Exam 2: Business Ethics

Cost-benefit analysis seeks the greatest economic efficiency according to the underlying notion that, given two potential acts, the act achieving the greatest output at the least cost promotes the greatest marginal happiness over the less-efficient act, other things being equal.

The ethical decision making approach that views ethical decisions from the actor's perspective and then judges whether the decisions were ethical is:

To a __________ , whether telling a lie in a given instance would produce greater pleasure than telling the truth is less important than deciding if a general practice of lying would maximize society's pleasure.

An auto designer chooses to devote his efforts to design an automobile that is the safest vehicle possible. He does so because he wishes to save lives and prevent disabling injuries. He believes he and his employer have a duty to provide the public with the safest possible vehicle. The designer's approach to ethical decision-making is best characterized as:

Discuss the arguments for and against businesses' involvement in socially responsible activities.

Under a Kantian approach to ethics, a person should not lie to colleagues unless that person supports the right of all colleagues to lie to one another.

Which of the following is a common criticism of deontological ethical theories?

A major criticism of utilitarianism as an ethical theory is that:

Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations , said the capitalistic system was composed of six institutions, which include all but which of the following?

A leading proponent of the deontological approach to ethics was the eighteenth century philosopher Immanuel Kant.

According to Milton Friedman, the social obligation of a corporation is to return as much money as possible to its shareholders.

A person who believes in the situational ethics theory would agree that precise guidelines for business behavior must be developed and adhered to by business professionals.

The essential characteristic of intuitionism is a reliance upon a central repository of wisdom.

From a Kantian perspective, for an action to be moral, it must be possible for it to be made into a universal law and it must be respectful of the autonomy and rationality of all human beings.

The definition of business ethics includes which of the following points?

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg observed that people progress through sequential stages of moral development according to the two major variables of age and reasoning.

Utilitarians are criticized for rigidity and excessive formalism.

Although corporations are artificial entities created by the state, it is clear that they can and should be held morally accountable.

Corporations are subject to a higher standard of social accountability than are public bodies.

Ethical issues in business settings include corporate governance, whistle-blowing, shareholder voting, and management's duties to shareholders.