Chapter 1: Unethical Behaviors in Organizations and Human Nature

1. Which of the following groups or individuals are considered stakeholders in business? a) employees b) competitors c) suppliers d) consumers e) all of the above

2. Which of the following items is not a cost associated with unethical behaviors? a) legal costs b) employee theft c) reputation costs d) investor confidence e) monitoring costs

3. Which of the following operational areas are not confronted with ethical issues? a) upper management b) secretaries/administrative assistants c) mid-level management d) boards of directors e) none of the above

4. Employee theft can include which of the following: a) stealing money b) stealing time c) stealing products d) all of the above e) none of the above

5. Monitoring costs can be incurred by organizations for which of the following reasons: a) employee surveillance b) increased supervision costs c) new rules and regulations d) all of the above e) none of the above

6. Which of the following is not a competitive advantage associated with ethical organizations? a) employee motivation and productivity b) employee recruitment c) reputational equity d) all of the above e) none of the above

7. Which of the following views of human nature have implications for the way ethical issues are addressed by management? a) humans are born with prior knowledge of right and wrong b) humans are born good c) humans are born with inherited sin d) humans are “blank slates” e) all of the above f) none of the above 8. Which of the following is not considered one of Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development? a) social-contract orientation b) universal ethical principles orientation c) obedience-and-punishment orientation d) blank slate orientation e) none of the above

9. In Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, the post-conventional level of moral reasoning is based on which of the following: a) applying abstract universal principles b) applying the laws of society c) applying group membership standards d) considering benefit to the individual e) none of the above

10. In Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning is based on which of the following: a) obedience-and-punishment orientation b) applying abstract universal principles c) considering the interests of others d) considerations of pleasing others e) none of the above

11. In Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, the conventional level of moral reasoning is based on which of the following: a) applying abstract universal principles b) considering the interests of others c) the interests of the individual d) obedience-and-punishment orientation e) none of the above

12. In Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, individuals in the early stages rely on ______for determining right and wrong. a) their parents’ wishes b) their sense of justice c) avoiding punishment d) none of the above e) all of the above

13. In the most developed stages of moral reasoning, individuals rely on ______for determining right and wrong. a) group norms and rules b) universal ethical principles c) egoism d) none of the above e) all of the above

14. The three levels of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development are distinguished by ______. a) an individual’s needs and wants b) an individual’s relationship with him/herself c) an individual’s universal principles d) an individual’s relationship with society e) none of the above 15. Cognitive dissonance occurs when an individual considers ______, which creates an unpleasant state of mind. a) punishment versus reward b) inconsistent or contradictory attitudes and beliefs c) the stages of moral development d) all of the above e) none of the above

16. ______are principles compelling people to action, found in all cultures and major world religions. a) moral reasonings b) cognitive dissonances c) moral imperatives d) individual opinions e) individual rules

17. Which of the following are considered universal ethical principles? a) the “Golden Rule” b) justice c) equality d) all of the above e) none of the above

18. Motivation to progress through the stages of moral development involves which of the following: a) moral discomfort b) moral comfort c) moral complacency d) all of the above e) none of the above

19. ______are defined as the deliberate pursuit of actions intended to benefit the interests or welfare of others. a) moral imperatives b) altruistic behaviors c) societal norms d) all of the above e) none of the above

20. Which of the following is not a typical reason why good people occasionally behave unethically? a) a good person chose one set of values over a competing set of values b) a good person may justify the unethical behavior based on a reason considered more compelling c) a good person may not have intended to generate the resultant unethical outcome d) a good person may think he/she can get away with unethical behavior e) a good person may choose not to prevent an unethical behavior for compelling reasons such as fear of retaliation.

21. Which of the following can lead to unintended unethical behavior? a) misaligned management systems b) situational ambiguity c) insufficient knowledge d) all of the above e) none of the above

22. Which of the following is not cited as a reason people intentionally behave unethically? a) avoiding punishment and seeking praise b) feeling pressure to do so by those in authority c) believing that the organizational culture encourages or tolerates unethical behavior d) feeling pressure to do so by overly aggressive business objectives e) feeling pressure to do so by moral imperatives

23. Which of the following is not one of Kidder’s ethical dilemmas based on competing values? a) short term versus long term b) truth versus loyalty c) morality versus ambiguity d) individual versus community e) justice versus mercy

24. Managers and owners are also victims of unethical behaviors.

25. Most organizations face no ethical challenges.

26. An action sequence of decision-making consists of the motivation behind the act, the act itself, and the consequences of the act, which can carry ethical weight.

27. Small businesses generally face fewer problems with unethical behaviors than do large organizations.

28. Research indicates that unethical behavior in organizations is an issue in areas as diverse as government agencies, the military, construction, the law, and medical research.

29. Legal costs are the only cost associated with unethical behaviors.

30. The biggest source of retail industry theft is customers.

31. Employee theft only occurs at middle- and lower-levels of organizations.

32. Reputation management is a minor concern for most organizations.

33. Abusive supervision of employees, including verbal abuse, is associated with absenteeism, health care costs and lost productivity.

34. Research indicates linkages between ethical performance and financial performance of organizations.

35. Unethical organizations are more likely to attract higher-quality job applicants.

36. An effective method of persuading employees of the importance of being ethical is to focus on benefits of ethical behavior and costs of unethical behavior.

37. If anticipated return-on-investments (ROIs) are similar, potential lenders and investors consistently choose unethical organizations rather than ethical organizations.

38. Human nature is universally understood to predispose us to unethical behavior.

39. Egocentric punishment avoidance is associated with the pre-conventional level of moral development.

40. According to the conventional level of moral reasoning, being “good” or “right” means to be in accordance with societal rules. 41. Applying universal ethical principles such as justice and equality is associated with the pre-conventional level of moral development.

42. Cognitive dissonance leads to development of the next higher stage of moral development.

43. Moral imperatives are principles compelling people to action.

44. According to psychological research, individuals begin to lie when they are teenagers and young adults.

45. Unintended unethical behaviors can result from insufficient knowledge or situational ambiguity.

46. Managers must be concerned with both unintended and intended unethical behavior.

47. The most basic justification people provide for behaving unethically is to avoid punishment and receive praise.

48. Providing goods and services is the only ethical aspect of organizational operations.

49. A stakeholder is any person or organization that is affected by, or could affect, an organization’s goal accomplishment.

50. A common ethical dilemma involves choosing between the competing values of truth versus loyalty.

51. Provide at least three examples of costs associated with unethical behaviors. Provide an example, in the business context, for each.

52. Discuss the components of an action sequence in decision-making, and its relation to moral action.

53. Define the stakeholder conception of business ethics, and identify at least three examples of stakeholders in business.

54. Discuss Kidder’s notion of the four types of ethical dilemmas based on competing values. Provide an example of each dilemma.

55. Provide at least four examples of competitive advantages of ethical organizations.

56. Discuss the various understandings of human nature, defined as the moral, psychological and social characteristics of human beings, which are fundamental to managing ethics.

57. Define the three broad stages of moral development by including at least two characteristics of each stage: the pre-conventional level, the conventional level, and the post-conventional level.

58. Discuss why good people occasionally behave unethically. Provide at least three examples of unintended unethical behaviors.

59. Discuss the reasons people cite for behaving unethically. Provide at least three examples.

60. Discuss the most common types of unethical behaviors in organizations. Provide at least three examples.