FBLA Business Ethics

What are business ethics guided by?

a. Consistently cuts corners and makes excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

b. Mostly by law, other times provide a basic framework that businesses may choose to follow in order to gain public approval

c. Fair dealings with customers and vendors including competitive pricing timely payments and the highest quality standards in the manufacture of its products

b. Mostly by law, other times provide a basic framework that businesses may choose to follow in order to gain public approval

How do we prevent unethical behavior?

a. By listening to feedback and assessing needs

b. Set realistic goals for employees

c. By paying on time and utilizing fair buying prices

d. Poor planning and faults elsewhere in the business

b. Set realistic goals for employees

What happens if employees are expected to meet unreachable goals?

a. By paying time and utilizing fair buying prices

b. By valuing opinions and treating each employee as an equal

c. Sometimes slack in their performance and take credit for completing tasks that were left in completed

d. They could engage in unethical behavior to reach those goals

d. They could engage in unethical behavior to reach those goals

How does an ethical business demonstrate respect to its customers?

a. By being environmentally responsible showing concern and giving back as it sees fit

b. By listening to feedback and assessing needs

c. By paying on time and utilizing fair buying practices

d. By valuing opinions and treating each employee as an equal

b. By listening to feedback and assessing needs

A lack of ethics has a negative effect in employee performance.In some cases, employees are so concerned with getting ahead and making money that they ignore procedures and protocol

a. Employee relations

b. Business ethics

c. Employee performance

d. Company credibility

c. Employee performance

Actions for which a person or group of people can be held responsible for,either rewarded or liable for?

a. Employee relations

b. Company credibility

c. Social responsibility

d. Laws and regulations at the local, state, and federal levels. It treats its employees fairly, communicating with them honestly and openly

c. Social responsibility

How does an ethical demonstrate respect to its employees?

a. By valuing opinions and treating each employee as an equal

b. By paying on time and utilizing fair buying practices

c. By listening to feedback and assessing needs

d. By being environmentally responsible, showing concern and giving back as it sees fit

a. By valuing opinions and treating each employee as an equal

How does an ethical business demonstrate respect to its vendors?

a. By paying on time and utilizing fair buying practices

b. By listening to feedback and assessing needs

c. By valuing opinions and treating each employee as an equal

d. By being environmentally responsible, showing concern and giving back as it sees fit

a. By paying on time and utilizing fair buying practices

Solid relationships that are equally beneficial and both party's reap the benefits. An ethical business stays loyal to it's partnership even in challenging times.

a. Loyalty

b. Integrity

c. Employee performance

d. Employee relations

a. Loyalty

What happens to untrained employees

a. Consistently

b. Consistently cuts corners and makes excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

c. They could engage in unethical behavior to reach those goals

d. Sometimes slack in their performance and take credit for completing tasks that were left in-completed

b. Consistently cuts corners and makes excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

An all encompassing characteristics of an ethical business

a. Consistently

b. Company credibility

c. Loyalty

d. Integrity

d. Integrity

The study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues such as corporate governance insider trading bribery discrimination corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibility's

a. Company credibility

b. Employee relations

c. Employee performance

d. Business ethics

d. Business ethics

_______ monitor employee performance

a. Set realistic goals for employees

b. Consistently cuts corners and make excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

c. Integrity

d. Consistently

d. Consistently

How does an ethical business show respect to its community

a. By paying on time and utilizing fair buying prices

b. By being environmentally responsible showing concern and giving back as it sees fit

c. By listening to feedback and assessing needs

d. By valuing opinions and treating each employee as equal

b. By being environmentally responsible showing concern and giving back as it sees fit

When a manager or head of business exhibits a lack of ethical behavior he faces of losing respect

a. Employee performance

b. Employee relations

c. Company credibility

d. Loyalty

b. Employee relations

What happens to employees left unmonitored

a. By being environmentally responsible showing concern and giving back as it sees fit

b. Consistently cuts corners and make excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

c. They could engage in unethical behavior to reach those goals

d. Sometimes slack in their performance and take credit for completing tasks that were left in completed

d. Sometimes slack in their performance and take credit for completing tasks that were left in completed

Why does lack of ethics appear?

a. Poor planing and faults elsewhere in the business

b. By listening and assessing needs

c. Fair dealings with customers and vendors competitive pricing, timely payments and highest quality standards in the manufacture of its products

d. By paying in time and utilizing fair buying prices

a. Poor planing and faults elsewhere in the business

What does ethical business adhere to?

a. Fair dealings with customers and vendors including competitive pricing, timeless payments and highest quality standards in the manufacture of its products

b. Laws and regulations at local, state, and federal levels. It treats its employees fairly, communicating with them honestly and openly

c. Consistently cuts corners and make excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

d. Social responsibility

b. Laws and regulations at local, state, and federal levels. It treats its employees fairly, communicating with them honestly and openly

What does integrity demonstrate?

a. Poor planing and faults elsewhere in the business

b. Sometimes slack in their performance and take credit for completing tasks that were left in completed

c. Consistently cuts corners and make excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires

d. Fair dealings with customers and vendors including competitive pricing, timely payments and highest quality standards in the manufacture of its products

d. Fair dealings with customers and vendors including competitive pricing, timely payments and highest quality standards in the manufacture of its products

If a lack of ethics in a business becomes public knowledge that business lose credibility

a. Employee performance

b. Company credibility

c. Integrity

d. Employee relations

b. Company credibility

Accountability

refers to how closely workplace decisions are aligned with a firm's strategic direction

Oversight

provides a system of checks and balances that limits employees and minimizes opportunities for misconduct

Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations

standards and procedures capable of detecting and preventing misconduct:-high level of oversignt- care in delegation of authority- systems to monitor, audit, and report misconduct

Audit

a methodical examination or review of a condition or situation. also, a review of the accounting practices of a company made by a CPA

Primary stakeholder

those whose continued association is necessary for a firm's survival

Secondary stakeholder

those who are not essential to a company's survival (media, trade, associations, etc.)

Stakeholder orientation

the degree to which a firm understands and addresses stakeholder demands.-3 activities: generation of data, distribution of info., organization's responsiveness

Stakeholder

those who have a stake or claim in some aspect of a company's products, operations, markets, industry, and outcomes.

Stakeholder framework

helps identify internal and external stakeholders. helps monitor and respond to the needs, values, and expectations of stakeholder groups

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

agency charged with investigating discrimination claims

ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act)

prohibits discrimination against employees of 40 years of age or older. the discrimination is considered "wrong" unless the victim is doing unsatisfactory in job

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

Prohibits discrimination against disabled workers.Protects employees and applicants.Does not protect those who cannot do the job in question. the person must perform essential functions (core duties of the position).Protects those who may do the work with reasonable accommodation.Companies with 15 or more employees.The disability must substantially limit a major life activity

FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)

Employers with 50+ employees must allow leave to employees under certain conditions:

a) child care after birth

b) care of ill family member

c) An employee has serious health condition requires minimum amount of time and work at job. Employee must be reinstated at same position or equivalent position upon return.

4 areas of business ethics

1. relationship between business + consumers

2. relationship between employers + employees

3. the nature + value of special forms of business organization-most notably, that of the corporation

4. the nature + value of financial markets

Tort claims against employers

a.) intentional infliction of severe emotional distress (outrageous conduct)

b.) fraud

c.) intentional interference with economic relations

d.) invasion of privacy

e.) defamation

Undue hardship

-limit to reasonable accommodation

-action requiring significant difficulty or expense for the employer (in regards to disability):

a. cost of accommodation

b. resources of employer

c. employer's sized. impact of accommodation upon operation of the facility-larger the employer, easier it would presumably be to accommodate disability

Moral hazard

idea that when investors and executives are protected from punishment for their bad judgements and risk-taking, they will continue such behavior in the future.

-like bailouts (banks)

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)

establishes national standards for workplace safety and health. applies to all companies.

Title VII of Civil Rights Act

prohibits discrimination in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment with respect to:

a. race

b. color

c. national origin

d. religione. sexevidenc

e: slurs, stereotypical behavior, differential treatment, past incidents, statistics

Caveat emptor

latin for: "Let the buyer beware"philosophy that all product responsibility is with consumer. this statement from the early part of the 1900s typified the power that business wielded in most exchange relationships.

Value chain

transformation of raw materials into delivered product or service

Centralized organization

decision making authority is concentrated in the hands of top-level managers and little authority is delegated to lower levels

Decentralized organization

decision making authority is delegated as far down the chain of command as possible.

Strength- adaptability and early recognition of external change

Ethics audit

systematic evaluation of an organization's ethics program and performance to determine whether it is effective

Social audit

the process of assessing and reporting a business's performance in fulfilling the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities expected of it by its stakeholders.

Teleology

stipulates that acts are morally right if they produce some desired result

Utilitarianism

defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize total utility, or greatest good for greatest number of people

In the last few decades personal staff work forces hired by House & Senate member have?

tripled

Progressive discipline ("corrective action")

1.) verbal warning

2.) written warning*

3.) 2nd written warning (sometimes)

4.) suspension- probation likely after return from suspension- involuntary leave: gets worker out while investigation is pending

5.) termination*written warning can be a performance improvement plan: setting of performance goals that employee must reach to avoid firing

Actual duty

what you're obligated to do in a situation

Prima facie

your duty unless another duty overrides it

On-going duties

duties which persist through time

One time duty

duty of the moment or situation. example: duty to pay back a debt

Perfect duty

duties which bind us in specific and wholly determinable ways and are straightforwardly dischargeable-fulfillable.

Harassment + Business Liability*

Liability can result in not only when you are terminated, demoted, refused increase/promotion (tangible employment action), but also when it creates a hostile work environment.No liability if employer can prove:

1. it exercised reasonable care to prevent/correct harassing behavior

2. victim unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer, or to otherwise avoid the harm.

Wrongful discharge

if there is a supposed illegal component to a termination

At-will employee

employees who can be terminated without cause

"Just cause"

termination that requires a valid reason

-union workers + public sector

Dischargeable duties

duties which we can have someone carry out for us.

ex: duty to educate child is carried out by school system

Discretionary duties

duties that we have some discretion or say over who will fulfill them, and sometimes even whether we will fulfill them

Imperfect duty

duty which binds us in an open-ended and somewhat indeterminate way. ex: duty to give to charity is imperfect: I should do it, but I don't have to give to particular charity or give a specific amount

Privacy

people have reasonable expectation of privacy, intrusion must be "highly offensive" to reasonable person. if employer has cause and informs you of monitoring that will occur, that is not an intrusion. if employer warns, but doesn't say when it will happen, then it is intrusion.

External audit

assessment of a company's ethics or legal compliance program conducted by an external party, i.e. legal firm, accounting firm, NGO, academic institution, private party

Stakeholder theory

Model of corporate social responsibility. business's social responsibilities extend not just to the stockholders, but to other stakeholders in the business.

-narrow view: duties to any group/individual vital to success of the corporation

-broad view: duties to any group/individual whom the corporation's actions could affect

Integrity-based ethics code vs. compliance-based ethics code

Integrity: encourages people to think for themselves, and work towards a set of principles by using what they think is right or wrong.

-easy to implement, can be used by smaller businesses to maintain orderCompliance: avoiding breaking a rule/law, and sees that everything not defined by a rule/law as right when there simply may have been no reason yet to create the rule or law.

Whistle-blowing

The act of reporting unethical or illegal actions by one's superiors or peers to authorities or to the media

Trouble-shooter

A person hired by a company to solve specific problems

Deontology

the study of the nature of duty and obligation.

Pragmatism

a body of ethical thoughts that has had its rots most firmly in US traditions. to be pragmatic means to be practical.

Cap-and-trade program

a program that sets limits (or a "cap") to the amount of different kinds of emission and pollution that can be released by a company. it gives profit incentives to companies who reduce their emissions faster than their peers. the program also allows companies to sell (or "trade") the unused portion of their limits to other companies that are struggling to comply. these companies might be struggling to comply because the nature of their company simply does not give them much room for emission decrease

A strong organizational ethical culture usually focuses on the core values of?

placing consumers' interests first

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

prohibits the US corporations from offering or providing payments to officials of foreign governments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business abroad

World Trade Organization

provides legally binding grounding for international commerce and trade policy

Commission lying

creates a perception or belief by words that intentionally deceive the receiver of a message

Philanthropic

a dimension of the social responsibility of a company that refers to the responsibility of that company or business to make a contribution to society.

Bribe

should NEVER be considered as a possible route to opportunity

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

set new or enhanced standards for all US public company boards, management, and public accounting firms. As a result of SOX, top management must now individually certify the accuracy of financial information. In addition, penalties for fraudulent financial activity are much more severe. Also, SOX increased the independence of the outside auditors who review the accuracy of corporate financial statements, and increased the oversight role of boards of directors.

Purpose of Public Relations

a PR strategy should have the goal of helping the company's target audience build informed opinions.

Why should you give the public reasons as to why you made a decision?

a straightforward statement about the reasons behind your decisions reassures people that you made those decisions deliberatively and rationally. Even if people don't agree with your actions, they're more likely to understand what motivated them.

Crisis PR

public relations that is different from normal PR in that it is designed to help a company weather an immediate, major problem.

What is a prepackaged press pack of company information that can highlight a new focus for an organization?

a. List of Sponsors

b. Media Kit

c. Press Release

d. List of Philanthropic Endeavors

b. Media Kit

In terms of public relations, what is a public issue?

a. Any issue of mutual concern to an organization and one or more of its stakeholders.

b. An issue that concerns only the top-level management of an organization.

c. An issue that can lead to the failure of publicly traded organizations.

d. Any issue that concerns a company and its closest competitor.

a. Any issue of mutual concern to an organization and one or more of its stakeholders.

Which of the following is correct regarding the International Monetary Fund?

a. All the answers are correct.

b. It's purpose is to encourage currency exchange with member countries in order for them to orchestrate global trade.

c. It is one of the three institutions that establish the boundaries by which international commerce is transacted.

d. It provides debt relief by providing loans to governments.

a. All the answers are correct.

Which of the following is an aspect of the international environment?

a. The administrative environment.

b. The legal environment.

c. The organizational environment.

d. The logistic environment.

b. The legal environment.

Which of the following is an example of economic leverage?

a. The CEO of a wind energy company testifies before Congress about how wind energy is cleaner, safer, and more affordable than nuclear and coal.

b. A pharmaceutical company offers politicians free platforms to speak at national sales meetings.

c. A CEO threatens to build a new auto factory overseas if the government does not approve tax breaks for a domestic plant.

d. The National Association of Realtors gives $5 million to Republican politicians and $2 million to Democratic politicians.

c. A CEO threatens to build a new auto factory overseas if the government does not approve tax breaks for a domestic plant.

Which of the following is an example of how businesses might participate in the political process?

a. A company provides incentives to its customers in order to compete with an opposing government agenda.

b. A company rallies support among potential voters by staging rallies and other public events.

c. A company CEO testifies before Congress as an industry expert in order to bring the company's agenda to the forefront.

d. A company encourages its customers to stage a letter writing campaign to legislators in order to promote its agenda.

c. A company CEO testifies before Congress as an industry expert in order to bring the company's agenda to the forefront.

What is contained in environmental legislation?

a. All the answers are correct

b. Regulations to govern the interactions between businesses and globalization

c. Laws that relate to everything from the air we breathe to the natural resources we rely on

d. Laws and regulations pertaining to business and consumer needs

c. Laws that relate to everything from the air we breathe to the natural resources we rely on

Ellen shares the view that resources, such as trees and animals, should not be consumed or destroyed without regarding their value within nature. What ethical viewpoint does Ellen have?

a. Human values

b. Ecocentric

c. Anthropocentric

d. Environmental

b. Ecocentric

Which of the following is an example of a grand non-market strategy?

a. A company pursues legal action against an activist group.

b. A company gains community support by proactively discovering any potential problems.

c. A company uses stakeholders and peak or trade groups to garner support to protest against activists.

d. A company launches a defensive attack against an activist group.

d. A company launches a defensive attack against an activist group.

A peak interest group _____.

a. serves the special interests of narrow business industries.

b. is an association of non-profit organizations that act as consumer advocates.

c. represents different businesses from multiple industries on a range of business topics.

d. is a non-profit group, that is not part of government, that helps businesses, government, and society communicate concerns and affect policy.

c. represents different businesses from multiple industries on a range of business topics.

Which of the following is an example of a volunteer program?

a. A company donates money to music programs at a local school.

b. Employees work to build houses for impoverished citizens.

c. All answers are correct.

d. A group of people come together and creates a business for the community.

b. Employees work to build houses for impoverished citizens.

If a company provides job training to African-American and Hispanic business owners at a local college, this is an example of _____.

a. Community service

b. Corporate citizenship

c. Aid to minority businesses

d. Philanthropic cash giving

c. Aid to minority businesses

In advertising, the word 'help' is an example of which of the following?

a. Ambiguous language

b. Puffery

c. An exaggeration

d. A weasel word

d. A weasel word

A cook at Joe's Sandwich Shop informed his manager that the bread they had available was stale. The manager decided to serve customers the stale bread. What type of decision did the manager of Joe's Sandwich Shop made?

a. Unethical

b. Good business

c. Rational

d. Ethical

a. Unethical

Which of these groups contain the market stakeholders of ABC Corp?

a. ABC Corp's suppliers

b. ABC Corp's employees

c. All of these are correct

d. ABC Corp's customers

c. All of these are correct