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File: ch01, Chapter 1: Unethical Behaviors in Organizations and Human Nature
Multiple Choice
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
Ans: e
Response: See page 4
Level: Easy
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
Ans: d
Response: See pages 11-13
Level: Medium
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
Ans: e
Response: See pages 10
Level: Medium
4. Employee theft can include which of the following:
a) stealing money
b) stealing time
c) stealing products
d) all of the above
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e) none of the above
Ans: d
Response: See pages 12-13
Level: Easy
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
Ans: d
Response: See page 13
Level: Medium
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
Ans: e
Response: See pages 14-15
Level: Medium
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
Ans: e
Response: See pages18-20
Level: Medium
8. Which of the following is not considered one of Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development?
a) social-contract orientation
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b) universal ethical principles orientation
c) obedience-and-punishment orientation
d) blank slate orientation
e) none of the above
Ans: d
Response: See pages 21-23
Level: Medium
9. In Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, the postconventional 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
Ans: a
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Medium
10. In Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, the preconventional 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
Ans: a
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Medium
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
Ans: b
Response: See pages 22
Level: Medium
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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
Ans: c
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Medium
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
Ans: b
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Medium
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
Ans: d
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Difficult
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
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Ans: b
Response: See page 24
Level: Medium
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
Ans: c
Response: See page 24
Level: Medium
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
Ans: d
Response: See page 23
Level: Medium
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
Ans: a
Response: See page 24
Level: Medium
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
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d) all of the above
e) none of the above
Ans: b
Response: See page 26
Level: Medium
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.
Ans: d
Response: See page 27
Level: Medium
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
Ans: d
Response: See page 27
Level: Medium
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
Ans: e
Response: See pages 28-29
Level: Medium
23. Which of the following is not one of Kidder’s ethical dilemmas based on competing values?
a) short term versus long term
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b) truth versus loyalty
c) morality versus ambiguity
d) individual versus community
e) justice versus mercy
Ans: c
Response: See pages 27-28
Level: Medium
True/False
24. Managers and owners are also victims of unethical behaviors.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 7-8
Level: Easy
25. Most organizations face no ethical challenges.
Ans: False
Response: See page 6
Level: Easy
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.
Ans: True
Response: See page 5
Level: Medium
27. Small businesses generally face fewer problems with unethical behaviors than do large organizations.
Ans: False
Response: See page 9
Level: Easy
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.
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Ans: True
Response: See pages 8-9
Level: Easy
29. Legal costs are the only cost associated with unethical behaviors.
Ans: False
Response: See pages 10-14
Level: Easy
30. The biggest source of retail industry theft is customers.
Ans: False
Response: See page 12
Level: Medium
31. Employee theft only occurs at middle- and lower-levels of organizations.
Ans: False
Response: See pages 12-13
Level: Easy
32. Reputation management is a minor concern for most organizations.
Ans: False
Response: See page 13
Level: Easy
33. Abusive supervision of employees, including verbal abuse, is associated with absenteeism, health care
costs and lost productivity.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 13-14
Level: Medium
34. Research indicates linkages between ethical performance and financial performance of organizations.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 14-15
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Level: Easy
35. Unethical organizations are more likely to attract higher-quality job applicants.
Ans: False
Response: See page 15
Level: Easy
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.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 14-17
Level: Medium
37. If anticipated return-on-investments (ROIs) are similar, potential lenders and investors consistently
choose unethical organizations rather than ethical organizations.
Ans: False
Response: See page 16
Level: Medium
38. Human nature is universally understood to predispose us to unethical behavior.
Ans: False
Response: See pages 18-19
Level: Medium
39. Egocentric punishment avoidance is associated with the preconventional level of moral development.
Ans: True
Response: See page 22
Level: Medium
40. According to the conventional level of moral reasoning, being “good” or “right” means to be in
accordance with societal rules.
Ans: True
Response: See page 22
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Level: Medium
41. Applying universal ethical principles such as justice and equality is associated with the
preconventional level of moral development.
Ans: False
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Medium
42. Cognitive dissonance leads to development of the next higher stage of moral development.
Ans: True
Response: See page 24
Level: Medium
43. Moral imperatives are principles compelling people to action.
Ans: True
Response: See page 24
Level: Easy
44. According to psychological research, individuals begin to lie when they are teenagers and young
adults.
Ans: False
Response: See pages 24
Level: Easy
45. Unintended unethical behaviors can result from insufficient knowledge or situational ambiguity.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 27
Level: Medium
46. Managers must be concerned with both unintended and intended unethical behavior.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 27-31
Level: Medium
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47. The most basic justification people provide for behaving unethically is to avoid punishment and
receive praise.
Ans: True
Response: See page 28
Level: Easy
48. Providing goods and services is the only ethical aspect of organizational operations.
Ans: False
Response: See page 4
Level: Easy
49. A stakeholder is any person or organization that is affected by, or could affect, an organization’s goal
accomplishment.
Ans: True
Response: See page 4
Level: Easy
50. A common ethical dilemma involves choosing between the competing values of truth versus loyalty.
Ans: True
Response: See pages 27-28
Level: Medium
Essay
51. Provide at least three examples of costs associated with unethical behaviors. Provide an example, in
the business context, for each.
Ans: May include legal costs, employee theft, monitoring costs, reputation costs, abusive treatment costs,
recruitment and turnover costs.
Response: See pages 10-14
Level: Medium
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52. Discuss the components of an action sequence in decision making, and its relation to moral action.
Ans: Includes the act’s motivation, the act itself, and the consequences of the act. Ethical analysis takes
into account all aspects of an action sequence. “It is the motivation that led to the act, and the
consequences of the act, that carry ethical weight.”
Response: See page 5
Level: Medium
53. Define the stakeholder conception of business ethics, and identify at least three examples of
stakeholders in business.
Ans: “Any person or organization that is affected by, or could affect, an organization’s goal
accomplishment.” May include employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, the environment, among
others.
Response: See page 4
Level: Easy
54. Discuss Kidder’s notion of the four types of ethical dilemmas based on competing values. Provide an
example of each dilemma.
Ans: Truth vs. loyalty, individual vs. community, short term vs. long term, justice vs. mercy.
Response: See pages 27-28
Level: Medium
55. Provide at least four examples of competitive advantages of ethical organizations.
Ans: May include enhanced financial performance, higher levels of employee motivation and
productivity, increased consumer satisfaction and loyalty, opportunities with high-quality suppliers,
higher levels of investor satisfaction and loyalty, reputational advantages.
Response: See pages 14-17
Level: Medium
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.
Ans: Should include Socratic and Platonic ideas that individuals are born with a soul that forms an
individual’s inner essence; religious faith perspectives that individuals are born in the image of God, or
with a conscience, that is good, which may also include moral intuition; individuals are born morally
imperfect, or with inherited sin that must be healed; or born morally neutral, including the Aristotelian
perspectives of the mind as an “unscribed tablet” or later “blank slate”.
Response: See pages 18-20
Level: Difficult
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57. Define the three broad stages of moral development by including at least two characteristics of each
stage: the preconventional level, the conventional level, and the postconventional level.
Ans: Preconventional: moral reasoning is based on benefit to the individual, based on personal interests,
moral determination based on needs and wants; includes obedience-and-punishment orientation and
instrumental orientation. Conventional: moral reasoning is based on social role or group member
analysis, interests of others must be considered, moral determination is based on performing good or right
roles, pleasing others, maintaining societal order; includes “good-boy”-“nice-girl” orientation and “lawand-order” orientation. Postconventional Level: moral reasoning is based on application of universal
principles, there are principles beyond societal that matter, moral determination is based on abiding by
abstract principles applied to society; includes social-contract orientation and universal ethical principles
orientation.
Response: See pages 22-23
Level: Medium
58. Discuss why good people occasionally behave unethically. Provide at least three examples of
unintended unethical behaviors.
Ans: Unintended behaviors could result from insufficient knowledge, situational ambiguity, or a
misaligned management system. Examples may include choosing between competing values (Kidder’s
four types of ethical dilemmas), discussion of good motives leading to unethical results, the ambiguity or
complexity of ethical situations, and misaligned management systems that lead to unethical results that
are the consequence of the decision’s action sequence
Response: See pages 26-30
Level: Medium
59. Discuss the reasons people cite for behaving unethically. Provide at least three examples.
Ans: The most basic justification is to avoid punishment and receive praise. Some people attribute
unethical behavior to their perceptions of organizational cultures that either encourage or tolerate
unethical behaviors. Some behave unethically as a result of feeling pressured to do so by authority
figures, pursuit of overly aggressive objectives, perceptions of loyalty or wanting to be a “team player”,
or other perceived pressures. Some believe that the end goal or “ends” justify the means of unethical
behavior.
Response: See pages 28-29
Level: Medium
60. Discuss the most common types of unethical behaviors in organizations. Provide at least three
examples.
Ans: May include reference to the types identified in the Ethics Resource Center survey, including
company resource abuse, abusive or intimidating behavior toward employees, lying to employees, email
or internet abuse, conflicts of interest, discrimination, lying to outside stakeholders, employee benefit
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violations, employee privacy breach, improper hiring practices, or falsifying time or expenses. Unethical
behaviors can be considered by extent, profession and industry, and operation areas.
Response: See pages 5-8
Level: Medium
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