Exam 9: Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, and Strategy

A) violates ethical principles of right and wrong in all countries.
B) is ethically acceptable according to the principle of ethical universalism and ethically unacceptable according to the principle of ethical relativism.
C) is acceptable to immoral managers but not to amoral managers.
D) is one of the thorniest ethical problems that multinational companies face because paying bribes is normal and customary in some countries and ethically or legally forbidden in others.
E) is more acceptable in dealing with a company's suppliers than in dealing with a company's customers.

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A) It begins with managers who themselves have strong character (for example, who are honest, have integrity, and truly care about how they conduct a company's business) .
B) It starts with managers who walk the walk in displaying the company's stated values.
C) It involves managers with high ethical principles and standards who are advocates of a corporate code of ethics and strong ethics compliance and are genuinely committed.
D) It starts with managers who understand there is a big difference between adopting values statements superficially and truly accepting a company's actual strategy and business conduct.
E) It starts with managers that involve themselves in creating strategies based on risks and loss of reputation that implementing an unethical strategy can cost.

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A) They pursue discretionary activities that contribute to the betterment of society, especially in areas where government has chosen not to focus its efforts or has fallen short.
B) They are active participants in the political processes.
C) They identify up-and-coming managers who have a future in local- or state-level politics.
D) They create a democratic workplace where the voices of lower-level employees are heard through representation on the board of directors.
E) They seek to replace government functions with more efficient, market-driven solutions.

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Unilever's focus on sustainability isn't...

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A) a company's efforts to improve the lives of its internal and external stakeholders.
B) the various social initiatives that make up the CSR strategies.
C) a firm's ecological impact and environmental practices.
D) the economic impact (value and costs) that the company has on society.
E) a company's efforts to reduce research and development funding to boost profits.

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E

A) are governed mainly by religious views held in different geographic regions of the world.
B) are present in all societies, organizations, and individuals.
C) vary enormously from country to country across the world.
D) ultimately depend on the circumstances-nothing is really black or white when it comes to ethical standards.
E) ultimately depend on a person's own values and beliefs.

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A) to those situations where most all societies-endowed with rationality and moral knowledge-have common moral agreement on what is wrong and thereby place limits on which actions and behaviors fall inside the boundaries of what is right, and which ones fall outside.
B) to commonly held views about what is morally right and wrong that constitute a "social contract" (contract with society) that is binding on all individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses in terms of establishing the line between ethical and unethical behaviors.
C) to principles or norms that provide some "moral free space" for the people in a particular country (or local culture or even a company) to make specific interpretations of how certain actions may or may not be permissible within the bounds defined by universal ethical principles.
D) to the principle that universal ethical norms take precedence over local ethical norms.
E) to the slippery slope of ethical relativism.

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A) conceal their initiatives and accomplishments in the areas of diversity, environment, community, and ethics to increase profitability.
B) make the results of their CSR strategies apparent to stakeholders and for stakeholders to hold companies accountable for their impact on society.
C) minimize transparency and facilitate benchmarking CSR efforts across firms and industries.
D) minimize the use of standard reporting frameworks and metrics.
E) attract profit-oriented investors.

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A) there can be no one-size-fits-all template (set of authentic ethical norms) against which to gauge the conduct of company personnel, due to cross-cultural differences in ethical standards.
B) a company should have a different set of ethical standards for each country in which it operates.
C) only respected religious experts can provide companies with a higher order moral compass.
D) the best source of ethical standards in each country where the company operates is that country's adopted Code of Required Ethical Conduct.
E) since there can be no one-size-fits-all set of authentic ethical norms, it is appropriate for each company to hold company personnel to observing the company's code of ethical conduct.

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A) concepts of what constitute ethical behavior and unethical behavior are dictated by subjectively provable moral principles but not by objectively provable moral principles.
B) concepts of right and wrong are universal within countries/societies but not across countries or cultures.
C) concepts of what is ethical and what is unethical are socially determined, leaving room for variation from country to country or circumstance to circumstance.
D) to the extent there is common moral agreement about right and wrong actions and behaviors across multiple cultures and countries, there exists a set of universal ethical standards to which all societies and all individuals can be held accountable.
E) all societies and countries are obligated to apply universally defined ethical principles of right and wrong as set forth by a global body that formulates the Code of Ethical Behavior for the world.

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PepsiCo's Global Code of Conduct primari...

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A) respect in the workplace, ethics in business activities, dealing with situations that call for bribery, and integrity in the marketplace.
B) integrity in the marketplace, ethics in business activities, global compliance, and whistleblowing.
C) whistleblowing, global compliance, integrity in the marketplace, and responsibility to shareholders.
D) global compliance, dealing with situations that call for bribery, integrity in the marketplace, and responsibility to shareholders.
E) respect in the workplace, integrity in the marketplace, ethics in business activities, and responsibility to shareholders.

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A) Socially responsible actions and sustainable business practices can lower the construction firm's costs and enhance employee recruiting and workforce retention.
B) Opportunities for revenue enhancement may also come from CSR and environmental sustainability strategies by the construction firm.
C) Well-conceived CSR strategies and sustainable business practices are in the best long-term interest of the owners of the construction firm.
D) Like any business, the construction firm must engage in practices that reflect ordinary decency and civic-mindedness, and contribute to society's well-being.
E) If the construction firm makes a strong commitment to socially responsible behavior, doing so will reduce the risk of reputation-damaging incidents.

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A) deal chiefly with standards a company has about what is right and wrong insofar as the conduct of its business is concerned and about what behaviors are expected of company personnel.
B) deal chiefly with the behaviors that a company's board of directors expects of all company personnel in both their conduct on the job and off the job.
C) involve the rules a company's top management and board of directors make about "what is right" and "what is wrong."
D) deal primarily with the company's duty to comply with legal requirements and conform to ethical norms of society, in general.
E) are generally less stringent than the ethical principles for society at large because it is well understood that businesses should not be expected to operate any differently than what the law requires of them.

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A) promote workforce diversity.
B) ensure the company operates honorably and ethically.
C) support philanthropy and participate in community service.
D) protect and sustain the environment.
E) enhance workplace amenities and employee well-being.

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A) They chiefly deal with the actions and behaviors required to operate companies in a socially responsible manner.
B) They chiefly deal with the rules each company's top management and board of directors make about "what is right" and "what is wrong."
C) They are not materially different from ethical principles in general.
D) They are generally less stringent than the ethical principles for society at large.
E) They are generally more stringent than the ethical principles for society at large.

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There are two reasons why a company's strategy should be ethical: (1)because a strategy that is unethical is morally wrong and reflects badly on the character of the company and its personnel, and (2)because an ethical strategy can be good business and serve the self-interest of shareholders.

A) actions to benefit Traditional Medicinals' shareholders such as raising the dividend or boosting the stock price
B) making charitable contributions, supporting community service endeavors by Traditional Medicinals' employees, and reaching out to make a difference in the lives of the disadvantaged
C) actions to ensure that Traditional Medicinals has an ethical strategy and operates honorably and ethically
D) actions that promote good stewardship (by protecting and enhancing) the environment
E) actions to enhance Traditional Medicinals' workforce diversity

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