Getting Started
Ethics and the
Employee
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
1
1
1
1
Deduce the skills and knowledge about ethics needed to be
1 successful in an authentic project
Identify general ethics terms with which to build a taxonomy See
2 vocabulary below
1
2
3 Create a working definition of ethics
1
2
4 Identify the characteristics of an ethical person
1
2
5 Develop a personal ethics assessment/self-check
1
2
6 Evaluate ethical dilemmas and propose ethical solutions
1
2
7 Compare and contrast personal ethics and social ethics
1
3
Evaluate and summarize the consequences of actual unethical
8 business practices and behavior
1
3
1
3
Identify stakeholders who might be affected as a result of unethical
9 business behavior
Display understanding of the importance of ethical corporate
10 practices
1
3
Interpret whether people are more motivated by self-interest or by
11 moral and ethical considerations
2
4
Display understanding of the ethical challenges employees face in
1 a given scenario
2
4
Evaluate different types of ethical challenges employees face in the
workplace, from conflicts of interest to unethical uses of corporate
2 resources
2
4
3 Develop vocabulary in relation to the language of ethics
2
4
4 Design a poster that encourages employees to behave ethically
2
5
Characterize the concept of loyalty and identify some of the ways in
5 which loyalty might conflict with a person’s ethics
2
5
Generalize about the degree to which employees should make
6 personal sacrifices for their employers
2
5
Explain whistle-blowing, and describe the circumstances under
7 which an employee should “blow the whistle” on his employer
Learning
Objective
Lesson No.
Unit
Name
Unit No.
EOC Exam Study Guide - Ethics in Business
Description
1
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
Description
2
5
Compare and contrast different scenarios related to employee
responsibility in the workplace and evaluate whether or not these
8 situations warrant “blowing the whistle”
3
6
Characterize the psychological relationship between authority and
1 obedience
3
6
Compare and contrast the roles authority and obedience might play
2 in regard to the workplace
3
6
Explain the concept of authority and the responsibility that authority
3 figures have to behave ethically
3
6
Evaluate some of the ethical situations managers face as authority
figures in the workplace and compare these to analogous situations
4 in the school setting
3
7
Describe qualities he admires in leaders and evaluate which of
5 those qualities contribute to “ethical leadership”
3
7
Evaluate specific ways managers can inspire and uphold ethical
6 conduct in the workplace
3
7
Describe specific examples of the ways a manager, would promote
7 ethical conduct in the workplace
4
8
Identify the different stakeholders in the school and determine how
their competing interests might raise ethical issues in school and in
1 the corporate world
4
8
Predict whether ways of reducing unethical behavior would be
2 successful based on organization type
4
8
Evaluate the measures in place at the school to promote ethics and
3 discourage unethical behavior
4
9
Describe the culture in which he lives and how the concept of
4 culture applies to school and work environments
4
9
Synthesize information she has learned about organizational ethics
5 to apply to her own school
4
9
Design and plan a survey to gather information on peers’ ethical
6 standards
4
9
Evaluate the results of a peer survey on ethical standards and
7 summarize the findings
Ethics and the Manager
Ethics and the
Organization
Learning
Objective
Lesson No.
Unit No.
Unit
Name
2
Description
5 10
Identify possible motivations for and consequences of unethical
1 management of finances
5 10
Compare and contrast types of financial mismanagement and
2 unethical accounting practices
5 10
3 Evaluate specific examples of financial mismanagement
5 11
Compare individual crimes and consequences to corporate crimes
4 and convictions
5 11
Identify and explain some of the ways the United States federal
5 government regulates business for ethics and legal compliance
Explain how the seven minimum requirements of the U.S. Federal
Sentencing Guidelines relate to common principles in business
6 ethics
5 12
Identify ethical issues involving fairness and equality that human
7 resource departments face
5 12
Summarize and interpret a news story related to a human
8 resources issue
5 11
Ethics by Discipline
Learning
Objective
Lesson No.
Unit No.
Unit
Name
Evaluate the ethical issues involved in common human resources5 12 9 related scenarios
5 13 10 Define marketing and list its main elements
5 13 11 Describe and explain the ethical issues involved in marketing
Analyze an example of unethical marketing and explain why it is
5 13 12 unethical
6 14
6 14
6 15
Evaluate the ethical standards of a company for which he would
3 like to work
Identify ways in which she considers the greater good in her daily
4 life
6 15
5 Summarize a company’s environmental sustainability plan or policy
6 15
6 Evaluate the motives that drive corporate social responsibility
6 15
7 Evaluate a company’s community involvement
Describe ethics issues related to cross-cultural values and
8 differences
6 14
Ethics and Society
6 16
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
Identify some of the ethical challenges associated with the free
1 market system
2 Compare and contrast the ethics of controversial industries
3
Learning
Objective
Lesson No.
Unit No.
Unit
Name
6 16
Description
List and compare some of the ethical issues involved in setting up
9 or doing business abroad
Evaluate some of the ethical questions that arise in an increasingly
6 16 10 global marketplace
Evaluate a company’s record of conducting business, marketing,
6 16 11 and manufacturing abroad
7 17
7 17
7 17
Career Development in 7 17
Ethics
7 18
7 18
7 18
7 18
Evaluate personal experience and qualifications for potential
1 employment opportunities
2 Display understanding of potential employment opportunities
Develop a personal educational and career path for ethics in
3 business
4 Describe personal ethical standards in a professional context
5 Demonstrate the ability to give a professional presentation
6 Evaluate personal experience and performance in the course
Monitor personal success in learning the key principles of ethics in
7 business
Summarize key learning across the whole subject of ethics in
8 business
Term
Definition
Lesson #
affirmative action
An approach to human resources in which organizations proactively recruit, hire,
and promote minorities and other underrepresented groups.
12
associate’s degree (AA)
A degree given for successful completion of some courses of study at a two-year
college.
17
audit
An independent assessment of the fairness by which a company’s financial
statements are presented by its management.
10
authority
The power or right to give orders or make decisions.
6
authority figure
A person in position of influence and power over others.
6
bachelor of business
administration (BBA)
An academic degree in commerce and business administration that typically
requires four years of study.
17
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
4
Term
Definition
Lesson #
bachelor’s degree (BA or
BS)
An academic degree typically requiring four years of study, conferred on someone
who has successfully completed undergraduate studies; a bachelor of arts is a BA
and a bachelor of science is a BS.
17
bait and switch
A form of marketing in which the retailer lures in customers by advertising a
product or a service at an unprofitably low price; the retailer then reveals to
potential customers that the advertised good is unavailable but that a substitute—
often at a higher price or lower quality—is available instead.
13
blowing the whistle
When an employee, former employee, or member of an organization reports
unethical or illegal activities to authorities with the power to take corrective action
(for example, a supervisor or the police).
5
capitalism
Economic and social system in which the means of production are mostly privately
owned and operated for profit.
14
caveat emptor
Latin term that means “let the buyer beware.” The marketing doctrine under which
the buyer cannot recover damages from the seller for defects on the property that
rendered the property unfit for ordinary purposes (unless defects were purposely
concealed).
13
channel stuffing
An accounting practice in which the manufacturer makes a large shipment to a
distributor at the end of a quarter and records the shipment as sales, even though
the distributor has not guaranteed sales of the product and has the right to return
any unsold merchandise.
10
check kiting
Making the unlawful use of one or more check or checking accounts in order to
illegally obtain or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balance or
account holder’s legal ownership.
10
closed-ended question
A survey question that limits the respondent’s answer to a pre-existing set of
answers, such as multiple-choice or scale responses.
9
code of conduct
Specific written guidelines for employee behavior.
8
code switching
The use of more than one way of speaking (in language or dialect) in conversation.
9
college
An institution of higher learning that offers undergraduate programs, usually of a
four-year duration, that lead to a bachelor’s degree in the arts or sciences (BA or
BS).
17
comparable worth
The doctrine that jobs requiring similar abilities, knowledge, and skills should be
paid the same wage, regardless of the employee’s age, race, sex, or any other
difference.
12
compliance
Acting according to accepted standards, regulations, or laws.
11
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NAF
5
Term
Definition
Lesson #
Consumer Product Safety
Act
Enacted by Congress in 1972, it established the US Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) to develop safety standards and pursue recalls for products
that present unreasonable or substantial risks of injury or death to consumers. It
also allows CPSC to ban a product if there is no feasible alternative.
13
consumer vulnerability
Susceptibility of consumers to target marketing that preys on the fears, anxieties,
or whims of customers.
13
cookie jar accounting
An accounting practice in which a company uses generous reserves from good
years against losses that might be incurred in bad years.
10
cooking the books
A buzzword describing fraudulent activities performed by corporations in order to
falsify their financial statements. Typically, cooking the books involves augmenting
financial data to yield previously nonexistent earnings, though it can also mean
deducting earnings to avoid paying taxes.
10
corporate social
responsibility
Definitions vary depending on company and context, but generally considered to
be the concept whereby companies consider the interests of society by taking
responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees,
shareholders, communities, and other stakeholders, as well as the environment.
15
cradle-to-grave philosophy
The assumption of responsibility by a business to monitor every aspect of a
product through its entire life cycle, from design (cradle) to disposal (grave).
15
culture
The learned beliefs, traditions, and guides for behavior shared among members of
a society or a group.
9
data
Information gathered for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.
9
delaying expenses
An accounting practice in which the company delays recognizing expenses
associated with revenues recorded during the period on its income statements,
usually by capitalizing expenditures that are really current expenses. (The
company capitalizes an expense item on the balance sheet as opposed to
recording it in the income statement.)
10
deregulation
The process by which the government removes, reduces, or simplifies restrictions
11
on business and individuals with the intention of encouraging the efficient operation
of markets.
discrimination
The unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice, when something
other than a person’s qualifications affect how he is treated.
12
diversity
The concept that recognizes people’s unique backgrounds and identities.
12
doctorate
One of the highest earned academic degrees conferred by a university; a Ph.D. is
a doctor of philosophy, whereas an MD is a doctor of medicine.
17
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
6
Term
Definition
Lesson #
embezzlement
The act of dishonestly appropriating goods, usually money, by one to whom the
goods have been entrusted. Embezzled funds are often separated from the
account from which they have been appropriated through money laundering, the
practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity,
source, and/or destination of the funds.
10
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
(EEOC)
The federal government agency mandated to enforce Title VII (protection against
employment discrimination) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
12
ethical dilemma
A situation in which a person is faced with two convincing yet conflicting
alternatives for the solution to a difficult problem.
2
ethics
A set of moral principles and values. Ethics are often based on the conventions
and rules of the society in which one lives.
1
ethics management
The ethics infrastructure in a business; in recent years, the allocation of resources
to formal ethics and legal compliance programs, ethics offices, and/or ethics
officers.
11
external reporting
Reporting an unethical situation to a party outside an institution, such as a
government agency or the media.
5
fair trade
A market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability
that advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental
standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods.
16
false advertising
The deliberate use of false statements or deception in advertising.
13
Four Ps
The marketing mix of product, price, promotion, and placement used as a
framework for analysis.
13
fraud
Deception or misrepresentation of information (in this context, accounts and
earnings) made for personal or corporate gain.
10
fraud triangle
A graphic framework used for describing three elements present in a fraudulent
act: incentive/pressure, opportunity, and rationalization.
10
free market
Defining feature of a market economy; it refers to a commercial environment in
which sellers and buyers are the primary actors with limited government influence.
1
free trade
Reduction of tariffs between countries; allows goods, services, and capital to flow
across national boundaries as easily as they flow within a single country.
16
globalization
The increasing economic integration and interdependence of countries, mainly
through international trade.
16
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
7
Term
Definition
Lesson #
graduate school
Post-undergraduate education, usually in pursuit of a master degree, a doctorate,
or a professional degree.
17
greenwashing
A marketing strategy whereby consumers are misled about a company’s
environmental practices or the environmental benefits of a product or a service.
13
grievance
A formal complaint based on injury, injustice, or wrong against a person.
12
harassment
Offensive conduct including, but not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or
name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults
or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work
performance.
12
hostile work environment
Exists when a worker has been made to feel uncomfortable because of
unwelcome, offensive, or intimidating actions or comments.
12
influence
A conflict of interest in which an employee’s relationship with someone might
compromise the employee’s judgment or objectivity in the workplace.
4
insider trading
The illegal practice of trading stocks for profit, by the members of a firm with inside
information (information not generally known by the public such as a new product,
a merger, a bankruptcy, etc).
5
integrity
Honesty, or following moral or ethical principles.
1
internal reporting
Reporting an unethical situation to someone within an institution.
5
kickback
A bribe offered to an employee in exchange for access to specific products,
services, privileges, or influence. Some companies have policies governing what is
an allowable gift and what is a kickback.
4
leader
A person who rules, guides, or inspires others.
7
major
The subject, theme, or professional field in which students choose to specialize
during their undergraduate education, such as accounting or marketing.
17
manager
A person who is in charge of a certain group of tasks, often with a staff of people
who report to him or her.
7
market failure
Situation where resources cannot be efficiently allocated due to the breakdown of
price mechanisms caused by factors such as establishment of monopolies.
11
marketing
The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or a
service by a producer to consumer.
13
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
8
Term
Definition
Lesson #
marketing ethics
A field of study within business ethics that deals with the moral and ethical
principles behind different marketing strategies.
13
master of business
administration (MBA)
An advanced university degree in business studies.
17
master’s degree (MA)
A graduate degree typically requiring two or three years of study beyond a
bachelor’s degree; an academic degree higher than a bachelor’s but lower than a
doctorate.
17
minor
A secondary specialization; a student might take 30 or more units in a major,
whereas a minor might require only 10–15 units.
17
mission statement
A short, essential description of an organization’s purpose.
8
moral compass
A range or scope of inner guidance and understanding in relation to ethical or
moral decision making.
3
morals
Principles concerned with the goodness or badness of human action and
character.
2
natural capitalism
A set of trends and economic reforms designed to reward energy and material
15
efficiency, to remove professional standards and accounting conventions that
prevent such efficiency, and to encourage companies to work toward sustainability.
The term was coined by Paul Hawken in his 1997 Mother Jones article, “Natural
Capitalism,” and described in detail by Hawken, Amory Lovins, and Hunter Lovins
in their 1999 book of the same title.
negative advertising
The attempt to promote a product (or a political candidate) by referring to negative
aspects of a competing product (or a competitor). Also known as attack ads.
13
negative externalities
The costs of production not immediately borne by consumers or producers (e.g.,
air pollution).
14
nonrecurring expenses
Refers to expenditures that would only occur once in order to keep them from
affecting regular operating expenses. It can be abused when a company
overbudgets for a nonrecurring expense and then moves the excess money over
as earnings.
10
non-retaliation policies
Policies that protect employees who report unethical activities from revenge or
retribution from their employers.
5
off the books
Payments for which no formal record is kept.
10
off-balance sheet
A form of financing where a company creates separate legal entities to house
liabilities or incur expenses that the parent company does not want to have on its
financial statements. Because they are not on the main company’s statements,
they are hidden from investors.
10
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
9
Term
Definition
Lesson #
offshoring
The relocation of business processes from one country to another. This includes
any business process such as production, manufacturing, or services.
16
organizational culture
The shared perspective, values, and beliefs of an organization.
9
outsourcing
The practice of having goods or services provided by a person or persons outside
the business or organization. Often used as a synonym for offshoring.
16
partiality
A conflict of interest in which an employee is inclined to favor one person or one
group over others.
4
payola
Originally used to refer to the music industry practice of illegally paying radio
stations to promote specific recordings, the term has come to refer to any secret
payment made to cast a product in a positive light.
10
performance evaluation
The manager’s written assessment of an employee’s work and behavior
(analogous to a report card).
6
philanthropy/corporate
giving
The act of donating money, goods, time, or effort to support a charitable cause,
usually over an extended period of time and for a defined objective.
15
planned obsolescence
When a producer creates a product that will become obsolete and/or nonfunctional
after a certain period or amount of use.
13
A written booklet that describes all the laws and regulations related to an
organization and its industry, as well as company or in-house policy.
8
Ponzi scheme
A fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high profits to
investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors rather than from net
profits generated by any real business activity.
10
postsecondary education
Education pursued after high school (secondary school).
17
predatory pricing
The practice of a firm selling a product at a very low price with the intent of driving
competitors out of the market, or of preventing new competitors from entering the
market.
13
prejudice
A preformed, usually unfair, opinion.
12
price fixing
An agreement between business competitors to sell the same product or service at
the same price, with the intention of ultimately pushing the price of a product as
high as possible, leading to profits for all the sellers.
13
price gouging
When a seller’s asking price is much higher than what would be considered fair
under the circumstances.
13
policy manual
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
10
Term
Definition
Lesson #
privacy
The state of being free from unsanctioned intrusion.
12
product liability
The marketing doctrine under which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers,
retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held
responsible for the injuries those products cause.
13
product placement
The process by which manufacturers or advertisers pay a fee in order for branded
products to be prominently displayed in a movie, a TV show, or other media outlet.
13
proprietary information
Information that would be valuable to a company’s competitors, including
information associated with products, business, activities, or finances.
4
quid pro quo
A Latin term meaning “this for that,” or an arrangement in which one favor is
exchanged for another.
4
regulation
Legal restrictions implemented and enforced by a government authority.
11
retribution
Punishment for a wrongdoing (similar to retaliation in Lesson 5).
7
role model
A person who sets examples for others.
7
sample
A selected population considered representative of the whole.
9
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
A US federal law enacted in 2002 in response to a number of major corporate and
accounting scandals. It establishes stricter standards for publicly held (not private)
companies, ranging from requiring corporate responsibility of financial reports to
identifying corporate fraud and records tampering as a criminal offense. The law
also requires the SEC to implement rulings on requirements to comply with the
new law.
11
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002
A United States federal law which mandated major accounting reform for publicly
held companies as well as provided whistle-blowers in publicly traded companies
with legal protection from employer retaliation.
5
social responsibility
The belief that individuals, groups, organizations, corporations, and governments
have a voluntary responsibility to society.
15
stakeholders
Persons or groups with an interest in a situation, action, or enterprise.
Stakeholders can include employees, customers, board members, communities,
owners/shareholders, lenders, and others.
1
subordinate
A person in a lower position or rank within an organization, relative to a person of a
higher rank (e.g., employee to manager). Also referred to as a direct report.
6
survey
A method of gathering information or opinions from a sample.
9
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
11
Term
Definition
Lesson #
sustainability
An approach to development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (United
Nations definition).
14
sustainable development
According to the United Nations, it is “development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.”
15
sweatshop
A working environment with very difficult or dangerous conditions, usually where
the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation and work long hours
with little pay.
16
tabulate
To count, record, or list systematically; in this case, the responses to a survey.
9
target marketing
When the marketing of a good or a service is aimed at a certain demographic,
usually determined by age, gender, geographic location, socioeconomic class,
ethnicity, race, or other factor.
13
tax evasion
An illegal practice where a person, organization, or corporation intentionally avoids
paying taxes.
10
taxonomy
A categorized list of words that are related to a particular topic.
1
termination
The end of an employee’s duration with an employer (e.g., firing or layoff).
6
truth in advertising
An employee’s or company’s ethical duty to be honest to customers about the
products or services the company offers. It is unethical to exaggerate, withhold
information, or otherwise stretch the truth in the interest of making a sale.
4
undergraduate
A university student who has not yet received a first degree.
17
university
An educational institution that usually maintains one or more four-year
undergraduate colleges (or schools) with programs leading to a bachelor’s degree,
a graduate school of arts and sciences awarding master’s and doctoral degrees,
and graduate professional schools.
17
US Federal Sentencing
Guidelines
A list of rules that maintain a uniform policy for sentencing those convicted in the
federal court system; the guidelines for corporate compliance and ethics programs.
11
US Sentencing
Commission
An independent agency of the judicial branch of the US government that creates
sentencing guidelines for the federal court system.
11
values
A person’s or group’s deeply held beliefs.
2
values statement
Similar to mission statement, but it describes the core principles of the
organization.
8
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
12
Term
Definition
Lesson #
walking the talk
Derived from the expression to walk the walk, meaning to demonstrate through
one’s actions; walking the talk means that one’s actions match one’s words (i.e., a
manager who walks the talk serves as a role model for the ethical values he or she
talks about).
7
whistle-blower
An employee or other insider who informs a higher authority of illegal, dangerous,
or unethical activity within his business or institution.
5
Developed by WestEd for
NAF
13