Deck 6: Ethical Decision Making: Employer Responsibilities and Employee Rights

Question 1

If a firm decides to retain employees on the basis of longevity with the firm, and the retained employees are mostly of the male gender, then legally, the firm will not be violating any regulations.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: From a legal perspective, the decision about whom to include in a downsizing effort must be carefully planned. If the firm's decision is based on some criterion that seems to be neutral on its face, such as seniority, but the plan results in a different impact on one group than another, the decision may be suspect. In this case of retention based on longevity, the effort may violate Title VII's prohibition against discrimination based on gender because the termination policy has a more significant-and negative-impact on women.

Question 2

Employees have a universal right to a "happy" workplace.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: While no one is claiming that employees have some universal right to a "happy" workplace, a comprehensive review of research by Jeffrey Pfeffer suggests that effective firms are characterized by a set of common practices, all of which involve treating employees in humane and respectful ways.

Question 3

In legal contexts, due process is the right to be protected against the arbitrary use of authority.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Philosophically, the right of due process is the right to be protected against the arbitrary use of authority. In legal contexts, due process refers to the procedures that police and courts must follow in exercising their authority over citizens.

Question 4

The most important influence on workers' commitment is salary.

Question 5

A mistreatment needs to be physically threatening to be termed as "bullying."

Question 6

Philosophically, the right of _____ is the right to be protected against the arbitrary use of authority.

A)continuance
B)freedom of association
C)due process
D)self-determination

Question 7

Rewards and compensation structures have no impact on the emotions of workers.

Question 8

Employment security is the most significant aspect of work from the employee's ethical perspective.

Question 9

Identify the correct statement about "bullying."

A)The mistreatment of an employee needs to be physically threatening to be termed as bullying.
B)Bullying does not involve a boss who is constantly yelling dictates at workers because that is his job.
C)When a coworker spreads rumors about another in order to sabotage his position, he is not regarded as bullying as he is not higher than the other employee in the hierarchy of authority.
D)Bullying can lead to a complete loss of personal dignity, intimidation, and fear.

Question 10

"Sweatshops" lack even the most basic health and safety protections.

Question 11

Standards are fundamentally a social approach that can address public policy questions ignored by markets.

Question 12

Some employers might decide to treat employees well as a means to produce greater workplace harmony and productivity. This approach is reminiscent of _____ ethics.

A)deontological
B)utilitarian
C)normative
D)Kantian

Question 13

When the employer is the government, constitutional limitations on government authority are extended into the workplace to protect employees.

Question 14

The "feasibility" approach to standards allows OSHA to make tradeoffs between health and economics.

Question 15

The life of one who dies in a workplace accident has instrumental value that can be measured, in part, by the lost wages that would have been earned had that person lived.

Question 16

The doctrine of 'employment at will'(EAW) holds that unless an agreement specifies otherwise, employers are free to fire an employee at any time and for any reason.

Question 17

It is discriminatory to refuse to hire someone about whom you simply have a "bad feeling," even if that bad feeling is not based on their difference in race or gender.

Question 18

Which of the following statements is true about the right of due process?

A)In legal contexts, due process refers to the procedures that police and courts must follow in exercising their authority over citizens.
B)Few dispute that the state, through its police and courts, has the authority to punish citizens. This authority of the state is the right of due process.
C)Due process in the workplace acknowledges employees' authority over an employer.
D)In legal contexts, due process refers to the unlimited authority that police and courts have over citizens, to create a safe and orderly society.

Question 19

Some employers emphasize the rights and duties of all employees, and treat employees well simply because "it is the right thing to do." Identify the ethical approach for this perspective.

A)Prescriptive ethics
B)Utilitarianism
C)Deontological ethics
D)Classicism

Question 20

"Relative risks" is determined by comparing the probabilities of harm involved in various activities.

Question 21

Enlightened self-interest would be a valuable theory to introduce and apply in the _____ approach to health and safety.

A)market controlled
B)integrative
C)acceptable risk
D)government-regulated

Question 22

Identify the correct statement about government standards in the government-regulated ethics approach to health and safety.

A)Due to its focus on prevention rather than compensation, standards cannot address the "first generation" problem of the market controlled approach to health and safety.
B)Standards would favor individual bargaining between employers and employees as the approach to workplace health and safety.
C)Standards can overcome market failures that result from insufficient information.
D)Standards call for the determination of comparison of probabilities of harm involved in various activities.

Question 23

Identify the doctrine which holds that employers are free to fire an employee at any time and for any reason, unless an agreement specifies otherwise.

A)The doctrine of estoppel
B)The doctrine of constructive notice
C)The doctrine of constructive dismissal
D)The doctrine of employment at will

Question 24

In some regions, employees lack even the most basic health and safety protections in their workplaces. Such work environments are termed as ____.

A)op shops
B)holes-in-the-walls
C)haberdasheries
D)sweatshops

Question 25

Which of the following problems are associated with the market controlled approach to health and safety?

A)Employees do not know the risks involved in a job and therefore are not in a position to freely bargain for appropriate wages.
B)It ignores the fundamental deontological right an employee might have to a safe and healthy working environment.
C)It assumes an equivalency between workplace risks and other types of risks when there are significant differences between them.
D)It treats employees disrespectfully by ignoring their input as stakeholders.

Question 26

During the process of downsizing, allowing a worker to remain in a position for a period of time once she or he has been notified of impending termination might not be the best option. Identify the correct justification for this statement.

A)Workers will interpret early notice as an effort to allow them time to come to grips with the loss of their jobs.
B)Terminated workers will not be inclined to put their best effort, which might result in lost revenues.
C)Workers who are not terminated will have a bad impression about the organization for terminating their coworkers.
D)Terminated workers may interpret early notice as an effort to get the most out of them before departure.

Question 27

When can we conclude that an activity has an "acceptable level of risk?"

A)If it can be determined that the probability of harm involved in a specific work activity is manageable.
B)If the probability of harm involved in a specific work activity is acceptable by insurance and workers' compensation laws.
C)If it can be determined that the probability of harm involved in a specific work activity is equal to or less than the probability of harm of some more common activity.
D)If the employers are willing to compensate the harm caused to workers for a specific activity.

Question 28

Which of the following statements about the doctrine of employment at will (EAW) is true?

A)Employment at will holds that employers can fire an employee at any time, but have to provide them with a valid reason.
B)The freedom to terminate the employer-employee relationship is mutual, both theoretically and practically.
C)The ethical rationale for EAW has both utilitarian and deontological elements.
D)Civil rights laws are not an exception to the EAW because it prohibits firing someone on the basis of membership in certain prohibited classes.

Question 29

Which of the following approaches to health and safety at the workplace can be considered paternalistic decision making which treats employees like children and makes crucial decisions for them?

A)Government-regulated ethics approach
B)Diversifiable risk approach
C)Acceptable level of risk approach
D)Market controlled approach

Question 30

Discussions in ethics about employee health and safety tend to focus on the relative risks workers face and the level of acceptable workplace risk because:

A)workers' compensation is easier to calculate.
B)employers cannot be responsible for providing an ideally safe and healthy workplace.
C)insurance laws mandate the focus on relative risks and acceptability of workplace risk.
D)it results in a completely safe and healthy workplace.

Question 31

With regard to health and safety at workplace, _____ can be defined as the probability of harm.

A)obstacles
B)impediments
C)risks
D)barriers

Question 32

The life of one who dies in a workplace accident has _____ value that can be measured, in part, by the lost wages that would have been earned had that person lived.

A)absolute
B)instrumental
C)intrinsic
D)extrinsic

Question 33

With regard to health and safety at workplace, _____ can be determined by comparing the probabilities of harm involved in various activities.

A)variable obstacles
B)absolute impediments
C)relative risks
D)comparative barriers

Question 34

Comparison of the probabilities of harm involved in various activities would determine the ____.

A)acceptable level of risks
B)absolute risks
C)speculative risks
D)relative risks

Question 35

The issue of workplace bullying is more predominant in the service sector because:

A)it lacks the right of due process.
B)that work relies significantly on interpersonal relationships and interaction.
C)of its strong hierarchy of authority.
D)most of the organizations in this sector are decentralized.

Question 36

Identify the challenge faced by the acceptable risk approach to health and safety.

A)It is a liberal approach to health and safety that allows employees to recognize the risk they are likely to face.
B)It involves the determination of "relative risks," the calculation of which is a complicated process and not always reliable.
C)It assumes differences between workplace risks and other types of risks when there are significant similarities between them.
D)It ignores the fundamental deontological right an employee might have to a safe and healthy working environment.

Question 37

Which of the following is true of health and safety at the workplace?

A)Health and safety have instrumental value and intrinsic value.
B)Employers are responsible to provide a completely safe and healthy workplace.
C)Financial compensation can replace the value of life lost due to lack of health and safety measures.
D)Employers do not have the right to fire employees on grounds of health and safety.

Question 38

Which of the following is true of the acceptable risk approach to health and safety?

A)It is a liberal approach to health and safety that allows employees to recognize the risk they are likely to face.
B)It involves the determination of "relative risks," the calculation of which is a complicated process and not always reliable.
C)It treats employees disrespectfully by ignoring their input as stakeholders.
D)It assumes differences between workplace risks and other types of risks when there are significant similarities between them.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is true about the market controlled approach to health and safety?

A)It treats employees disrespectfully by ignoring their input as stakeholders.
B)In this approach, employees are free to choose the risks they are willing to face by bargaining with employers.
C)It assumes an equivalency between workplace risks and other types of risks when there are significant differences between them.
D)It calls for the determination of comparison of probabilities of harm involved in various activities.

Question 40

The _____ value of the life is something that financial compensation cannot replace.

A)absolute
B)instrumental
C)intrinsic
D)extrinsic

Question 41

Which of the following refers to a policy or a program that tries to respond to instances of past discrimination by implementing proactive measures to ensure equal opportunity today?

A)Gentrification
B)Bully Broads
C)Just cause
D)Affirmative action

Question 42

According to the universal principle of Kantian philosophy, the ethical obligation of _____ should guide employment interactions.

A)family responsibilities
B)respect for people
C)religion
D)core customs

Question 43

The life of one who dies in a workplace accident has _____ value that can be measured, in part, by the lost wages that would have been earned had that person lived.

Question 44

Which of the following affirmative action plans would include training plans and programs, focused recruiting activity, or the elimination of discrimination?

A)Quasi-affirmative action
B)Executive affirmation action
C)Judicial affirmative action
D)Voluntary affirmative action

Question 45

The 'Tripartite' part of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy refers to critical cooperation necessary from all of the following except:

A)governments.
B)employers' and workers' organizations.
C)multinational enterprises involved.
D)the suppliers and agents associated with the firm.

Question 46

All of the following are ways through which affirmative action can arise at the workplace except:

A)through legal requirements.
B)through judicial affirmative action.
C)consultant based affirmative action.
D)voluntary affirmative action plans.

Question 47

For employee health and safety in the workplace, " _____ " is determined by comparing the probabilities of harm involved in various activities.

Question 48

Identify the approach that allows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to make tradeoffs between health and economics.

A)Sustainability approach
B)Integrative approach
C)Market controlled approach
D)Feasibility approach

Question 49

The Title VII of the ____, passed in 1964, created the prohibited classes of discrimination.

A)International Labour Act
B)United States Civil Rights Act
C)Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Act
D)Uniform Employment Termination Act

Question 50

EAW is the default position on which courts will rely until and unless an exception can be demonstrated. The burden of proof lies with the dismissed employee to show that she or he was unjustly or illegally fired. Due process and ____, whether instituted as part of internal corporate policy or through legislation, would reverse this burden of proof and require employers to show cause to justify the dismissal of an employee.

Question 51

An organization, in an attempt to avoid discrimination suits filed against it, intentionally hires a lot of African-American women, and a few disabled people. Which of the following is most likely to occur?

A)The performance of the organization will increase.
B)The organization will win an award for equity.
C)There will be an increase in the number of diversity training sessions.
D)A white man or a woman will file a reverse discrimination suit.

Question 52

Identify the distinguishing feature between cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness.

A)Cost-effectiveness is ethically problematic.
B)Cost-benefit analysis adopts the most efficient means available to achieving a particular standard.
C)Cost-benefit analysis is ethically problematic.
D)Cost-effectiveness uses economic criteria before setting the standards.

Question 53

Critics in both industry and government argue that OSHA should aim to achieve the optimal, rather than highest feasible, level of safety. Which of the following can be used to achieve this goal?

A)Cost-utility analysis
B)Cost-minimization analysis
C)Cost-benefit analysis
D)Cost-effectiveness analysis

Question 54

Which of the following is discrimination against those traditionally considered to be in power or the majority?

A)Reverse discrimination
B)Affirmative action
C)Inverse discrimination
D)Backward discrimination

Question 55

Which of the following statements is true about cost-benefit analysis?

A)It treats health and safety merely as an intrinsic value and denies its instrumental value.
B)It requires that an economic value be placed on one's life and bodily integrity.
C)It adopts the least expensive and most efficient means available to achieve existing standards.
D)It uses ethical criteria in setting standards.

Question 56

A claim which states that people who 'pay' for wrongs are unfairly burdened and should not bear the responsibility for the acts of others, is opposing ____.

A)reverse discrimination
B)judicial activity within organizations
C)affirmative action
D)authoritative leadership

Question 57

The doctrine of _____ holds that, unless an agreement specifies otherwise, employers are free to fire an employee at any time and for any reason.

Question 58

Which of the following is an example of reverse discrimination in America?

A)An African-American interviewer rejects another African-American based on ethnicity.
B)A female interviewer rejects a male interviewee because of gender.
C)A white interviewer rejects an African-American based on ethnicity.
D)A female interviewer rejects another female interviewee because of gender.

Question 59

The law relating to affirmative action applies only to about 20 percent of the workforce who are subject to Executive Order 11246, which requires affirmative action efforts to ensure equal opportunity. Which of the following is required by courts in order to remedy a finding of past discrimination, when Executive Order 11246 is not applicable?

A)Voluntary affirmative action
B)Judicial affirmative action
C)Quasi-affirmative action
D)Executive affirmation action

Question 60

In 1970, the U.S. Congress established the _____ and charged it with establishing workplace health and safety standards.

Question 61

Remunerate the various problems associated with workplace health and safety as a market controlled approach.

Question 62

How do mandatory government standards work?

Question 63

_____ is discrimination against those traditionally considered to be in power or the majority.

Question 64

The term _____ refers to a policy or a program that tries to respond to instances of past discrimination by implementing proactive measures to ensure equal opportunity today.

Question 65

Discuss the various ways through which affirmative action can arise within a workplace.

Question 66

A commitment to using _____ for setting standards would require that, once the standards are set, we adopt the least expensive and most efficient means available for achieving those standards.

Question 67

Discuss in brief, the guidelines suggested for tackling downsizing within an organization.

Question 68

Explain the concept of standards and cost-benefit analysis. Discuss the advantages of cost-effectiveness as against the cost-benefit analysis.

Question 69

What are the different ways in which women experience discrimination at the workplace?

Question 70

Discuss the crucial aspect of employment at will (EAW), where it is given first preference.

Question 71

The use of _____ analysis in setting workplace health and safety standards commits us to treating worker health and safety as just another commodity, another individual preference, to be traded off against competing commodities.

Question 72

Correlate the right of due process to the workplace.

Question 73

Describe in brief, the two approaches to employee treatment discussed in this chapter.

Question 74

Discuss the issue of giving notice to the employees about organizational downsizing.

Question 75

Contrast the two dominant perspectives on sweatshops.

Question 76

Discuss the various aspects associated with employment at will (EAW).

Question 77

_____ refers to the presence of differing cultures, languages, ethnicities, races, affinity orientations, genders, religious sects, abilities, social classes, ages, and national origins of the individuals in a firm.

Question 78

Correlate health and safety issues at workplace with ideals.

Question 79

What is affirmative action?

Question 80

Summarize the influences of diversity within a workplace.