Philosophical Ethics and Business Globalization: True/False Questions

Chapter 03 - Philosophical Ethics and Business
Chapter 03
Philosophical Ethics and Business
Globalization
True/False Questions
1. (p. 66) An ethical theory only attempts to answer the question of how we should live our
lives.
FALSE
Not only do ethical theories attempt to answer the question of how we should live, but they
also provide reasons to support their answer.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 1

2. (p. 66) Deontological ethical traditions direct us to act on the basis of moral principles such as
respecting human rights.
TRUE
Deontological ethical traditions, direct us to act on the basis of moral principles such as
respecting human rights.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-1
3. (p. 67) Much of the neoclassical economics, and the model of business and management
embedded in it, has its roots in utilitarian thinking.
TRUE
Utilitarianism was part of the same social movement that gave rise to modern democratic
market capitalism. Much of neoclassical economics, and the model of business and
management embedded in it, has its roots in utilitarian thinking.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

4. (p. 67) Virtue ethics tells us that we should act in ways that promote human wellbeing, from
among the alternatives we are considering.
FALSE
Utilitarianism tells us that we should act in ways that produce better overall consequences
than the alternatives we are considering. "Better" consequences are those that promote human
wellbeing.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

5. (p. 68) If a basic human value is individual happiness, then an action that promotes more of
that is not necessarily reasonable or justified from an ethical point of view.
FALSE
If a basic human value is individual happiness, then an action that promotes more of that is
more reasonable and more justified from an ethical point of view.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-2
6. (p. 68) Utilitarianism opposes policies that aim to benefit only a small social, economic, or
political minority.
TRUE
Utilitarianism is a social philosophy that provides strong support for democratic institutions
and policies and opposes those policies that aim to benefit only a small social, economic, or
political minority.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

7. (p. 69) According to the text, if child labor produces overall positive consequences to the
economy, utilitarianism will support it.
TRUE
One might argue on utilitarian grounds that child labor practices are ethically permissible if
they produce better overall consequences than the alternatives.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

8. (p. 69) Deontological traditions have a strong inclination to rely on the social sciences for
help in predicting the social consequences of decisions.
FALSE
The utilitarian tradition has a strong inclination to rely on the social sciences for help in
making such predictions.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-3
9. (p. 70) According to the utilitarian movement imbibing the tradition of Adam Smith, business
managers should focus on profit maximization.
TRUE
One movement within utilitarian thinking invokes the tradition of Adam Smith, claiming that
free and competitive markets can attain utilitarian goals.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

10. (p. 70) Under the framework of virtue ethics, competitive markets are considered the most
efficient means of maximizing happiness.
FALSE
Economists see competitive markets as the most efficient means to the utilitarian end of
maximizing happiness.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

11. (p. 71) The 'market' version of utilitarianism argues that questions of safety and risk should
be determined by experts who establish standards that the business is required to meet.
FALSE
The 'administrative' version of utilitarianism argues that questions of safety and risk should be
determined by experts who then establish standards that business is required to meet.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-4
12. (p. 73) Utilitarian ethics can support the breaking of duties or responsibilities.
TRUE
Since utilitarianism focuses on the overall consequences, utilitarianism seems willing to
sacrifice the good of individuals for the greater overall good.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

13. (p. 76) A social contract functions to organize and ease relations between individuals.
TRUE
Rules can be thought of as part of a social agreement, or social contract, which functions to
organize and ease relations between individuals.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

14. (p. 83) An ethics of virtue shifts the focus from questions about who a person is, to what a
person should do.
FALSE
An ethics of virtue shifts the focus from questions about what a person should do, to a focus
on who that person is.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-5
15. (p. 86) Virtue ethics remind us to look to the actual practices within businesses and ask what
type of people these practices are creating.
TRUE
Virtue ethics reminds us to look to the actual practices we find in the business world and ask
what type of people these practices are creating.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard
Multiple Choice Questions
16. (p. 66) An ethical tradition that directs us to decide based on overall consequences of our
actions is termed
a. deontological ethics.
b. social justice.
C. utilitarianism.
d. virtue ethics.
Utilitarianism is an ethical tradition that directs us to decide based on overall consequences of
our act.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-6
17. (p. 66) The study of various character traits that can contribute to, or obstruct, a happy and
meaningful human life is part of
a. philosophical ethics.
B. virtue ethics.
c. deontological ethics.
d. utilitarianism.
Virtue ethics directs us to consider the moral character of individuals and how various
character traits can contribute to, or obstruct a happy and meaningful human life.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

18. (p. 66) Philosophical ethics seeks foundations that all reasonable people can accept,
regardless of their
a. educational background.
b. economical background.
c. cultural background.
D. religious background.
Philosophical ethics seeks foundations that all reasonable people can accept, regardless of
their religious convictions.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-7
19. (p. 67) _____ was part of the same social movement that gave rise to modern democratic
market capitalism.
A. Utilitarianism
b. Virtue ethics
c. Deontological ethics
d. Ethical relativism
Utilitarianism was part of the same social movement that gave rise to modern democratic
market capitalism.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

20. (p. 68) Which among the following provides a strong support for democratic institutions and
policies?
A. Utilitarianism
b. Virtue ethics
c. Deontological ethics
d. Social justice
The emphasis on producing the greatest good for the greatest number makes utilitarianism a
social philosophy that provides strong support for democratic institutions and policies and
opposes those policies that aim to benefit only a small social, economic, or political minority.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-8
21. (p. 69) According to which type of ethical framework would child labor in any country be
tolerated?
a. Virtue ethics
b. Deontological ethics
C. Utilitarianism
d. Social justice
In judging the ethics of child labor, utilitarian thinking would advise us to consider all the
likely consequences of employing young children in factories. If the consequences are good,
then it is tolerated.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

22. (p. 69) The utilitarian tradition has a long history of relying on _____ for deciding on the
ethical legitimacy of alternative decisions.
a. intuition
b. experience
c. variable analysis
D. social sciences
Deciding on the ethical legitimacy of alternative decisions requires that we make judgments
about the likely consequences of our actions. How do we do this? The utilitarian tradition has
a strong inclination to rely on the social sciences for help in making such predictions.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

3-9
23. (p. 70) Utilitarian thinking would promote the following policies except to:
a. deregulate private industry.
b. protect property rights.
C. regulate advertising.
d. allow for free exchanges.
Utilitarian thinking invokes the tradition of Adam Smith, claiming that free and competitive
markets are the best means for attaining utilitarian goals. This version would promote policies
that deregulate private industry, protect property rights, allow for free exchanges, and
encourage competition.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

24. (p. 70) One sector of economists that view profit maximization as a central idea to corporate
social responsibility are following the
a. social justice through fairness framework of ethics.
b. deontological framework of ethics.
C. utilitarian framework of ethics.
d. virtuebased framework of ethics.
free and competitive markets are the best means for attaining utilitarian goals. Given this
utilitarian goal, neoclassical free market economics advises us that the most efficient economy
is structured according to the principles of free market capitalism. This requires that business
managers, in turn, should seek to maximize profits. This idea is central to one common
perspective on corporate social responsibility.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-10
25. (p. 70 – 71) Under which of the following do the legislative (bureaucratic) side and the
administrative side of an organization work together?
a. Virtue ethics framework of ethics.
B. Utilitarian framework of ethics.
c. Social justice through fairness framework of ethics.
d. Deontological framework of ethics.
A second influential version of utilitarian policy turns to policy experts who can predict the
outcome of various policies and carry out policies that will attain utilitarian ends. This
approach to public policy underlies one theory of the entire administrative and bureaucratic
side of government and organizations. From this view, the legislative body establishes the
public goals that we assume will maximize overall happiness. The administrative side
executes (administers) policies to fulfill these goals.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

26. (p. 71) What according to the authors will prove best for optimally satisfying the various
interests in the two approaches to utilitarianism?
A. Marketbased solutions
b. Consumersupplier partnerships
c. Deontological practices
d. Strict governmental regulations
The very basic economic concept of efficiency can be understood as a placeholder for the
utilitarian goal of maximum overall happiness. Thus, marketbased solutions will prove best
at optimally satisfying these various and competing interests and will thereby serve the overall
good.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-11
27. (p. 72) Which among the following frameworks of ethics becomes less practical with an
increase in the number of people, animals, etc that could be affected by decisions made?
Some utilitarians argue that the happiness of future generations ought to be considered; others
include animals and all living beings capable of feeling pleasure and pain. The more
expansive the list we should consider, the less practical utilitarian thinking becomes.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge, Analysis
Difficulty: Medium

28. (p. 72) The essence of utilitarianism is
a. to compare the consequences of alternative actions.
B. its reliance on consequences.
c. its focus on just one consequence.
d. to ignore harmful consequences.
A second challenge goes directly to the core of utilitarianism. The essence of utilitarianism is
its reliance on consequences.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-12
29. (p. 72 – 73) Which ethical framework goes against the ethical principle of obeying certain
duties or responsibilities, no matter the end result?
a. Deontological framework of ethics.
b. Social justice through fairness framework of ethics.
c. Virtue ethics framework of ethics.
D. Utilitarian framework of ethics.
its reliance on consequences. In short, the end justifies the means. But this seems to deny one
of the earliest ethical principles that many of us have learned: The ends do not justify the
means. To put it another way, we have certain duties or responsibilities that we ought to obey,
even when doing so does not produce a net increase in overall happiness.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

30. (p. 73) A manager honoring a commitment, although resulting in unfavorable consequences,
is highlighting the difficulties associated with which type of ethical framework?
its reliance on consequences. In short, the end justifies the means. But this seems to deny one
of the earliest ethical principles that many of us have learned: The ends do not justify the
means. To put it another way, we have certain duties or responsibilities that we ought to obey,
even when doing so does not produce a net increase in overall happiness.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge, Analysis
Difficulty: Hard

3-13
31. (p. 74 – 75) Which ethical framework is based on the foundations of rules and the need for
them to be followed, no matter the consequences?
c. Utilitarian framework of ethics.
D. Deontological framework of ethics.
The idea behind deontological ethics is based on common sense. Ethical principles can simply
be thought of as types of rules, and this approach to ethics tells us that there are some rules we
ought to follow, even if doing so prevents good consequences from happening or even if it
results in some bad consequences.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

32. (p. 75) Rolebased duties concerned with professionals in business (lawyers, accountants,
financial analysts, bankers etc.) are often termed as _____.
a. work culture
b. code of conduct
c. activity alerts
D. gatekeeper functions
Perhaps the most dramatic example of rolebased duties concerns the work of professionals
within business. They have important roles to play within political and economic institutions.
Many of these roles, often described as "gatekeeper functions," insure the integrity and proper
functioning of the economic, legal, or financial system.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-14
33. (p. 76) This signifies the fact that no group could function if members were free at all times
to decide for themselves what to do and how to act.
a. Ethical standards
B. Social contract
c. Social mores
d. Personal norms
Legal rules, organizational rules, rolebased rules, and professional rules can be thought of
being a part of a social agreement, or social contract, which functions to organize and ease
relations between individuals. No group could function if members were free at all times to
decide for themselves what to do and how to act.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

34. (p. 77) Immanuel Kant argued that there is one fundamental ethical principle that one has to
follow, no matter what the consequence. Identify it.
a. Speak the truth always.
b. Remain loyal to family.
C. Respect the dignity of individuals.
d. Always help the poor.
The foremost advocate of this tradition in ethics, the 18thcentury German philosopher
Immanuel Kant, argued that there is essentially one such fundamental ethical principle:
respect the dignity of each individual human being.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-15
35. (p. 77) Kant's version which directs us to act according to those rules that could be
universally agreed by all people forms part of the famous "Kantian _____."
a. hypothetical imperative
b. decisive correlations
C. categorical imperative
d. moral objectivism
One version directs us to act according to those rules that could be universally agreed to by all
people. (This is the first form of the famous "Kantian categorical imperative.")
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

36. (p. 78) Fundamentally, the concept of _____ is central to the deontological tradition.
a. social justice
b. normative analysis
c. personal ethics
D. moral rights
According to Immanuel Kant, by treating humans as ends in themselves, and not as a means
to one's own ends, the concept of a moral right is central to the deontological tradition.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-16
37. (p. 78) Which among the following justifies the assumption that humans possess special
dignity, and should be treated as ends in themselves?
a. Their ability to make rely on instinct.
b. Their ability to love and nourish their offspring.
C. Their ability to make free and rational choices.
d. Their ability to act according to conditioning.
What human characteristic justifies the assumption that humans possess a special dignity?
The most common answer offered through the Western ethical tradition is that the human
capacity to make free and rational choices is the distinctive human characteristic.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

38. (p. 80) Which among the following is not a legal right?
a. Equal opportunity
b. Collective bargaining as part of a union
C. Particular pension funds
d. Freedom from sexual harassment
Legal rights granted to employees on the basis of legislation or judicial rulings include a right
to a minimum wage, equal opportunity, to bargain collectively as part of a union, to be free
from sexual harassment, and so forth. Employee rights might also refer to those goods that
employees are entitled to on the basis of contractual agreements with employers. In this sense,
a particular employee might have a right to a specific health care package, a certain number of
paid holidays, pension funds, and the like.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-17
39. (p. 81) Rawls' system of social justice as fairness is founded on all of the following except
a. the veil of ignorance.
b. unanimous agreement.
c. institutionalized fairness.
D. equal distribution of benefits of a society.
One of the principles derived from the veil of ignorance is the fact that the benefits and the
burdens of a society should generally be distributed equally.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

40. (p. 86) Which of the following focuses on the concept of practices and what type of people
these practices are creating?
A. Virtue ethics framework of ethics.
c. Utilitarian framework of ethics.
Virtue ethics reminds us to look to the actual practices we find in the business world and ask
what type of people these practices are creating. Many individual moral dilemmas that arise
within business can best be understood as arising from a tension between the type of person
we seek to be and the type of person business expects us to be.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
Fill in the Blank Questions
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41. (p. 66) ___________ provides a rational justification for why we should act and decide in a
particular way.
Philosophical ethics
Anyone can offer prescriptions for what you should do and how you should act, but
philosophical ethics answers the "Why?" question as well by connecting its prescriptions with
an underlying account of a good and meaningful human life.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

42. (p. 66) Virtue ethics directs us to consider the _____ of individuals and how various
character traits can contribute to, or obstruct a happy, meaningful life.
moral character
Virtue ethics, directs us to consider the moral character of individuals and how various
character traits can contribute to, or obstruct, a happy and meaningful human life.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

43. (p. 67) _____ was part of the same social movement that gave rise to modern democratic
market capitalism.
Utilitarianism
The first ethical tradition that we will discuss, utilitarianism, has its roots in 18th and 19th
century social and political philosophy. Utilitarianism was part of the same social movement
that gave rise to modern democratic market capitalism.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

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44. (p. 68) The emphasis on producing the greatest good for the greatest number makes
utilitarianism a _____.
social philosophy
The emphasis on producing the greatest good for the greatest number makes utilitarianism a
social philosophy that provides strong support for democratic institutions and policies and
opposes those policies that aim to benefit only a small social, economic, or political minority.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

45. (p. 69) People endorsing child labor and justifying that it brings in foreign investment within
poor countries are mostly _____.
utilitarians
Utilitarians consider choices and decisions in terms of the consequence of the action, and it
they feel that child labor will have more positive end results than negative ones; then child
labor could be endorsed by utilitarians.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

46. (p. 69) Utilitarian reasoning usually supplies some support for each _____.
competing available alternative
Utilitarian reasoning also usually supplies some support for each competing available
alternative.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

3-20
47. (p. 70) In a utilitarian goal, neoclassical free market economics advises us that the most
efficient economy is structured according to the principles of _____.
free market capitalism
is structured according to the principles of free market capitalism.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

48. (p. 71) The _____ version of the utilitarian framework of ethics is sympathetic with
government regulation of business since such regulation will insure that business activities
contribute to the overall good.
administrative
A second version of utilitarian policy turns to policy experts who can predict the outcome of
various policies and carry out policies that will attain utilitarian ends. This approach to public
policy underlies one theory of the entire administrative and bureaucratic side of government
and organizations. This utilitarian approach, for example, would be sympathetic with
government regulation of business on the grounds that such regulation will insure that
business activities do contribute to the overall good.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-21
49. (p. 71) The _____ version of the utilitarian framework of ethics argues that the best judges
of acceptable risk and safety of products are the consumers themselves.
market
The dispute between these two versions of utilitarian policy, what we might call the
"administrative" and the "market" versions of utilitarianism, characterizes many disputes in
business ethics. One clear example concerns regulation of unsafe or risky products.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

50. (p. 72) One problem associated with utilitarianism is that the essence of utilitarianism is its
_______.
reliance on consequences
its reliance on consequences
AACSB: 3
BT: Analysis
Difficulty: Medium

51. (p. 73) Keeping one's word, and ensuring contractual agreements no matter the
consequences, is an example of _____.
duties or responsibilities
We have certain duties or responsibilities that we ought to obey, even when doing so does not
produce a net increase in overall happiness.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

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52. (p. 76) Legal rules, organizational rules, rolebased rules, and professional rules, all form a
part of a social agreement called the _____.
social contract
Legal rules, organizational rules, rolebased rules, and professional rules can be thought of as
part of a social agreement, or social contract, which functions to organize and ease relations
between individuals.
AACSB: 1
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

53. (p. 77) The basis of the ethical principle emphasized by Immanuel Kant is to ______.
respect the dignity of individuals
The 18thcentury German philosopher Immanuel Kant, argued that there is essentially one
such fundamental ethical principle: respect the dignity of each individual human being.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

54. (p. 78) That humans are able to make free choices about how they live their lives, and make
decision about their own ends, enables us to say that humans have _____.
autonomy
Humans do not act only out of instinct and conditioning; they make free choices about how
they live their lives, about their own ends. In this sense, humans are said to have autonomy.
AACSB: 3, 5
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

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55. (p. 83) Virtue ethics differs from utilitarian and deontological approaches from the
perspective of _____.
egoism
To understand how virtue ethics differs from utilitarian and deontological approaches,
consider the problem of egoism. As mentioned above, egoism is a view that holds that people
act only out of selfinterest.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Essay Questions
56. (p. 66) What is an ethical theory and how do they help?
An ethical theory is nothing more than an attempt to provide a systematic answer to the
fundamental ethical question: How should human beings live their lives? Not only do ethical
theories attempt to answer the question of how we should live, but they also provide reasons
to support their answer. As the previous chapter suggested, accountable decisionmaking
requires giving reasons to justify our actions. Ethical theories seek to provide a rational
justification for why we should act and decide in a particular way.
Philosophical ethics answers the "Why?" question as well by connecting its prescriptions with
an underlying account of a good and meaningful human life.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

3-24
57. (p. 70) Explain how the branch of utilitarianism claims free and competitive markets can
help maximize the overall good?
Utilitarianism answers the fundamental questions of ethics – what should we do? – by
reference to a rule: Maximize the overall happiness. One movement within utilitarian thinking
invokes the tradition of Adam Smith, claiming that free and competitive markets are the best
means for attaining utilitarian goals. This version would promote policies that deregulate
private industry, protect property rights, allow for free exchanges, and encourage competition.
In such situations, decisions of rationally selfinterested individuals would result, as if led by
"an invisible hand" in Adam Smith's terms, in the maximum satisfaction of individual
happiness.
Thus neoclassical free market economics advises us that the most efficient economy is
structured according to the principles of free market capitalism. This requires that business
managers, in turn, should seek to maximize profits. This idea is central to one common
perspective on corporate social responsibility. By pursuing profits, business insures that
scarce resources go to those who most value them and thereby insures that resources will
provide optimal overall satisfaction. Thus, these economists see competitive markets as the
most efficient means to the utilitarian end of maximizing happiness.
AACSB: 2
BT: Analysis
Difficulty: Medium

3-25
58. (p. 70 – 71) Describe the ‘administrative' version of the utilitarian framework of ethics, as
applied to increasing the overall good.
This version of utilitarian policy turns to policy experts who can predict the outcome of
various policies and carry out policies that will attain utilitarian ends. These experts, usually
trained in the social sciences such as economics, political science, and public policy, are
familiar with the specifics of how society works, and they therefore are in a position to
determine which policy will maximize the overall good. This approach to public policy
underlies one theory of the entire administrative and bureaucratic side of government and
organizations. From this view, the legislative body (from Congress to local city councils)
establishes the public goals that we assume will maximize overall happiness. The
administrative side (presidents, governors, mayors) executes (administers) policies to fulfill
these goals.
The people working within the administration know how the social and political system works
and use this knowledge to carry out the mandate of the legislature. This utilitarian approach,
for example, would be sympathetic with government regulation of business on the grounds
that such regulation will insure that business activities do contribute to the overall good.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Hard

3-26
59. (p. 72 – 74) Briefly highlight the problems associated with utilitarian thinking.
If utilitarianism advises that decisions be made by comparing the consequences of alternative
actions, then we must have a method for making such comparisons. Thus there will be a
tendency to ignore the consequences, especially the harmful consequences, to anyone other
than those closest to us. This problem is intensified when we recognize that our actions may
impact the happiness not only of ourselves and those people surrounding us, but unknown and
untold people in distant places and in the distant future.
its reliance on consequences. Ethical and unethical acts are determined by their consequences.
In short, the end justifies the means. But this seems to deny one of the earliest ethical
principles that many of us have learned: The ends do not justify the means.
Utilitarian reasoning demands rigorous work to calculate all the beneficial and harmful
consequences of our actions. Perhaps more important, utilitarian reasoning does not exhaust
the range of ethical concerns. Consequences are only a part of the ethical landscape.
Responsible ethical decisionmaking also involves matters of duties, principles, and personal
integrity.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

60. (p. 75) Briefly explain how the concept of rolebased rules work.
As an employee, one takes on a certain role that creates duties. Every business will have a set
of rules that employees are expected to follow. Sometimes these rules are explicitly stated in a
code of conduct, other times in employee handbooks, still others simply by managers.
Likewise, as a business manager, one ought to follow many rules in respect to stockholders,
employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of rolebased duties concerns the work of professionals
within business. Lawyers, accountants, auditors, financial analysts, and bankers have
important roles to play within political and economic institutions. Many of these roles, often
described as "gatekeeper functions," insure the integrity and proper functioning of the
economic, legal, or financial system.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Analysis
Difficulty: Easy

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3-28
61. (p. 77) Explain how Immanuel Kant means that humans are subjects, and not objects.
German philosopher Immanuel Kant, argued that there is essentially one such fundamental
ethical principle: respect the dignity of each individual human being. One way to do so
requires us to treat all persons as ends in themselves and never only as means to our own
ends. In other words, our fundamental duty is to treat people as subjects capable of living their
own lives and not as mere objects that exist for our purposes. To use the familiar
subject/object categories from grammar, humans are subjects because they make decisions
and perform actions rather than being objects that are acted upon.
Humans have their own ends and purposes and therefore should not be treated simply as a
means to the ends of others.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy

62. (p. 78) How is the concept of moral right central to the concept of deontological ethics?
The concept of a moral right is central to the deontological tradition since the inherent dignity
of each individual means that we cannot do just anything we choose to another person. Moral
rights protect individuals from being treated in ways that would violate their dignity and that
would treat them as mere objects or means. Moral rights imply that some acts and some
decisions are "offlimits."
Accordingly, our fundamental moral duty (the "categorical imperative") is to respect the
fundamental moral rights of others. Our rights establish limits on the decisions and authority
of others.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-29
63. (p. 80) Distinguish between legal, contractual and employee rights of an employee.
Legal rights are those granted to employees on the basis of legislation or judicial rulings.
Thus, employees have a right to a minimum wage, equal opportunity, to bargain collectively
as part of a union, to be free from sexual harassment, and so forth.
Employee rights might refer to those goods that employees are entitled to on the basis of
contractual agreements with employers. In this sense, a particular employee might have a
right to a specific health care package, a certain number of paid holidays, pension funds, and
the like.
Finally, employee rights might refer to those moral entitlements to which employees have a
claim independently of any particular legal or contractual factors. Such rights would originate
with the respect owed to them as human beings.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy

64. (p. 81) Explain the concept of ‘veil of ignorance'.
John Rawls has developed one of the most powerful and influential accounts of justice. Rawls
offers a contemporary version of the social contract theory that understands basic ethical rules
as part of an implicit contract necessary to insure social cooperation. Imagine rational and
selfinterested individuals having to choose and agree on the fundamental principles for their
society. The image of members of a constitutional convention is a helpful model for this idea.
To ensure that the principles are fair and impartial, imagine further that these individuals do
not know the specific details or characteristics of their own lives. They do not know their
abilities or disabilities and talents or weaknesses; they have no idea about their position in the
social structure of this new society. They are, in Rawls's terms, behind a "veil of ignorance"
and must choose principles by which they will abide when they come out from behind the
veil.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-30
65. (p. 83) Briefly explain the concept of virtue ethics.
An ethics of virtue shifts the focus from questions about what a person should do, to a focus
on who that person is. This shift requires not only a different view of ethics but, at least as
important, a different view of ourselves. Implicit in this distinction is the recognition that our
identity as a person is constituted in part by our wants, beliefs, values, and attitudes. A
person's character—those dispositions, relationships, attitudes, values, and beliefs that
popularly might be called a "personality"—is not a feature independent of that person's
identity.
The character is not like a suit of clothes that you step into and out of at will. Rather, the self
is identical to a person's most fundamental and enduring dispositions, attitudes, values, and
beliefs. Note how this shift to an emphasis on the individual changes the nature of
justification in ethics.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Analysis
Difficulty: Easy

66. (p. 69) Explain how child labor may be justified in the eyes of a utilitarian.
Utilitarianism begins with the conviction that we should decide what to do by considering the
consequences of our actions. One might argue on utilitarian grounds that child labor practices
are ethically permissible because they produce better overall consequences than the
alternatives.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-31
67. (p. 69) What does utilitarianism rely upon to make predictions about possible consequences
of our actions?
Deciding on the ethical legitimacy of alternative decisions requires that we make judgments
about the likely consequences of our actions. How do we do this? The utilitarian tradition has
a strong inclination to rely on the social sciences for help in making such predictions.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

68. (p. 70) According to one version of attaining the utilitarian goal, and with reference to Adam
Smith's ‘an invisible hand', how is it possible to have the most efficient economy?
is structured according to the principles of free market capitalism.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Hard

69. (p. 72) How does utilitarianism directly go against the fundamental ethical principle?
The essence of utilitarianism is its reliance on consequences. Ethical and unethical acts are
determined by their consequences. In short, the end justifies the means. But this seems to
deny one of the earliest ethical principles that many of us have learned: The ends do not
justify the means.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-32
70. (p. 73) How does utilitarianism contribute to responsible decisionmaking?
Through utilitarianism, we are reminded of the significance of consequences. Responsible
decisionmaking requires that we consider the consequences of our acts. But, as an ethical
theory, utilitarianism also reminds us that we must consider the consequences to the well
being of all people affected by our decisions.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

71. (p. 75) What are the roles enacted by professionals within business termed as, and what do
they entail?
Lawyers, accountants, auditors, financial analysts, and bankers have important roles to play
within political and economic institutions. Many of these roles, often described as "gatekeeper
functions," insure the integrity and proper functioning of the economic, legal, or financial
system.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

72. (p. 76) What is the social contract?
Legal rules, organizational rules, rolebased rules, and professional rules can be thought of as
part of a social agreement, or social contract, which functions to organize and ease relations
between individuals.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

3-33
73. (p. 77) What is a moral right?
Moral right is the right to be treated with respect, to expect that others will treat us as an end
and never as a means only, the right to be treated as an autonomous person.
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy

74. (p. 81) Explain briefly Rawls's theory of fairness as being the central element of a just
decision or a just organization.
The idea of the "original position," of having to make decisions behind a veil of ignorance, is
at the heart of Rawls's theory that fairness is the central element of a just decision or just
organization. He contends that our decisions ought to be made in such a way, and our social
institutions ought to be organized in such a way, that they would prove acceptable to us no
matter whose point of view we take.
AACSB: 2, 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium

75. (p. 83) What is the biggest challenge posed by ‘egoism'?
The biggest challenge posed by egoism and, according to some, the biggest challenge to
ethics, is the apparent gap between selfinterest and altruism, or between motivation that is
"selfregarding" and motivation that is "otherregarding." Ethics requires us, at least at times,
to act for the wellbeing of others.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium

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