Reference no: EM132799004

Which of the following situations most clearly involves a conflict of interest?

• A sales representative uses a company credit card to pay for her meals when she is on a business trip.
• A business executive invests company funds in her brother's start-up company.
• A manufacturing employee who dreams of becoming a published author uses his lunch hour to work on a novel.
• An employee promises a full refund to a customer who is unhappy with his purchase even though the item was final sale.

What is an effective way for companies to prevent conflicts of interest in the workplace?

• Promise raises for employees who have demonstrated integrity in the workplace
• Enforce sizable rewards and punishments that are directly tied to performance measures
• Develop an effect disclosure policy and require employees to read and sign a disclosure statement
• Monitor employees extensively through recording phone calls, reviewing emails, and taking videos of workstations

In which of the following situations would giving or accepting a gift be immoral?

• Treating a potential client to a round of golf and a new set of golf clubs while discussing a business deal
• Providing free textbooks to an underfunded university with many struggling students
• Consuming refreshments offered by a vendor at a business conference
• Offering a free sample of expensive makeup to a customer to entice her to buy the product

Which of the following ethical practices or policies exerts the strongest influence on ethical conduct in the workplace?

• Instituting an annual ethics audit to examine potential conflicts of interest
• Creating a company culture of integrity modeled by top leaders
• Maintaining a solid system of internal financial controls
• Evaluating budgets, resource allocation, and pay incentives periodically

Which of the following is a potential negative consequence of diversity programs?

• It may be difficult to hire and retain employees for certain positions in a company due to a decreased amount of resources for employee training and development.
• They may perpetuate the same ways of thinking and working and detract from organizational strategy and development.
• The workforce may become less representative of the community as a whole due to increased hiring of women and minorities.
• Some employees may infer that women and minorities are less qualified and were only hired due to their gender or race, resulting in feelings of exclusion.