BA 300 (Austin)- Final

Armand Lauren is CEO of sequa Corporation an industrial company acquired by the carlyle group. In a feburary 2, 2012 essay in the Wall Street Journal, Mr Lauzon wrote "Private equity firms exist for.....potential for growth" Equity firms and those appointed to run the companies that private-equity firms acquire have :

a strong shareholder orientation

Mr henry potter the richest man in bedford falls is the principle shareholder in Bailey Savings & loan and the banks board of trustees. He dismisses peter bailey's restraint toward customers who fall behind in their loan as "sentimental hogwash". Mr. Potters business philosophy is most consistent with:

Objectivism and shareholder orientation

In recent Businessweek article, one scholar wrote: "When people judge their chances of experiencing a good outcome -- getting a great job or financial security -- they estimate their odds to be higher than average. What concept matches that description?

c. the illusion of optimism

Which of the following statements about advertising ethics is not true according to the video and reading "Ethics in Advertising"?

b. Because advertising is morally neutral, and because truth is always a matter of opinion, it is impossible to identify any limits on distortion

According to the text, a businessperson operating under the illusion of control believes he can control events more than he really can and therefore:

Is likely to underestimate the risk facing his company from a particular decision.

In a February 2, 2012 Wall Street Journal, Forbs columnist Rich Karlgaar offered a vigorous ethical defense of Apple's use of factories run by a company named Foxconn in Shenzhen, China to make certain Apple products, including the iPad.Apple use of Foxconn employees to manufacture Apple products is:

Consistent with ISCT, assuming the inspection by the independent labor group confirms that Foxconn's treatment of a workers in China offends no broadly held held ethical norms.

On November 4, 2013 the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs issued a press release stating that Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiaries agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion in criminal and civil liability for making off-label was the result of multiple lawsuits filed under the ________________ provision _________________, which allows prove citizens to bring action on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.

c. Qui tam; False Claims Act

Carl, a junior executive, has worked for 10 years at a major tech company. He lives in accordance with Nozcick's Rights Theory. As he pursues his next promotion, which of the following behaviors will he consider to be ethical?

e. all the above

Calicorp, a California, has decided to fire Michael, a fat hairy Muslim employee that is in ISIS. Several employees have complained to the chief executive officer that, now that Osama Bin Laden has been killed they feel that it would be un-American to continue to employee a Muslim out of fear that he will seek revenge for Bin Laden's death. If Calicorp fired Michael because they believes his religion makes it more likely he will seek revenge for the death of Osama Bin laden:

b. Calicorp will be liable if the heart of the reason the Company is firing Michael is because of his religion

A recent survey of 1000 Wall Street analysts found that two-thirds of them had accepted various favors from companies they follow and on which they offer guidance to potential investors. The analysts who denied they could be influenced to give special treatment to companies who gave them favors may be suffering under the distorting effect of:

a. the illusion of superiority

According to the textbook, why does the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act make it illegal for companies and their employees t make payments or give rewards to a foreign government or other high-rank official?

e. Money paid to influence officials to make favorable decisions they would otherwise make disrupts the free market system.

According to the text, the federal organizational sentencing guidelines use a "carrot and stick" to encourage corporations to comply with the federal legal mandates including laws prohibiting fraud. The "carrot" of the guidelines:

a. Calls for decreases in the level of potential punishment for companies that establish strong internal controls to detect and root our illegal behavior.

Destructive Development, Inc, is trying to get an ordinance passed by the City Council that will favor their business. Nothing is written down and the company actually has no intention of following through with the promise. This is:

b.An attempted bribe, because a promise of something of value in this context has the same effect as if something has actually been received.

According to the text, under the 2002 Sarbanes Oxley law legislating corporate governance and accounting reform:

e. all the above

Utilitarianism is:

a. Consistent with a stakeholder

Charles G. Koch, chairman and CEO of Koch Industries - a company estimated to be worth $100 billion - released a book this month, called Good Profit. On page 7 of the book, Koch talks about his company's opposition to government subsidies, "such as special tax breaks, import tariffs, restrictions on exports, mandates, anticompetitive regulations, and bailouts - including those that would sermon the surface to be beneficial to us.".......... Koch's opposition to corporate welfare is most aligned with:

B, Nozick's rights theory

Aeronautics giant Boeing fired two internal auditors for leaking documents and information to a reporter regarding alleged flaws in the company's internal audit of it information technology control systems. The company convened an employee review board and determined that the leaks constituted...... Who wins and why?

boeing because sarbanes-oxley does not protect whistleblowing to the media

In our first class meeting, we discussed the meaning of morals versus ethics, although they are often used interchangeably:

E, all of the above

On April 11, 2011 New York times reported that the gannett news corporation decided to require lower ranked employees take unpaid furlough days during the coming year, At the same time, according to the article, the company substantially increased the pay of the two top executives. These compensations moves are least consistent with

D, rawls theory of justice

In a november 23, 2011 Businessweek column, professor barry schwartz wrote that "some might say banking has no moral dimension to take away." But he also notes that bankers are not only interested in profit but are also aware of their social responsibilities. He notes that "bankers worried about helping farmers get this year's seed into the ground. They worried about a couple in their 50s....

C, stakeholder orientation

Barbara boss, the COO of worldwide widgets, scored a perfect j score on the ethical orientation questionnaire. Which of the following actions is she least likely to take?

C, make an exception to worldwide widgets' company policy prohibiting loans to employees by extending a short-term loan to an employee who needs immediate cash to avoid losing his home to foreclosure

In our second class meeting, we discussed the case involving whistleblower, dr. jeffrey wigand, and the tobacco industry. Dr. Wigand revealed the tobacco and cigarette industry's "intentional manipulation of nicotine, known as impact boosting, by his former employer........ Dr. wigland's decision to blow the whistle is most consistent with

E, virtue ethics

Bob is a recent sdsu business graduate who works at surfboards inc., a local surfboard manufacturer. His goal is to up in the organization and ultimately become CEO. Bob is an objectivist, so his plans are most likely to include

C, Working long hours and doing the best job he possible can, and studying the next most qualified for the next promotion that comes up

The owner if a local ferrari distributorship was interviews by racer magazine for an article about the marketing of expensive "hot shot" cars. He tells the interviewer that, for two reasons, he wants to make sure the the buyer does not get in any accidents...... how to drive safely before buying the expensive cars he sells appears to be guided by which two ethical theories?

B, The ethic of care and objectivism

Some overseas banks lend to businesses in the developing world that service low income consumers that in turn invest their profits back into the operations of the business, rather than return them to shareholders or investors. For example, a bank in italy has partnered with a local milk distributor that services extremely low income areas in order to make milk products.... Both the bank and its milk distributor borrower are motivated in this arrangement by:

D, Rawls' theory of justice

Which of the following would be evidence that a particular ethical principal or practice is a hypernorm:

B, The principle or practice is generally supported by a relevant international community of professionals, or environmental engineers

A november, 2010 business week article about california-based roll international says that the couple at the helm of the privately-held company, stewart and lynda resnick, have skillfully taken advantage of loopholes in the system of regulations that governs their various business interests..... The Resnicks are guided in their business practices by:

D, objectivism

In class, we watched a short video clip about the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State child sex abuse scandal. In the video a debate takes place between three men on ESPN about "who was most to blame." Mike McQueary, the former penn state assistant coach,....... potentially prey to Sandusky can be best described as:

D, diffusion of responsibility

Peter Bailey, the head of Bailey Savings & Loan in Bedford Falls, lends money at affordable interest rates to the means so that they may own a decent home of their own.... Mr. Bailey's philosophy is most consistent with:

D, Rawl's theory of justice and a stakeholder orientation

to enable students and other relatively less affluent san diegans to attend SDSU's appearance in the holidayof influential business people have purchased a large block of tickets to the game with the intention of reselling. The desire of students to participate in this historical game is most consistent of what ethical theory?

Rawl's theory of justice

George bailey is peters olders son. George has grown into a fine young man and is ready to travel the world leaving for college when his father suddenly dies. What best describes the philosophy driving georges decision.

The ethic of care and a stakeholder orientation

In class, we studied a case in which Phil spector's former attorney, Sara Caplan, was subpoenaed by the prosocution to testify about a missing piece of evidence (one of the murder victim's fake fingernails) that prosocution said she saw collected at the crime scene. Her refusal to testify against her former client is most consistent with:

Virtue ethics

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of apple, once said of his fellow Apple co-founder Steve Jobs "he was never driven by a vision of a better world....for himself" Mr job's guiding philosophy was in line with what ethcical decision making rule?

Objectivism

A 2011 article about leadership in www.fastcompany.com, written by Leslie R crutchfield, John v Kania, and Mark R kramer, describes general electrics realization "that the challenges of global health...by meeting social needs" this kind of emphasis on the interdependence of business and society is known as:

creating shared value

As we discussed in class the problem with virtue ethics is

• It's not really a decision rule it focuses more on the integrity of the actor on the moral act itself. •

• Unlike other ethical theories we learned, this theory doesn't focus on whether a particular decision is ethical, but on whether the decision maker is ethical or not. •

• What is virtuous depends on 1's culture & community standards; therefore, societies place diff emphasis on diff virtues. The question of whether a decision maker's character is ethical is defined part by the decision maker

In a november 21,2012 essay in the new york times Bill Morris wrote that William Clay Ford Sr, the grandson of the founder of the Ford car company, bought the detroit lions football team in 1963. Which ethical approach is especially unsuitable in the sports business.

The ethics of care

Two international scholars recently wrote in the wall street journal: "Managing corruption is a neccesity in Russia... which the company benefited." The unnamed firm's approach to dealing with russian corruption is best characterized as:

Consistent with integrative social contracts theory by finding a way to do business without offending either a russian norm or a hypernorm, assuming that the daily reports from the officials were genuinly valuble for the company

As early July,2010 Wall street journal profiled MarK Kantrowitz, a middle aged computer whiz, who devotes all his time and energy to provoking student leaders to make college more affordable, especially to lower income students. Mr kantrowitz's ethical worldview is most in line with:

Rawls theory of Justice

In congressional testimony in 1991, famed billionare investor Warren Buffet said that he expected his employees to "ask themselves whether they are willing...by an informed and critical reporter" Mr buffet is insisting that those who work for him employ the short-hand test of what ethical theory in their ethical decision making.

Virtue Ethics

stakeholder

any individual or group that can affect or be affected by business decisions or undertakings

what is true about the norms governing ethical behavior in business?

there is more agreement than disagreement about what the ethical norms governing business behavior should be.

if a parent tells her child "cheating flies in the face of the values of this FAMILY and the rules of the SCHOOL" and her child decides not to cheat, the child would be behaving in line with:

level 2 (conventional)

the decision maker:

should take into consideration the BROAD interests of al those affected by the decision, including the community in which the company does business.

Charlotte beers has observed that people can change when they become managers. her observation is confirmed by:

the central lesson of the zimbardo prison experiment

how did john rawls use the veil of ignorance in his theory of justice?

as a thought experiment that explains why someone unaware of the characteristics he would choose an ethical decision-making rule favoring the least advantaged

the text cites the example of cummins engine company which resolved the problem of children cutting through a wire fence on company property and stealing equipment by:

hiring local youth leaders to patrol the area around the fence since the company found that the youth unemployment rate was above average

a persons reputation for integrity in business is

especially important since news of bad business can reach a broad audience in seconds

some people believe it its ethically appropriate for business executives to have lots of freedom to make high risk decisions without gov interference, what ethical decision-rule most closely matches this?

nozicks rights theory

the culpability score assigned by the federal organizational sentencing guidelines in a given case:

is designed to reflect the level of moral blameworthiness of on ORGANIZATION for its conduct and influences the level of punishment the organization will receive.

"each of us tends to think we are much more fair and impartial than other people are" this illustrates:

illusion of superiority

a supervisor who tries to get subordinates to follow the ethical standards expected in the workplace:

should be viewed as part of the natural management process of providing clear and intentional guidance on what is considered appropriate behavior in the workplace

a beer hall where the processed go to charity instead of the owner. in houston the patrons get one vote per drink as to which charity should get the next months profits. in portland they are considering opening a worker-run, collectively managed pub rub by and for "the people who resist oppression on all levels"

rawls theory of justice

most adults will carry out an authority figures orders even if they conflict with their own, this is the central message of:

the milligram experiment

the greatest advantage to utilitarianism is

it inserts scientific rationale into ethical decision making

the pressure for short term returns are extraordinary and the gains are amazing, people can do things and they look back and think "we acted in ways that were not proud of, some of us may have been tempted into doing bad things" this illustrates:

the negative side of setting performance goals

beths made a mistake but her work benefits the shareholders, clients, and the community. her assistant, carl, actually made a clerical error that led to the mistake. if this is a utilitarian system, you would be most likely to:

fire carl and keep beth because it will result in the greatest net benefit to the greatest number of people

a multinational company based in the US is operating in a developing country with environmental laws that would allow that company to pollute the air and water:

the company should consider adhering to ethical standards that are higher than the legal standards of the developing country

"i have always believed that each man makes his own happiness and is responsible for his own problems"

high internal locus of control

the baseball players decision to decline his salary so that he could feel better about himself is a good illustration of someone:

with a high desire for moral approbation of self.

Which of the following is not one of the steps in the moral decision-making process, according to the text?

Moral awareness

Ethical behavior

Moral development

Moral judgment

MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Identify two of the ways identified in the video segments that your superior in a business setting can influence the degree of your ethical behavior in business:

• By setting high or low expectations of your ethical behavior

• by contributing to the overall organizational ethical norm.

Which of the following individuals is most likely to refuse to carry out a supervisor's order that she considers unethical?

A person with a high internal locus of control and high ego strength.

A person with a high external locus of control and high ego strength.

A person with a high external locus of control and low ego strength.

A person with a low internal locus of control and low ego strength.

A person with a high internal locus of control and high ego strength.

4. John Walker, the Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Industries, had a tough decision to make. He had to decide which of four possible plants to close to save money and boost the value of Consolidated's shares. He decided to close a subsidiary in a poor third-world nation located 6,000 miles away from the company headquarters where he was located. He reached that decision after realizing that it was the only one of the four plants at which he had met none of the workers. He also was unwilling to believe that all of the money he had put into a London subsidiary would not soon pay off if he diverted some of the money saved by closing the third world plant to the London operations. Which of the following two concepts is illustrated by the process by which John Walker decided which plant to close:

Diffusion of responsibility; escalation of commitment.

The federal organizational sentencing guidelines influence the ethical behavior of companies in all of the following ways except:

Encouraging the establishment of ethics officers and other effective ethical compliance measures.

Reducing a potential fine from criminal misconduct if the company cooperates in a government investigation of alleged crimes the company committed.

Increasing the potential culpability score of a corporate officer accused of illegal conduct.

Punishing companies that obstruct government investigation into corporate wrongdoing.

Increasing the potential culpability score of a corporate officer accused of illegal conduct.

CFO Jane is concerned about overreacting to the bad press. She tells the group that she has concluded that a recall's costs to the company far outweigh the benefit of such a recall to the public. It is virtually certain that no babies actually will be harmed and leaving the bibs on the market will ensure that low-income consumers, the biggest consumers of this bib, will continue to be able to afford a Consolidated-made bib rather than a bib produced by a less well-known company. The company's shareholders are also likely to be harmed by a costly recall. She thinks the overall best solution is to leave the bibs on the market with a warning, including in the company's advertising, that they contain trace amounts of lead and urges the team to agree with her recommendation. Which of the following theories of ethical decision-making has Jane followed in making her recommendation?

Nozick's rights theory.

Utilitarianism.

Rawls' theory of justice.

Kant's categorical imperative.

Utilitarianism.

The Pygmalion Effect

The quality of an individual ethical respond to a dilemma generally reflects the expectations whether high or low that superiors expect of an individuals.

Nozick's Rights Theory

Ethical Minimalism. That is the absence of fraud and force in the ethical decision and the way it is executed. The government play a very minimal role. Dislikes nanny state.

* Rawls' Theory of Justice

To give the greatest benefit to the least advantaged in every decision making process. Closing the GAP, not knowing if you will come out on top or bottom. Is an unbiased approach to social justice.

Utilitarianism

Maximize the common good is the moral goal without concern for the means of achieving the outcome or how it's distributed in the end. This involves as many people as possible in the decision making.

John, from Marketing, agrees with Jane that Consolidated should leave the bibs on the market, agrees with adding a consumer warning to the bibs, but disagrees such a warning should be included in the company's advertising. The company's advertising never said or implied that bibs should be put in a baby's mouth or that it was safe to do so. The company is not doing anything illegal, even with the trace elements of lead; the bibs still satisfy the government's minimal standards. He recommends that the bibs stay on the market with the warning Jane suggests to ensure that customers are making an informed decision. John opposes including the warning in the company's advertising, both because he feels it is unnecessary and because the costs of such a change in the advertising would come out of his department's budget. "Look," he told the group, "it's not like the company is holding a gun to people's heads to get them to buy Consolidated bibs, rather than those of a less well-known company." Which of the following theories of ethical decision-making has John followed in making his recommendation?

Nozick's rights theory.

Utilitarianism.

Rawls' theory of justice.

Kant's categorical imperative.

Nozick's rights theory.

Nguyen, out of Product Development, is disturbed by John and Jane's recommendations to leave the bibs on the market. He is especially troubled by Jane's comment that the popularity of these bibs with low-income customers was a reason that the company should not recall the product. That struck him as backwards and morally unacceptable. "Jane," Nguyen interjects, "it is precisely to protect our most vulnerable customers that we should recall the bibs. If babies get sick from lead poisoning - even though we know that that is a remote possibility -- they are unlikely to have access to proper medical care. I don't care what the cost of the recall is. We have to recommend that the product be pulled, especially to protect this group of customers. It also will send the message that "'Consolidated Cares,'" a slogan we have used in the past." Which of the following methods of ethical decision-making has Nguyen followed in making his recommendation?

Nozick's rights theory.

Utilitarianism.

Rawls' theory of justice.

Kant's categorical imperative.

Rawls' theory of justice.

Pablo, of Corporate Communications, agrees with Nguyen that the product should be recalled. The cost of the recall, he believes, would be more than offset by the positive media attention that the company would receive by taking steps to protect the safety of its customers, even steps that the law did not require. Shareholders would benefit from the resulting increase in sales spurred by the company's enhanced reputation and employee morale would rise from knowing the company did the right thing as a matter of both ethics and profits. The babies would benefit by removing lead from the environment, and parents would benefit from the peace of mind that accompanies keeping their children safe. Which of the following methods of ethical decision-making has Pablo followed in making his recommendation?

Nozick's rights theory.

Utilitarianism.

Rawls' theory of justice.

Kant's categorical imperative.

Utilitarianism.

You, a relatively new part of the executive staff of Consolidated's CEO, have been brought in to observe the team's discussion and to report back to him. Which of the following statements would not be true if you included it in your report?

No two members of the team used the same ethical theory in reaching their conclusions and that was a large reason for their disagreement.

a set of moral principles or values (highly personal) or the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or group

ethics

behavior that is consistent with the principles, norms, and standards of business practice that have been agreed upon by society

ethical behavior

what are the 3 steps for the process of individual ethical decision making?

ethical awareness, ethical judgement, and ethical behaviour

unique type of neuron cell in the brain that light up when people perceive unfairness and deception

spindle cells

3 qualities when hiring

integrity, intelligence, and energy

society for US Defense industry contractors which subscribes to a set of principles for achieving high standards of business ethics and conduct

The Defense Industry Initiative on Business Conduct and Ethics (DII)

adopt a written code of conduct, conduct employees' orientation and training with respect to the code, provide employees a mechanism to express concerns about corporate compliance with procurement laws and regulations, adopt procedures for voluntary disclosure of violations of federal procurement laws, participate in best practices forums, and publish info that shows each signatory's commitment to the above

obligations to the DII

what are the 3 steps involved with moral awareness?

1) peers consider it morally problematic

2) moral language is used when problem is presented

3) decision could cause serious harm to others

What are the 8 steps to sound ethical decision making

1) gather the facts

2)define the ethical issues

3) identify the affected parties (stakeholders)

4) identify the consequences (short and long)

5) identify the obligations

6) consider your characters and integrity

7) think creatively about potential actions

8) check your gut

two factors of individual preferences

1) idealism or the person's concern for the welfare of others

2) relativism or the person's emphasis on ethical principles being dependent on the situation rather than being applicable to all siutations

believe that one should always avoid harming other people in ethical dilemma sitations

idealism

believe it depends because harm is sometimes necessary for good

non-idealist

believe people should weigh the particular circumstances in a situation when making decisions because there are no universal ethical principles that determine right action in every situation

relativism

associated with unethical intentions

highly relativism

people tend to live up to the expectations that are set for them by teachers/mangers, whether they are high or low set. The desire to do what is right

the pygmalion effect

when role reduces the individual's awareness of the self as an independent individual who is personally responsible for an outcome

deindividualism

The Zimbardo experiment

perfectly normal people behaved cruelly and aggressively when placed in a role where these behaviors were expected or allowed

whistleblower laws

prohibit firing for reporting any fraud that is taking place

discrimination laws

CA- Fair employment and Housing act

Federal- Title 7

1) Don't Worry- we're take care of everything

2) diffusing responsibility in groups

3) diffusing responsibility by dividing responsibilites

4) Diffusing responsibility by creating psychological distress

4 ways of diffusion of responsibilyt

someone at a higher level will take care of this issue- feels the need to give up and let higher up's take care of the situation

don't worry- we're take care of everything

group think- illusion of morality- people are afraid to express their true thoughts and feelings

Diffusing responsibility in groups

Only see a small part of the job and do so with blinders on

diffusing responsibility by dividing responsibility

two types of decision making processes

1) over-reliance on quantitative analysis

2) burden of proof

carrot provides incentives to organizations to develop a strong internal control system to detect and manage illegal behavior and the stick provides for severe punishment for orgs that are convicted of crimes and not proactively managing legal complaince

carrot and stick approach for corporate crimes

seven requirements for due diligence and an effective compliance program

1) establishing compliance standards reasonable capable of preventing criminal conduct

2) assigning specific high-level individuals with responsibility to oversee those compliance standards

3) Exercising due care to ensure that discretionary authority is not delegated to individuals with a propensity to engage in illegality

4) taking necessary steps to communicate compliance standards and procedures to all employees, with a special emphasis on training and the dissemination of manuals

5) Taking reasonable steps to achieve compliance with written standards through monitoring, auditing, and other systems designed to detect criminal conduct, including a reporting system free of retribution to employees who report criminal conduct

6) enforcing org's written standards through appropriate disciplinary mechanism, including discipline of individuals responsible for failure to detect an offense

7) after an offense is detected, take all reasonable steps to respond and prevent similar conduct

level 1- preconventional: self centered and views ethical rules as imposed from outside the self. Limited to thinking about obedience to authority for its own sake. Avoid punishment by authority figures. Stage 2- I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine

Kohlberg's cognitive moral development level 1