that many people find unsuitable for children. The expectation that television networks should not broadcast material unsuitable for children during prime-time viewing hours is based on the social responsibility premise referred to as

A) exemplary agent.
B) moral agent.
C) conscientious contract.
D) ethical contract.
E) discretionary agent.

Question 79

The Florida legislature enacted a law forbidding smoking in all restaurants. Under the concept of __________, citizens of the Florida, as well as the state governmental agencies, expect restaurants to comply with the edict.

A) moral agent
B) ethical contract
C) social contract
D) ethical responsibility
E) economic responsibility

Question 80

The four primary perspectives of corporate social responsibility are

A) social responsiveness, legal responsibility, philanthropic responsiveness, and global responsibility.
B) economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, and philanthropic responsibility.
C) consumer responsibility, social responsibility, legal responsibility, and global responsibility.
D) economic responsibility, public responsibility, social responsiveness, and philanthropic responsibility.
E) legal responsibility, public responsibility, global responsibility, and consumer responsiveness.