This document is an exam for a business ethics course. It contains multiple choice and discussion questions that assess students' understanding of concepts like corporate social responsibility, ethical decision making, codes of conduct, and stakeholders' interests. The exam also includes a case study about an investigator who is asked to deceive subjects and entrap them as part of their job, raising ethical dilemmas about deception and entrapment in the workplace.

1. THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (IU) – VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HCMC
THE FINAL EXAMINATION
Date: ......................................
Duration: 120 minutes
Student ID: .................................. Name:................................................
SUBJECT: BUSINESS ETHICS
Dean of School of Business Administration Lecturer
Signature: Signature:
Full name: Nguyen Quynh Mai, PhD Full name: Luu Trong Tuan
GENERAL INSTRUCTION(S)
1 This is an open book examination
2. No talking during the exam
3. No cellphones used during the exam
4. 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 your
answers 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 iv
2. 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.
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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 media
4. 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 surveillance
6. 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 policy
8. 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
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3. 10. Which of the following aspects of an organization helps in building an ethical organization?
i. The organization's values
ii. The organization's mission
iii. Its policies
iv. Responsibility towards environment
(A) Only i
(B) ii and iii
(C) i, ii and iii
(D) All the above
11. 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
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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, 5c
15. 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 times
16. 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 prices
18. 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.
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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 beliefs
21. 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, 5e
22. 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 loyalty
24. 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.
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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 audits
SECTION 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 agency
called XRT. Most of the work I do involves undercover operations, mobile surveillances, and
groundwork searches to determine the whereabouts of manufacturers that produce counterfeit
merchandise.
Each assignment I take part in requires some deception on my part. Recently I have become
very conscious of the fact that I frequently have to lie to get a lead to obtain concrete evidence
for a client. I sometimes dig myself so deeply into a lie that I naturally take it to the next level
without ever accomplishing the core purpose of the investigation.
Working for an investigative agency engages me in assignments that vary on a day-to-day
basis. I choose to work for XRT because it is not a routine 9-5 desk job. But to continue working
for the agency means I will constantly be developing new and untruthful stories. And the longer I
decide to stay at XRT, the more involved the assignments will be. To leave would probably force
me 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 to
obtain evidence for a client. The subject had filed for disabilities on workers’ compensation after
being hit by a truck. Because the subject refused to partake in any strenuous activity because of
the 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
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7. it was ethical practice and not entrapment. Co-workers and other supervisors assured me that this
as a standard “industry practice,” that we would go out of business if we didn’t “fudge” the facts
once in a while. I was told, “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.” It was either do the assignment or find myself on the street-in an economy with no
jobs.
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-TEST
ANSWER KEY
1. B 11. D 21. D
2. C 12. C 22. B
3. C 13. C 23. C
4. B 14. C 24. B
5. A 15. C 25. A
6. C 16. B
7. C 17. D
8. D 18. B
9. A 19. C
10. C 20. B
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