Exam 8: Ethics and Social Responsibility of Business

John Rawls's promoted which of the following in terms of promoting justice?

You are the chairperson of Wayne's World of Widgets (WWW).WWW employs about 4,000 people in a huge manufacturing facility located in Hooterville,a small Midwest town on 8,000 total residents.WWW is Hooterville's largest and only significant employer.In fact,Hooterville is suffering from a 21% unemployment rate due to the failure of a number of businesses in town.Your CFO has just delivered a report stating that while WWW is currently profitable and is expected to remain so,if the plant were closed and the facility moved to Tijuana,Mexico,WWW could save an enormous amount of money due to reduced salaries,removal of benefits and other miscellaneous costs.WWW would certainly like to increase profits but the move would devastate Hooterville and the loyal WWW employees.The board is hotly debating the issue.They ask you for a report discussing the move from a business ethics and responsibility perspective.

The categorical imperative is an integral part of:

Which of the following is not one of the five major theories of ethics?

Under the maximizing profits theory of the social responsibility of business,it is improper for a business to undertake charitable acts for the benefit of society if doing so reduces profits.

Under the maximizing profits theory of the social responsibility of business,a business should never voluntarily reduce its prices.

A business that is willing to sacrifice some income in order to avoid harm to others is applying which theory of the social responsibility of business?

Beginning in about 1990,many credit card issuers began marketing more aggressively to college students on the basis that they have considerable future earning potential even though their current income is not very high.Prior to 1990,most credit card issuers required co-signers,who would typically be the student's parent.This has led to far more students incurring excessive debt.This has required some students to work longer hours while in college and to have more debt-related problems after getting out of college.Furthermore,employers are increasingly using credit information in the hiring selection process so that some students' debt problems adversely affect their ability to find a job.Evaluate the propriety of these marketing efforts.

A qui tam lawsuit brought under the federal False Claims Act permits private parties to sue companies for fraud on behalf of the government.

Utilitarianism has been applauded because it is easy to estimate the "good" that will result from different actions.

The golden rule,"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is most directly reflected in which moral theory?

Which of the theories of the social responsibility of business includes obligations of a business to parties other than shareholders?

The social justice theory has been criticized because its principles of justice are supposed to be chosen by persons who do not know their position is society,something that is unrealistic.

Peter runs an auto air conditioning repair shop.Because of the phase-out of the ozone-depleting refrigerants used in older auto air conditioners,auto air conditioning repairers have become subject to numerous new laws and regulations,some of which are costly and burdensome to comply with.This results in much higher costs for air conditioning repairs for many owners of older cars.By not following some of these regulations,Peter can repair these older cars at a much lower cost.Peter believes that the good that comes from the reduced repair costs outweighs the resulting incremental damage to the environment,and thus decides to not follow the regulations.Peter has reached his decision in accordance with:

Which of the following is true regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Immanuel Kant believed that people owe moral duties based on universal rules.

One advantage of utilitarianism is that there is no need for measuring the good of an action for society.

Few philosophers advocate ethical relativism as an acceptable moral theory.

The implied contract of social contract theory states "I will keep the rules if everyone else does."

Under Rawl's social justice theory,the principle of equal opportunity in employment would be promulgated by people who would not yet know if they were in a favored class.