Which of the following best describes the differences between law and ethics?

1. What do we mean by ethics?

1. Moral judgements
2. Determinants of what is right or wrong
3. Rules or standards governing a profession
4. Elements of all of the above

Answer:

d. Elements of all of the above

2. Which statement best describes ethics in business?

1. Business is outside the realm of ethical enquiry and morally neutral or amoral
2. Ethics in business do exist but differ from ethics in other spheres and may appear amoral in other spheres
3. Business, politics and private life share the same ethics as part of a moral community
4. None of the above

Answer: 

c. Business, politics and private life share the same ethics as part of a moral community

3. What are Human Rights?

1. Special privileges awarded to criminals and prisoners
2. What the European Parliament decides is right
3. Rights listed in the UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948
4. Rules designed to frustrate legal proceedings 

Answer:

c. Rights listed in the UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948

4. Which of the following is not a recognised form of organisational justice?

1. Procedural justice
2. Interactional justice
3. Shareholder justice
4. Distributive justice

Answer: 

c. Shareholder justice

5. Stakeholders are the individuals or groups who:

1. Are the shareholders in key competitors
2. Determine the strategy of the organisation
3. Dominate the operational issues in the organisation
4. Have an interest or concern in the activities of an organisation

Answer: 

d. Have an interest or concern in the activities of an organisation

6. What do we mean by Corporate Social Responsibility?

1. The responsibility of an organisation to use its resources solely to increase profits
2. The responsibility of an organisation to fulfil its economic, social and environmental obligations to all of its stakeholders
3. The responsibility of an organisation to donate any excess profits to charities and community organisations
4. The responsibility of an organisation to protect the environment at all costs

Answer: 

b. The responsibility of an organisation to fulfil its economic, social and environmental obligations to all of its stakeholders

7. Why is the sustainability debate so important?

1. Because it is inclusive of all species
2. Because it excludes some species
3. Because it is specifically about organisation survival
4. Because it relates only to human beings

Answer: 

a. Because it is inclusive of all species

8. What are some of the elements of a transformational sustainability strategy?

1. It is ecocentric, eco-efficient, with 5Rs – rethink, reinvent, redesign, redirect and recover
2. It is anthropocentric, eco-effective, with 5Rs – rethink, reinvent, redesign, redirect and recover
3. It is ecocentric, eco-effective with 5Rs – reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and regulate
4. It is ecocentric, eco-effective with 5Rs – rethink, reinvent, redesign, redirect and recover

Answer: 

d. It is ecocentric, eco-effective with 5Rs – rethink, reinvent, redesign, redirect and recover

9. What are Organisational Values?

1. Rules imposed by the Management Team
2. Beliefs or guiding principles that are core to the organisation and help steer the right actions
3. The collective value of the organisation’s assets
4. A statement setting out the organisation’s strategy

Answer:

b. Beliefs or guiding principles that are core to the organisation and help steer the right actions

10. Why is HRM in a good position to integrate ethics, justice, CSR and sustainability into organisations?

1. Because of the responsibilities that HRM has for the key processes and practices in an organisation
2. Because of the HRM role in promoting fairness and justice in an organisation
3. Because of the ethical component set out in HRM professional standards and codes of conduct
4. All of the above

Answer:

d. All of the above

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between laws and ethics

Ethics are a set of moral values an individual establishes for one’s self and your own personal behavior. Laws are structured rules utilized to govern all of society. Not only do retail companies have an obligation to act ethically but so do the professional individuals working there. Within the hierarchy of retail companies, managers often interact with individual employees who are subject to “professional” codes of conduct. These codes of conduct may vary depending on the employee and their position within the company.

For example the American Bar Association has set forth Model Rules of Professional Conduct for licensed attorneys that were put into place in order to influence what behavior is to be expected when working in that particular profession.[1] Therefore, an attorney working for a retail company might be held to a higher ethical standard than that of a clerk working in a stockroom. Nonetheless, both have to follow the laws as set forth by their state and local governments.

As times progress so do ethical and moral standards within the retail environment. Advancements with the internet have brought about websites where employees can report unethical behavior within a company.  Ethicspoint is one such internet reporting site where one can go online anonymously and report violations by entering the name of the organization, the violation category which best describes the unethical behavior and after agreeing to the websites terms and conditions, one can file a report.[2]  These types of reporting methods are helpful with issues like health and safety violations, sexual harassment claims and discrimination which will be addressed further in the next few sections.

Some retailers pride themselves on their ethical practices and procedures and even promote them publicly to improve their corporate image.  For instance, a retailer’s number one concern might be an ethical obligation to the environment so they use and sell only environmental friendly products within their company and advertise as such to improve their image. “The economic crisis and its consequences represent an unparalleled opportunity for retailers to develop ethical practices and social policies for the good of society and their companies. Studies indicate a positive link between ethical perceptions and consumer responses, in terms of trust.”[3]

Practice Questions

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