CMU PHL 318 Exam 1 Questions
Correctly Answered.
The Bottom Line: Cautious Optimism - CORRECT ANSWER When you figure in all the long-term and
intangible costs of unethical action, this conclusion seems reasonable: Doing the right thing is usually
better from a cost-benefit perspective than it first appears, If there ever is any overall financial
advantage to an unethical course of action, it is probably smaller than it first appears.
Costs of Unethical Actions - CORRECT ANSWER Legal, Reputation, Investor Confidence, and Employee
Morale
Ethics and the Law - CORRECT ANSWER Law is one way that society expresses strong ethical standards,
the reason why something is illegal is the same or similar to the reason why it is unethical, Unethical
behavior is often actionable if not criminal, and ethical standards are more strict than legal standards.
Integrity - CORRECT ANSWER means living in a way that is faithful to ALL of one's values—economic as
well as ethical
Moral Tunnel Vision - CORRECT ANSWER A situation in which a person's consciousness is so focused on
a single goal (even a morally decent goal) that s/he fails to notice other important moral values that are
relevant in the situation. Thus, one goal or value "crowds out" other values and goals from one's
consciousness.
Abstract Greed - CORRECT ANSWER When the profit motive crowds out all other values & goals.
It is an endless desire for wealth for no other purpose than just to have it.
Slippery Slope - CORRECT ANSWER A single, perhaps minor, unethical action often leads to more and
more serious unethical actions
Findings from Slippery Slope - CORRECT ANSWER 1. Actions create character, so even a single bad
action may erode character enough to make another bad action seem more "natural".
, 2. Rationalization distorts the "moral compass" & alters one's perception of where the line between
right and wrong is.
3. The need to cover up and the possibility of manipulation/blackmail.
Aristotle's Theory of Character - CORRECT ANSWER 1. Actions create character by "habitation"
2. Like a habit, character influences actions without "forcing" them
3. Even a single unethical action can be the start of a "habit" that makes further unethical actions more
likely
The Parable of the Sadhu - CORRECT ANSWER Bowne McCoy was on a hike to the top of a mountain
when a religious man who was sick came down the mountain, blinded by his own goals McCoy left the
religious man with his friend while he climb to the top which put the mans life in danager.
Welcome to the Jungle - CORRECT ANSWER the image of a scenario utterly unconstrained, of animals
and plants in a constant battle for survival, against the environment, with one another. Solomon
believes that this is not necessarily true because business has codes of conduct and even in the
competitive business world, there is cooperation.
Business as War - CORRECT ANSWER the worst of the dehumanizing images that we impose on
ourselves in business. . . . All too often, a company wages war against its competitors only to find that it
has grown unresponsive to the market or that the market has moved elsewhere. The bitterest battles in
business typically end as lose-lose scenarios. The greatest success stories are not war stories at all
Business as a Game - CORRECT ANSWER business competition looks a lot like some familiar games and
lends itself readily to sports analogies. Solomon believes that this thinking has drawbacks because there
is too much at stake for employees to think that their work is a game.
No-Harm Principle - CORRECT ANSWER The greater the harm, the stronger the reason to avoid causing
it, the more likely the harm, the stronger reason to avoid causing it.
Correctly Answered.
The Bottom Line: Cautious Optimism - CORRECT ANSWER When you figure in all the long-term and
intangible costs of unethical action, this conclusion seems reasonable: Doing the right thing is usually
better from a cost-benefit perspective than it first appears, If there ever is any overall financial
advantage to an unethical course of action, it is probably smaller than it first appears.
Costs of Unethical Actions - CORRECT ANSWER Legal, Reputation, Investor Confidence, and Employee
Morale
Ethics and the Law - CORRECT ANSWER Law is one way that society expresses strong ethical standards,
the reason why something is illegal is the same or similar to the reason why it is unethical, Unethical
behavior is often actionable if not criminal, and ethical standards are more strict than legal standards.
Integrity - CORRECT ANSWER means living in a way that is faithful to ALL of one's values—economic as
well as ethical
Moral Tunnel Vision - CORRECT ANSWER A situation in which a person's consciousness is so focused on
a single goal (even a morally decent goal) that s/he fails to notice other important moral values that are
relevant in the situation. Thus, one goal or value "crowds out" other values and goals from one's
consciousness.
Abstract Greed - CORRECT ANSWER When the profit motive crowds out all other values & goals.
It is an endless desire for wealth for no other purpose than just to have it.
Slippery Slope - CORRECT ANSWER A single, perhaps minor, unethical action often leads to more and
more serious unethical actions
Findings from Slippery Slope - CORRECT ANSWER 1. Actions create character, so even a single bad
action may erode character enough to make another bad action seem more "natural".
, 2. Rationalization distorts the "moral compass" & alters one's perception of where the line between
right and wrong is.
3. The need to cover up and the possibility of manipulation/blackmail.
Aristotle's Theory of Character - CORRECT ANSWER 1. Actions create character by "habitation"
2. Like a habit, character influences actions without "forcing" them
3. Even a single unethical action can be the start of a "habit" that makes further unethical actions more
likely
The Parable of the Sadhu - CORRECT ANSWER Bowne McCoy was on a hike to the top of a mountain
when a religious man who was sick came down the mountain, blinded by his own goals McCoy left the
religious man with his friend while he climb to the top which put the mans life in danager.
Welcome to the Jungle - CORRECT ANSWER the image of a scenario utterly unconstrained, of animals
and plants in a constant battle for survival, against the environment, with one another. Solomon
believes that this is not necessarily true because business has codes of conduct and even in the
competitive business world, there is cooperation.
Business as War - CORRECT ANSWER the worst of the dehumanizing images that we impose on
ourselves in business. . . . All too often, a company wages war against its competitors only to find that it
has grown unresponsive to the market or that the market has moved elsewhere. The bitterest battles in
business typically end as lose-lose scenarios. The greatest success stories are not war stories at all
Business as a Game - CORRECT ANSWER business competition looks a lot like some familiar games and
lends itself readily to sports analogies. Solomon believes that this thinking has drawbacks because there
is too much at stake for employees to think that their work is a game.
No-Harm Principle - CORRECT ANSWER The greater the harm, the stronger the reason to avoid causing
it, the more likely the harm, the stronger reason to avoid causing it.
