Philosophy of Business
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Philosophy of Business explores fundamental questions regarding the nature, purpose, and ethical dimensions of business practices. The course examines diverse philosophical perspectives on the roles of businesses in society, models of corporate responsibility, and the tension between profit and ethical conduct. Students analyze key philosophical theories utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics and apply them to real-world dilemmas in corporate governance, stakeholder relationships, marketing, and global commerce. The course encourages critical reflection on the values that drive business decision-making and challenges students to consider what constitutes a just and sustainable business environment.
Recommended Textbook
Ethical Theory and Business 9th Edition by Denis
G. Arnold
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10 Chapters
302 Verified Questions
302 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/2469 Page 2
Chapter 1: Ethical Theory and Business Practice
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49024
Sample Questions
Q1) Writers in business ethics concern themselves not just with the justness of results but also with the procedures toward that result.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Issues of comparing the value of an increase in oil supply, jobs, and consumer purchasing power with the value of wildlife preservation and protection is an example of the measurement critique of utilitarianism.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
Q3) Virtue ethics is fundamentally incompatible with Kantian ethics.
A)True
B)False Answer: False
Q4) Morality, or ethics, is essentially the same as the law.
A)True
B)False Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Corporate Responsibility
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49025
Sample Questions
Q1) According to Milton Friedman in "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits," the managers of a company may spend corporate money on charitable enterprises only when:
A) They are sure that doing so will increase profits.
B) They truly believe the cause to be worthy.
C) They have expertise in the area.
D) They have had a profitable year.
Answer: A
Q2) According to R. Edward Freeman in "Managing for Stakeholders," stakeholder interests may be prioritized by different companies differently.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) According to R. Edward Freeman in "Managing for Stakeholders," the Separation Thesis holds that business questions are distinct from ethical questions.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Ethical Treatment of Employees
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49026
Sample Questions
Q1) As outlined by John Boatright in "Occupational Health and Safety", in the Whirlpool case the Supreme Court ruled that employees are justified in their refusal to work and need not request an OSHA inspection in the case of "imminent danger".
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Epstein claims that the positions of both employers and employees are essentially even with regard to EAW. Do you find this line of argument convincing. Why or why not Answer: I do not find Epstein's argument convincing. The positions of employers and employees are not essentially even with regard to Employee at Will (EAW). Employers hold significantly more power and control in the employment relationship. They have the ability to hire, fire, and set the terms and conditions of employment, while employees often have limited bargaining power and are at the mercy of their employers. Additionally, employers typically have access to legal resources and financial means that employees may not have, further tipping the balance of power in their favor. Therefore, I do not agree with Epstein's assertion that the positions of employers and employees are essentially even with regard to EAW.
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Chapter 4: Diversity, Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace
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35 Verified Questions
35 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49027
Sample Questions
Q1) In "Diversity", George Sher argues that forward-looking justifications of affirmative action avoid the difficulties inherent in backward-looking justifications which believe that affirmative action is justified as retribution for past injustices.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In their conclusion Jaimie Leeser and William O'Donohue in "Normative Issues in Defining Sexual Harassment", contend that it is a violation of which of these moral principles that underlies the moral wrong involved in sexual harassment
A) A violation of the utilitarian greatest happiness principle
B) A violation of the principle of justice as fairness
C) A violation of Kant's second formulation of the Categorical Imperative, the principle of respect for persons
D) All of the above
Q3) In "A defense of Diversity Affirmative Action", Sterba highlighted a number of U.S. Supreme Court cases that support affirmative action processes in one way or another.
A)True
B)False
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Marketing and the Disclosure of Information
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49028
Sample Questions
Q1) T of F: Denis Arnold argues that all three types of DTC advertising are unethical at their roots.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Think back to chapter two and the notions of corporate social responsibility, corporation obligations to numerous stakeholders, and ethical corporate cultures. How do these topics in chapter 2 consider consumer marketing and information disclosure.Discuss how each of these three concepts from chapter 2 relate to and would address the controversial nature of marketing and information disclosure.
Q3) According to Denis Arnold in "The Ethics of Direct to Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising", critics of DTC advertising claim that it does which of the following:
A)Undermines patient-physician relationships by persuading consumers to believe they need particular drugs.
B)Encourages over-medication of consumers with messages that drugs are the best solution for problems.
C)Neither a nor b
D)Both a & b
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Chapter 6: Ethical Issues in Finance and Accounting
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49029
Sample Questions
Q1) John Boatright suggests that one argument in favor of insider trading is that the markets might act more efficiently and with less cost.
A)True
B)False
Q2) As argued by Duska and Duska, auditors should strive for as little "independence risk" from the companies they audit as possible so that they can act as insiders to their operations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Briefly explain the correlation between legislation banning insider trading and the cost of capital as highlighted by Alan Studler in "The Moral Problem of Insider Trading".
Q4) John Boatright explains that determining the suitability of a broker's recommendations to a client is difficult to do with any one security and is more easily determined within the context of a client's portfolio.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Briefly interpret what Nielson means by "High Leverage Finance Capitalism".
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Chapter 7: Ethical Issues Regarding Emerging Technologies
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49030
Sample Questions
Q1) According to Jeffery Smith, what basic human rights are violated by Chinese regulatory efforts on the internet
Q2) Advances in technology, as highlighted by Johnson in "Privacy and Internet Ethics", have allowed us to all but erase the effect of erroneous information on individuals' lives.
A)True B)False
Q3) Werhane and Gorman argue that intellectual property is hardly the result of one company's hard work but instead is developed from a complex set of relationships that often goes back centuries and is often causally ambiguous, making it difficult to parse out responsibility. They turn to their "alliance model" to address a new mental model of approaching intellectual property and the pharmaceutical industry. Evaluate the five points to the model.
Q4) According to "Internet Content Providers and Complicity in Human Rights Abuse," Jeffery D. Smith would likely contend that direct violations are the most morally problematic form of complicity in human rights violations
A)True B)False
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Chapter 8: Ethical Issues Regarding the Natural Environment
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49031
Sample Questions
Q1) According to Norman Bowie in "Money, Morality and Motor Cars," business has no special obligation to stop polluting above its natural limits.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Hawkens, Lovin, and Lovin proclaim modern day capitalism as a "financially profitable, nonsustainable aberration in human development." Describe both the tenets of their notion of natural capitalism and the strategies designed to work toward such a society.
Q3) The case, "Royal Caribbean: Exotic Promises and Toxic Waters" implies that a main difficulty in enforcing environmental standards with cruise lines is that they are often not American and thus not subject to our laws.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Briefly interpret what Alan Holland means in "Sustainability" when he suggests we measure sustainable development with economic models.
Q5) In your own words, define sustainable development Alan Holland does in "Sustainability".
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Chapter 9: Ethical Issues in International Business
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49032
Sample Questions
Q1) In their essay "Sweatshops and Respect for Persons," Denis Arnold and Norman Bowie argue that a worker's productivity is independent of the wages paid to that worker.
A)True
B)False
Q2) International efforts to combat corruption, as described by Hess and Dunfee, have done all but which of the following
A) Been ratified by 30+ countries
B) Made it illegal to bribe abroad
C) Made sweatshops illegal in every country
D) Reduced corruption (reports)by 27%
Q3) In "The Human rights Obligations of Multinational Corporations" Denis Arnold argues that business has what type of obligations.Describe these obligations. Additionally, assess the managerial implications of such claims. What should corporations do with this information
Q4) The Adidas case study highlighted the company's focused efforts to reform what kind of practices from their suppliers
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Chapter 10: Social and Economic Justice
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27 Verified Questions
27 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/49033
Sample Questions
Q1) In "Do CEOs Get Paid Too Much " Jeffrey Moriarty argues that there is no viable justification for the salaries that CEOs are paid. What if anything is morally wrong with the salaries that CEOs are paid. Be careful to use the ethical theories that have been discussed in order to defend your position.
Q2) In the case, "Cocaine at the Fortune 500 Level", Roberto hesitates to follow through with the opportunity in the cocaine industry because of reasons of humanity rather than moral compromise.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Moriarty rejects the Desert view in favor of current levels of CEO because he believes that the ability of CEO's to affect company performance is largely constrained by forces outside of their control.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In "The Entitlement Theory" according to John Locke's "principle of justice in acquisition", making a public claim on an un-owned object makes it one's own.
A)True
B)False
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