1. 1.

THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (IU) – VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HCMC

THE FINAL EXAMINATION Date: ...................................... Duration: 120 minutesStudent ID:
.................................. Name:................................................ SUBJECT: BUSINESS ETHICS
Dean of School of Business Administration Lecturer Signature: Signature: Full name: Nguyen
Quynh Mai, PhD Full name: Luu Trong TuanGENERAL INSTRUCTION(S)1 This is an open
book examination2. No talking during the exam3. No cellphones used during the exam4.
Dictionaries allowed. GOOD LUCK!SECTION 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (50
points)For each question, choose the best answer and mark it on your answer sheet. Do not
write youranswers on the test paper.1. Which of the following displays examples of celebrating
ethical behavior? i. Award prizes for new and creative ideas–and let the employee choose the
reward. ii. Celebrate examples of good ethical behavior in your company newsletter. iii.
Declare an Ethics Day on which rewards for good ethical behaviors are chosen by employees.
iv. Recognize employees who represent the standard of behavior to which you are committing.
(A) i, ii, and iii (B) i, ii, and iv (C) i, iii, and iv (D) ii, iii, and iv2. Which of the following statements
is true about business ethics? (A) Business ethics are basically different from personal ethics.
(B) Ethical behaviour is not in the long-term interest of businesses. (C) Ethical business
practice requires, above all else, an active awareness and consideration of the likely long-term
consequence of any action. (D) The business / organisational framework has no influence on
ethical behaviour. 1
2. 2. 3. Research suggests that unethical behaviour is viewed most seriously by stakeholders if
(A) a standards agency criticises the organisation (B) some customers are upset (C) it has a
long-term, negative impact on organisational effectiveness (D) unfavourable reports appear in
the media4. A well-written code of ethics can do the following except (A) State policies for
behavior in particular situations. (B) Reward the ethical behavior demonstrated by your
employees. (C) Establish a detailed guide to acceptable behavior. (D) Capture what the
organization understands ethical behavior to mean–your values statement.5. According to
Adam Moore, which of the following creates a distinction between thin and thick consent? (A)
The state of the job market (B) The employee position on privacy at work (C) The extent to
which employees are committed to the company (D) The purpose of the electronic
surveillance6. A code of ethics is defined as a company’s written standards of ethical behavior
that are designed to (A) limit managers’ and employees’ actions. (B) guide the appointment of
corporate ethics officers. (C) guide managers and employees in making the decisions and
choices they face every day. (D) guide managers in establishing standards of ethical conduct
in their firm’s daily operations.7. A firm has been inspired to introduce or modify its code of
ethics by the large number of zeroes that can now be tacked on to financial penalties for
corporate misconduct. This is an example of (A) transparent organization. (B) organizational
integrity (C) reactive ethical policy (D) proactive ethical policy8. Which of the following does
HR’s involvement in the employee contract NOT embrace? (A) The documentation of periodic
performance reviews. (B) The creation of the job description for the position. (C) The
documentation of disciplinary behavior and remedial training, if needed. (D) The modification
of the company’s strategic plan after the departure of an employee.9. A corporate director who
bought that company’s stock when he knew it was about to jump up in price committed fraud
by buying while not disclosing his inside information. (A) True (B) False 2
3. 3. 10. Which of the following aspects of an organization helps in building an ethical
organization? i. The organizations values ii. The organizations mission iii. Its policies iv.
Responsibility towards environment (A) Only i (B) ii and iii (C) i, ii and iii (D) All the above11.
The employee position on privacy at work is that (A) employees’ productivity during their time
at work represents the “performance” portion of the “pay-for-performance” contract they
entered into with the company when they were hired. (B) employees should not be notified of
any electronic surveillance and the purpose of that surveillance. (C) employees’ actions during
their time at work–their allotted shift or normal work period– are at the discretion of the
company. (D) employees recognize that their time “at work” represents the productivity for
which they receive an agreed amount of compensation–either an hourly rate or an annual
 salary.12. Which of the following displays certain characteristics of a tough market? (A)
Demanding creditors, aggressive managers, and aggressive vendors. (B) Demanding
customers, demanding employees, and impatient stakeholders. (C) Impatient stockholders,
aggressive competitors, demanding customers. (D) Demanding federal, state, and local
officials, demanding ethics officers, and aggressive competitors.13. As a employer, you could
be held liable for the actions of your employees in their Internet communications to the same
degree as if they had written those communications on company letterhead. This refers to (A)
discrimination (B) vicarious liability (C) cyberliability (D) intellectual output.14. Which of the
following shows stakeholders of an organization and their respective interests in the ethical
operation of that organization? i. Federal government a. “Fair exchange”–a product or service
of ii. Employees acceptable value and quality for the money iii. Customers spent iv. Managers
b. Growth in the value of company stock v. Stockholders c. Dividend income d. Operation in
compliance with all relevant legislation 3
4. 4. e. Stable employment at a fair rate of pay (A) 1d, 2c, 3b, 4e, 5c (B) 1d, 2c, 3a, 4c, 5b (C)
1d, 2e, 3a, 4e, 5b (D) 1c, 2e, 3d, 4b, 5c15. A cashier deliberately giving the customer less
change than the customer deserves is (A) wrong, but not unethical (B) right, if the customer
has a bad attitude (C) unethical behavior that leads to customer dissatisfaction (D) unethical
at times16. The argument against merging the roles of chairman and CEO is (A) that the
potential for conflict is minimized by putting the leadership of the board of directors and the
senior management team in the hands of the same person. (B) that governance of the
corporation is now in the hands of one person, which eliminates the “checks and balances”
process that the board was created for in the first place. (C) that the board is given the benefit
of leadership from someone who is in touch with the inner workings of the organization. (D)
that the independence of the board and the power of the stockholders are maximized.17.
Which of the following is not the responsibility of a business corporation towards its customers?
(A) Providing goods according to the specific needs of consumers (B) Improving living
standards by producing goods and services of high quality (C) Ensuring the health and safety
of consumers (D) Providing technologically superior goods and services at discounted
prices18. Which of the following is NOT an example of evidence that good corporate
governance can pay off for organizations? (A) In a 2002 McKinsey survey, institutional
investors said they would pay premiums to own well-governed companies. (B) A
Harvard/Wharton study showed that if an investor purchased shares in U.S. firms with the
weakest shareholder rights, and sold shares in the ones with the strongest shareholder rights,
the investor would have earned abnormal returns of 8.5 percent per year. (C) A study of
Standard & Poor 500 firms by Deutsche Bank showed that companies with strong or improving
corporate governance outperformed those with poor or deteriorating governance practices by
about 19 percent over a two-year period. (D) A Harvard/Wharton study found that U.S.-based
firms with better governance have faster sales growth and were more profitable than their
peers.19. When faced with the requirement to select a model of how we ought to live our lives,
many people choose the idea of ethical relativism, (A) where a value is a good thing in itself
and is pursued for its own sake, whether any thing good comes from that pursuit or not. 4
5. 5. (B) where the virtues you hope to achieve aren’t a direct reflection of the values of the
society in which you live. (C) where their ethical principles are defined by the traditions of their
society, their personal opinions, and the circumstances of the present moment. (D) where
there is no obvious “right” or “wrong” decision, but rather a “right” or “right” answer.20. Which
of the following statements best explains the difference between ethics and morality? (A)
Ethics refers to standards of behavior whereas morality refers to system of beliefs (B) Ethics
refer to system of beliefs whereas morality refers to standards of behavior (C) Morality refers
to the interrelated beliefs than an single opinion as considered in ethics (D) Morality
encompasses the system of beliefs21. Which of the following shows stakeholders of an
organization and how they could be negatively impacted by unethical corporate behavior? i.
Community a. Cancellation of dividends ii. CEOs b. Loss of employment iii. Suppliers/vendor
c. Unemployment of local residents partners d. Delayed payment for delivered goods and iv.
 Employees services v. Stockholders e. False and misleading financial information on which to
base investment decisions (A) 1e, 2a, 3d, 4c, 5e (B) 1e, 2b, 3e, 4c, 5a (C) 1c, 2a, 3e, 4b, 5a
(D) 1c, 2b, 3d, 4b, 5e22. Which of the following can NOT be regarded as an example that your
organization is committed to wining the trust of your stakeholders? (A) If you overcharge a
client by mistake, give them a refund plus interest before their accounting department figures
out the error and asks for the money. (B) Share your success stories with all of your
employees, but not with the other stakeholders. (C) Invite your stakeholders to your Ethics Day
celebration. (D) Get your clients involved in the development of your ethics policies.23.
Wondering whether you tell the truth or remain loyal to the person or organization that is asking
you not to reveal that truth refers to which type of ethical conflict? (A) Truth versus mercy (B)
Justice versus commitment (C) Truth versus loyalty (D) Justice versus loyalty24. Celebrating
ethical behavior demonstrated by your employees (A) goes against the goal of increasing
customer satisfaction. (B) increases employee loyalty. (C) makes ethics program quickly
become very harsh. 5
6. 6. (D) removes the threats of punishment.25. Boyer Corporation has recently instituted a new
corporate ethics code. Jeanette Boyer, president of the company, knows that ethical
relationships are based on: (A) trust and cooperation (B) strict penalties for illegal activities (C)
a traditional, conservative frame of mind (D) federal government auditsSECTION 2:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (20 points)1. Many people are allergic to milk and wheat products
that can cause serious harm to them if ingested in any form. Producers of food products often
label the milk used in their products as "whey" and the wheat, "semolina." These labels may
confuse customers who are unaware of what they mean. If the producers of the food products
were to refuse to change their labels, would they be liable for any harm that would come to
people with these allergies who used these products? Is the consumer rather than the
producer responsible for being sure that he or she fully understands all the information listed
on product labels? (10 points)2. Defenders of the market assume that natural objects like land,
trees, rocks, and wildlife have no independent worth because market economics has no
theoretical place for them. On this view, they have value only to the degree that humans value
them. There are some ethicists, however, who believe that some nonhuman objects, some
living things, plants and animals, are intrinsically valuable precisely because they are alive,
they tend to maintain themselves in existence over time. Some utilitarians argue that animals
are sentient, can feel pain, and we ought not to eat them for food or use them in medical
research. According to this view, such beings have rights that we humans must respect. Which
view do you think is the correct one? Defend your choice. (10 points)SECTION 3: CASE
ANALYSIS (in the form of an essay in 200 words at least) (30 points)My job requires that I lie
every day I go to work. I work for a private investigations agencycalled XRT. Most of the work
I do involves undercover operations, mobile surveillances, andgroundwork searches to
determine the whereabouts of manufacturers that produce counterfeitmerchandise. Each
assignment I take part in requires some deception on my part. Recently I have becomevery
conscious of the fact that I frequently have to lie to get a lead to obtain concrete evidencefor a
client. I sometimes dig myself so deeply into a lie that I naturally take it to the next levelwithout
ever accomplishing the core purpose of the investigation. Working for an investigative agency
engages me in assignments that vary on a day-to-daybasis. I choose to work for XRT because
it is not a routine 9-5 desk job. But to continue workingfor the agency means I will constantly
be developing new and untruthful stories. And the longer Idecide to stay at XRT, the more
involved the assignments will be. To leave would probably forceme into a job photocopying
and filing paperwork once I graduate from college. Recently I was given an assignment which
I believed would lead me to entrap a subject toobtain evidence for a client. The subject had
filed for disabilities on workers’ compensation afterbeing hit by a truck. Because the subject
refused to partake in any strenuous activity because ofthe accident, I was instructed to fake a
flat tire and videotape the subject changing it for me.Although I did not feel comfortable
engaging in this type of act, my supervisors assured me that 6
7. 7. it was ethical practice and not entrapment. Co-workers and other supervisors assured me
that thisas a standard “industry practice,” that we would go out of business if we didn’t “fudge”
the factsonce in a while. I was told, “Do you think every business does its work and makes
profits in apurely ethical way? Get real. I don’t know what they’re teaching you in college, but
this is thereal world.” It was either do the assignment or find myself on the street-in an economy
with nojobs. a. What is the dilemma here, or is there one? b. What would you have done in the
writer’s situation? Explicate. c. React to the comment, “Do you think every business does its
work and makes profits in a purely ethical way? Get real. I don’t know what they’re teaching
you in college, but this is the real world.” Do you agree or disagree? Why? d. Describe the
ethics of this company. END-OF-TESTANSWER KEY1. B 11. D 21. D2. C 12. C 22. B3. C 13.
C 23. C4. B 14. C 24. B5. A 15. C 25. A6. C 16. B7. C 17. D8. D 18. B9. A 19. C10. C 20. B 7