Business Ethics 100% Solved Q&A

autonom ous morality : the last of Kohlberg's stages of moral development (also known as postconventional or principled morality); at these stages the individual has questioned previous laws and values and sees the value of reason in morality. business A specialized study of the moral standards that apply to ethics : business policies, institutions, organizations, and behavior. consisten the necessity of moral principles to be applied the same cy way to everyone in similar circumstances. requirem ent : conventio the middle two of Kohlberg's stages, characterized by the nal ability to see situations from the point of view of others and morality : to subordinate the needs of the individual to the needs of the group. cybersp a term used to denote the existence of information on an ace : electronic network of linked computer systems.

descripti investigation attempting to explain or describe the world ve study without reaching any conclusions about whether the world is : as it should be. ethical the theory that morality varies according to culture and/or relativis time. m: ethics : the study of morality or the moral standards of a society or an individual.

genetic new techniques that allow change in the genes of the cells engineer of humans, animals, and plants. ing : globalizat the worldwide process by which the economic and social ion : systems of nations have become connected. informati powerful and compact technologies that have allowed us to on capture, manipulate, and move information in new and technolo creative ways. gy : law of a law that specifies the duties of persons who agree to act agency : on behalf of another party and who are authorized by

agreement so to act. moral the reasoning process by which human behaviors, reasonin institutions, or policies are judged to be in or out accordance g: with moral standards. moral the idea that agents are culpable for acting or neglecting responsibi to act. lity : moral norms about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right standar and wrong. ds : morality the standards that an individual or a group has about what : is right and wrong or good and evil (also, the subject that ethics investigates). multinatio a company that maintains manufacturing, marketing, nal service, or administrative operations in many different corporatio host countries. n: nanotechno a new field that encompasses the development of tiny logy : structures only billionths of a meter in size. nonmora standards by which we judge what is right/ wrong or l good/bad in a nonmoral way. standar ds : normati investigation attempting to reach conclusions about what ve study things are good or bad, or about what actions are right or : wrong. preconventi the first two stages of Kohlberg's stages of moral onal development, centering on response to rules, morality : punishments, and social expectations. prisoner s dilemma : a situation where two parties must choose whether to cooperate or not; both gain when both cooperate, while if only one cooperates the other gains even more, and if both do not cooperate both lose.

capitalis the belief that benefits should be distributed according to t the value of the contribution made by the individual to a justice : group. categori the requirement that I must act such that the maxim of my cal : action could be made universal law (or the requirement that

in acting I always treat others as ends in themselves and never as a means to an end). communitar concrete communities and communal relationships have ian ethic : fundamental value that should be preserved and maintained. compensat the belief that persons should have restored to them what ory justice they lose as the result of another's wrong action. : costanalyzes desirability of a project by comparing present and benefit future economic benefits to present and future economic analysis costs. : differen productive societies incorporate inequalities, but work to ce improve the position of the neediest. principle : distribut concerned with the fair distribution of society's benefits and ive burdens; the belief that individuals who are similar in all justice : relevant respects should be given similar benefits and burdens. efficienc producing desired output with lowest resource input. y: economi equality of income and wealth, and equality of opportunity. c equality : egalitari the belief that every person should be given exactly equal an shares of a group's benefits and burdens. justice : ethic of emphasizes care for the well-being of those close to us. care : ethic of evaluates the moral character of individuals or groups. virtue : instrume goods valued only because they lead to other good things. ntal goods : intrinsic things desired independently of any benefits they may goods : produce.

justice : how benefits and burdens are distributed among people. justice as fairness : associated with John Rawls; the belief that the distribution of benefits and burdens in a society is just only if each person has an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties compatible with similar liberties for all, and social and economic inequalities are arranged so that they are both to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and attached to offices and positions open to all fairly and equally. entitlements derived from a legal system.

legal rights :

libertariani the belief that freedom from human constraint is sm : necessarily good, and thus that constraints imposed by others are necessarily evil. maxim : the reason a person in a certain situation has for doing what she or he plans to do. moral rights : moral virtue : rights possessed by all human beings simply by virtue of being human. an acquired disposition that is valued as part of the character of a morally good human being and that is exhibited in the person habitual behavior.

negative duties others have to not interfere in certain activities of the rights : person who holds a given right. nonecono goods such as life, love, and freedom, whose value cannot mic goods be equaled by any quantity of any economic good. : original according to Rawls, the situation of a group that would say a position principle is morally justified; they must be rational self: interested persons who know they will live in a society governed by the principles they accept but who do not know the race, sex, religion, social position, interests, or abilities that they will have. political equal participation in, and treatment by, the means of equality controlling and directing the political system. : positive the duty of some other agents to provide the rights-holder rights : with whatever is needed to pursue the rights-holders interests. principle each citizens liberties must be protected and must equal of equal the liberties of each other citizens.

liberty : principle everyone deserves of fair privileged positions. equality of opportun ity : equal opportunity to qualify for

productiv the better the quality of a persons contribution, the more ity : the person should receive. puritan ethic : each individual is obliged to work hard at his or her calling.

retributi the belief that agents should be punished or blamed for ve wrongdoing. justice : reversibil parties choose principles that will apply to themselves. ity : rights : rights in general, an individual's entitlement to something; legal rights are those dictated by a system of laws; moral rights are those that permit or allow all humans to do or to have something done for them; negative rights prohibit others from interfering with an individual's actions; positive rights grant others the duty to provide an individual with something she or he needs.

rulerule-utilitarianism the view that an individual action is right utilitariani when it is required by correct moral rules and if the sum sm : total of utilities produced if everyone were to follow the rule is greater than the sum total utilities produced if everyone did not follow the rule. socialist the belief that benefits should be distributed according to justice : need and burdens according to ability. universalizab principles must apply equally to everyone. ility : utilitariani the view that actions are right when they produce the sm : greatest net benefits or the lowest net costs. utility : any net benefits produced by an action.

veil of veil of ignorance in Rawls original position, the rational ignoranc persons ignorance of his or her own status. e:

virtue virtue theory belief that the aim of the moral life is to theory : develop moral virtues, and to use them. work ethic : the high value placed on individual effort; belief that hard work leads to success.

absolute absolute advantage when one country can produce a good advanta more cheaply than another. ge : aggrega aggregate demand according to John Maynard Keynes, the te sum of the demand of three sectors of the economy: demand households, businesses, and government : alienatio alienation the effect, according to Marx, of capitalist systems n: which do not allow the working class to develop their productive potential or satisfy their real human needs. bourgeoi according to Marx, the class that owns the means of sie : production. comman a system where a single authority makes the decisions d about what is produced, and by whom, and to whom it is econom distributed. y: communitaria the belief that government should be authoritative, nism : defining the needs of the community and seeing that those needs are met. copyrigh a grant that indicates that a particular expression of an idea t: is the private property of an individual or company. economi the system a society uses to provide the goods and services c system it needs to survive and flourish. : economic the materials and social controls that society uses to substruct produce its economic goods. ure : forces of the materials (land, labor, natural resources, machinery, producti energy, technology) used in production. on : free a system in which individual firms, privately owned, make market their own decisions about what they will produce and how system : they will produce it. historical the Marxist view that history is determined by changes in 2

ideology a system of normative beliefs shared by a group, expressing : answers to questions about human nature, the purpose of society, and the values of the group. immiserat the combined effects of increased concentration, cyclic ion : crises, rising unemployment, and declining relative compensation. individuali the belief that government has a limited role, existing sm : primarily to protect the property of the individual and keep the marketplace open. intellect the property that consists of an abstract, nonphysical object; ual such property, unlike physical property, is nonexclusive. property : invisible according to Adam Smith, market competition drives selfhand : interested individuals to act in ways that serve society. Keynsia according to John Maynard Keynes, free markets alone are n not necessarily the most efficient means for coordinating the economi use of societies resources. cs : law of according to Locke, the moral principle that since all men nature : are free and equal, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions. Lockean the right to life, liberty, and property. rights : markets an economic system based primarily on private individuals : making decisions about what they will produce and who will get it. means the buildings, machinery, land, and raw materials used in of the production of goods and services. producti on : mixed an economy with both free market and central planning econom attributes. y: natural rights : the rights that nature teaches each man that he has according to the law of nature.

naturalis the assumption that whatever happens naturally is always

tic for the best. fallacy : patent : new inventions invented by a person that are designed as private property. posteconomists who have sought to challenge and modify Keynesi Keynesian economics. an school : private a system that maintains a system of property laws to assign property private individuals the right to make decisions about what system : they own. proletari according to Marx, the alienated working class. at : relations the social controls used in producing goods (i.e., the social of controls by which society organizes and controls its producti workers). on : Says law all available resources are used and demand always : expands to absorb the supply of commodities made from them. social social Darwinism belief that economic competition produces Darwinis human progress. m: social a societys government and its popular ideologies. superstruc ture : state of according to Locke, the state where each man is the political nature : equal of all others, perfectly free of any constraints except the law of nature. surplus value : the difference between the value of labor and the wage paid for it.

survival Charles Darwins term for the process of natural selection. of the fittest : tradition societies that rely on traditional communal roles and based customs to carry out basic economic tasks. societies :

antitrust the view that large oligopolistic or monopolistic companies : should be broken up into smaller firms to reinstate competitive pressures. countervai according to John Kenneth Galbraith, the force that ling balances and restrains the economic power of any large power : corporation or other large corporate group (for example, a union, or the government). demand a line on a graph indicating the maximum that consumers curve : (or buyers) would be willing to pay for a unit of some product when they buy different quantities of that product. dothe view that, in the face of monopolies, governments nothing should take no action whatsoever. view : equilibri the point at which the amount of goods buyers want to buy um point exactly equals the amount of goods sellers want to sell, and : at which the highest price buyers are willing to pay exactly equals the lowest price sellers are willing to take. equilibri the point at which the supply and demand curves meet um price (also known as the point of equilibrium); at this point, the : price buyers are willing to pay for a certain amount of goods exactly matches the price sellers must take to cover the costs of producing that same amount. exclusive when a firm sells to a retailer on condition that the retailer dealing will not purchase any products from other companies arrangem and/or will not sell outside of a certain geographical area. ents : extortio when the payee demands the payment by threatening injury n: to the payer's interests; it is not a bribe, and the payer's moral responsibility may be diminished in proportion to the severity of the threat. highly oligopoly markets that are dominated by a few (e.g. three concentra to eight) large firms. ted markets : horizont the unification of two or more companies that were formerly al competing in the same line of business. merger : imperfec markets that lie somewhere on the spectrum between the

tly two extremes of the perfectly competitive market with competit innumerable sellers and the pure monopoly market with ive only one seller. markets : manipulat when firms operating in an oligopolistic market agree to ion of limit their production so that prices rise to higher levels supply : than they would in free competition. monopol a market system where one seller has a substantial share of y the market (close to 100%) and no other sellers can enter. competit ion : oligopoli a market system where a small group of sellers has a stic substantial share of the market and no other sellers can competit enter; such markets are said to be highly concentrated. ion : oligopol a market shared by a relatively small number of large firms y: that together can exercise some influence on prices. perfect a market system in which no buyer or seller has the power competit to significantly affect the prices at which goods are being ion : exchanged. price when a seller charges different prices to different buyers discriminat for identical goods or services. ion : price fixing : when firms operating in an oligopolistic market secretly agree to set prices at artificially high levels.

price price leadership is related to price setting; when oligopolistic leadersh industries recognize one firm as the firm that sets the price, ip : that firm is the price leader. price when firms in an oligopolistic market conclude that setting : cooperation, rather than competition, is in their collective best interests, they may reach the independent conclusion that they will all benefit if, when one firm raises its prices, the others will follow. principle each additional item a person consumes is less satisfying of than each of the earlier items the person consumed. diminishi ng marginal

utility : principle after a certain point, each additional item a seller produces of costs more to produce than earlier items. increasi ng marginal costs : pure a market in which a single firm is the only seller in the monopol market and new sellers are barred from entering. y: regulati the view that large companies should not be broken up to on : reinstate competitive pressures; instead, regulatory agencies should be set up to restrain and control their activities. retail when a manufacturer sells to a retailer only on condition price that they agree to charge the same set retail prices for its maintena goods. nce : supply curve : trust : a line on a graph indicating the prices producers must charge to cover the average costs of supplying a given amount of a commodity. an alliance of previously competitive oligopolists formed to take advantage of monopoly powers.

tying when a firm sells a buyer a certain good only on condition arrangem that the buyer also purchase other goods from the firm. ent : acid rain sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are combined with water : vapor in clouds to form form nitric acid and sulfuric acid; these acids are then carried down and often fall hundreds of miles away from the original sources of the oxides. conservat saving or rationing natural resources for future use ion : cost a method of determining the relative worth of an action, benefit recognizing that the costs of actions are often inversely analysis related to the benefits derived from completing them. : ecofemini ecofeminism belief that the root of our ecological crisis lies sm : in a pattern of domination of nature that is tightly linked to the social practices and institutions through which women

have been subordinated to men. ecologic the idea that the environment should be protected for its al ethics own sake (also known as deep ecology). : ecologic an interrelated and interdependent set of organisms and al environments. system : environme the bearing of external costs of pollution largely by those ntal who do not enjoy a net benefit from the activity that injustice : produces the pollution. exponen the theory that a resource will be used up more and more tial quickly. depletio n: external the cost that those other than a manufacturer must bear for cost : the production of a product. free goods : goods that no one owns.

global the increase in temperatures around the globe due to rising warming levels of greenhouse gases. : greenho carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and use chlorofluorocarbons-gases that absorb and hold heat from gases : the sun, preventing it from escaping back into space, much like a greenhouse absorbs and holds the suns heat. internaliza absorption of costs by the producer, who takes them into tion of the account when determining the prices of goods. costs of pollution : to to move external costs inward, making them part of the internali private cost of a commodity. ze costs : major global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, airborne toxics. types of air pollution : multiple when a resource can 2 be used by several separate

organic organic wastes are largely untreated human wastes and wastes : sewage and industrial processing of various food products, from the pulp and paper industry, and from animal feedlots. ozone the gradual breakdown of ozone gas in the stratosphere depletio above us caused by the release of chlorofluorocarbons n: (CFCs) into the air. peaked the theory that a resource will be used up quickly at first, depletio and then more slowly as it becomes more difficult to extract. n: photochem a complex mixture of gases and particles manufactured ical smog : by sunlight out of raw materials -- nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons -- discharged to the atmosphere chiefly by automobiles. pollution the undesirable and unintended contamination of the : environment. private cost : the cost a manufacturer bears to produce a product.

resource the consumption of finite or scarce resources. depletio n: social audit : social cost : a regular measurement and recording of the impacts of a corporation's activities upon society. the cost which society bears to produce a product.

social the idea that the environmental crises we face are rooted in ecology the social systems of hierarchy and domination that : characterize our society. toxic a substance harmful to some form of life. substan ce :

unlimite goods that seem to be limitless, like the environment. d goods : brand the result of effective advertising campaigns on consumers, loyalty : which gives large corporations control over a major portion

of the market. caveat "let the buyer beware." emptor : caveat "let the seller beware." vendor : commerc communication between a seller and potential buyers that is ial publicly addressed to a mass audience and is intended to advertisi induce several members of this audience to buy the sellers ng : products. contract the view that the relationship between a business and its ual customers is a contractual one; the moral duties to the theory customer are those created by this contract. (of a seller's duties) : disclaim a statement made by a seller explicitly disclaiming that the er : product is reliable, serviceable, or safe. due care the theory that, since consumers must depend on the theory greater expertise of the manufacturer, the manufacturer not (of a only has a duty to deliver a product that lives up to the seller's express and implied claims about it, but also has a duty to duties) : exercise due care to prevent others from being injured by the product--even if the manufacturer explicitly disclaims such responsibility. duty not the duty of a seller not to take advantage of gullibility, to immaturity, ignorance, or any other factor that might reduce coerce : the buyer's ability to make a rational choice. duty not the duty of a seller not to deliberately deceive the buyer to into thinking something about a product that the seller misrepres knows is false. ent : duty of the duty of a seller to inform the buyer of any facts about disclosu the product that would affect the decision to purchase it. re : duty to according to the contractual theory, the seller has a duty to comply : carry through on any implied claims he knowingly makes about the product. free riders : individuals who acquire a benefit paid for by others who desire the same benefit.

implied claim :

a claim about the quality or character of a product that is knowingly,though not explicitly, made by a seller.

implied the indirect contractual relationship made between a warrant company and its customers by its advertisements. y: maintainabi the ease with which a product can be repaired and kept lity : in operating condition. market consumer safety is seen as a good that is most efficiently approac provided through the mechanism of the free market h to whereby sellers must respond to consumer demands. consume r protecti on : physical privacy with respect to a persons physical activities. privacy : producti on costs / selling costs : with reference to advertising, production costs are the costs of the resources consumed in producing a product; selling costs are the additional costs of resources that do not go into changing the product but rather are invested in persuading people to buy it.

product implied and express claims that refer to the degree of risk safety : associated with using a product. psycholog privacy with respect to a persons inner life. ical privacy : rational a person who has a well-defined and consistent set of utility preferences, and who is certain how personal choices will maximiz affect those preferences. er : reasona a risk that is known and judged to be acceptable by the ble risk : buyer. reliabilit the probability that a product will function as the consumer y: is led to expect. right to the right of persons to determine what, to whom, and how privacy : much information about themselves will be disclosed to other parties. selling the additional costs of resources that do not go into

costs : service life : social costs theory (of a seller's duties) :

changing the product, but are invested persuading people to buy the product.

instead

in

the period of time during which a product will function as effectively as the consumer is led to expect it to function. the theory that the duties of the manufacturer extend far beyond those imposed by contractual and due care duties; manufacturers should pay the cost of any injuries sustained through any defects in their products, even when they exercise due care and have taken all reasonable precautions. (Related to the legal doctrine of strict liability.)

strict a legal doctrine that holds that manufacturers must bear the liability : external costs of injuries resulting from unavoidable defects in the design of an artifact constitute part of the costs society must pay for producing and using an artifact. affirmati positive programs which are aimed at eliminating the effects ve of past discrimination; as opposed to negative policies which action : are aimed at preventing further discrimination. America bars discrimination on the basis of disability and requires ns with that employers make reasonable accommodation for their Disabiliti disabled employees and customers. es Act of 1990 : compara a program that attempts to place higher salaries on ble pay : positions that most women already hold (as opposed to an affirmative action program that would attempt to place more women into positions paying more). compara ble worth program : measuring the value of each job to an organization to ensure that jobs of equal value are paid the same salary regardless of whether external labor markets pay the same rates for those jobs.

discriminat the wrongful act of distinguishing illicitly among people ion : not on the basis of individual merit, but on the basis of prejudice or some other invidious or morally reprehensible attitude. discriminat an employment practice which has the effect of wrongful ory discrimination, regardless of whether it is intentional or practice : systematic; the practice may deal with recruitment, screening, promotion, discharge, and/or conditions of employment.

Equal a federal agency that investigates claims of on the job Opportun sexual harassment and discrimination. ity Employm ent Commissi on : glass an invisible, but impenetrable, barrier to further promotion ceiling : sometimes encountered by women or minorities. institutional wrongful discrimination which is part of the routine ized behavior of a group or corporation; it may be either discriminati intentional or unintentional. on : intentional wrongful discrimination which is done knowingly either by discriminat an individual or a group. ion : invidiou the belief that members of another sexual or racial group s are inferior or less worthy of respect. contemp t: isolated wrongful discrimination which is part of the isolated discriminat behavior of a single individual; it may be either ion : intentional or unintentional. job the wrongful act of discriminating in employment on the discriminat basis of prejudice or some other morally reprehensible ion : attitude; it is discrimination not based on individual merit, derived at least in part from racial or sexual prejudice, and having a negative impact on the interest of the employee. nonintenti wrongful discrimination which is done unthinkingly or al unintentionally either by an individual or a group. discriminat ion : principle individuals who are equal in all respects relevant to the kind of of treatment in question should be treated equally even if equality they are dissimiliar in other nonrelevant respects. : reverse a term used by opponents of affirmative action; the idea discriminat that affirmative action's effects are preferential treatment

ion :

for minorities and discrimination against white males on the basis of an irrelevant characteristic, race or sex.

sexual under certain conditions, unwelcome sexual advances, harassm requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical ent : contact of a sexual nature. utilizatio a detailed study of the major job classifications in a firm, n designed to determine whether there are fewer minorities or analysis women in any particular job classification than could be : expected from their availability; part of an affirmative action program. actual conflict of interest : when an employee has an interest that might influence the judgments she makes for the employer when performing a certain task for the employer and has actually been given that task to perform.

apparen a situation in which an employee has no actual conflict of t conflict interest, but in which other people looking at the situation of may come to believe (wrongly) that there is an actual interest conflict of interest. : bribe : bribe in business, a consideration (money, goods, preferential treatment, or the like) given to an individual by a person outside the organization on the understanding that when the individual acts on behalf of the organization, the employee will deal favorably with the person or his/her firm.

caring an organization in which the dominant moral concepts are model of those that arise from an ethic of care. the organizat ion : commerc occurs when an employee demands a consideration from ial persons outside the firm as a condition for dealing favorably extortio with those persons when the employee transact business for n: the firm. conflict of interest (actual and potentia l) : in business, conflict of interest can arise when an employee has a private interest in a task he completes for a business that is possibly antagonistic to the best interests of the company and substantial enough that it might affect the employees independent judgment. Actual conflicts occur when a person does discharge his or her duties in a way that is prejudicial to the firm out of self-interest; potential

conflicts occur when a person is merely motivated or tempted to do so. due the right to a fair process by which decision makers impose process sanctions on their subordinates. : employe the doctrine that, unless employees are protected by an e at implicit contract, employers may dismiss their employees will : at will for good cause, for no cause, or even for causes morally wrong without thereby being guilty of legal wrong. fair wage : the moral wage to pay an employee; based on an area's (and industry's) going wage, the capabilities of the firm, minimum wage laws, and other considerations.

formal the positions and relationships identified in the hierarchi organizational chart that represents the various official es of positions and lines of authority in the organization. authorit y: horizontal/ver tical specialization : horizontal specialization decreases the range of different tasks and increases the repetition of the narrow range of tasks in a job; vertical specialization restricts the range of control and decision making over the activity in a job.

insider confidential and proprietary information about a company informati which has a material or significant impact on the price of on : the company's stock. insider the act of buying and selling a companys stock on the basis trading : of inside information about the company. job a measure of how workers perceive their own jobs; it is satisfact determined by experienced meaningfulness, responsibility, ion : and an employee's knowledge of results. job the restriction of an employees job tasks with the aim of specializa achieving the organizations goals as efficiently as tion : possible. manufactur an economy in which a large portion of employees are ing engaged in work that is aimed at producing economy : manufactured products, such as the auto or steel industries. middle managers who direct the units below them and are in turn manager directed by those above them in ascending lines of

s:

authority.

objectiv conflicts of interest based on financial relationships. e conflicts of interest : operatin those employees and their immediate supervisors who g layer : directly produce the goods and services that constitute the essential outputs of an organization. organizati the processes in which individuals or groups within an onal organizational use non-formally sanctioned power tactics politics : to advance their own aims. OSHA : the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, founded in 1970 by Congress to "assure every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions."

participat a leadership style that emphasizes inclusion of employees ive in evaluation and decision-making processes. managem ent : political the model of business organizations that emphasizes model : competing power coalitions and formal and informal lines of influence and communication; generally, this model is a more complex network of relationships than that represented by an organizational chart. potentia l conflicts of interest : occur when an employee has an interest that could influence the judgments made for the employer if the employee were performing a certain task for the employer but has not yet been given the task to perform.

rational the model of business organizations which defines them as model : structures of formal relationships designed to achieve a technical or economic goal with maximum efficiency; often associated with a firm's organizational chart. service an economy in which most employees are engaged in soeconom called service industries where work consists largely of y: providing services to others, such as the banking, restaurant, legal, educational, software design, fashion design, and medical industries.

subjecti conflicts of interest that are based on emotional ties or on ve relationships. conflicts of interest : sweatsh a workplace that has numerous health and safety hazards op : and poor working conditions, as well as low wages. top the board of directors, the chief executive officer, and the manager CEOs staff. s: whistleblo the act of attempting to disclose wrongdoing in or by an wing : organization; it can be either internal, when the act is reported to the organization, or external, when it is reported to an outside source.