Assignment
1 The term __________ refers to the inner guiding moral values, beliefs, and principles used by a person to examine a situation and govern his or her behavior.
autonomy
ethics
bias
authority
2 Identify the unstated conclusion in the following argument: The most hardworking employee in the company will receive the Employee of the Year award. Doug has been working exceptionally hard all year round.
Hardworking employees win the Employee of the Year award.
Doug has not yet received an award from the company.
Doug is the most hardworking employee in the company.
Doug will win the Employee of the Year award.
3 Which of the following rules of ethical decision making focuses on providing the greatest good for the greatest number of people?
The moral rights rule
The justice rule
The utilitarian rule
The golden rule
4 When would an argument be considered valid?
When the premise of the argument is unquestionably true
When it is impossible for the conclusion to appear after the premise
When it is impossible for the premise to be true and the conclusion to be false
When the argument is sound
5 Which of the following is the first step in the decision-making process?
Seeking feedback
Generating alternatives for a decision
Assessing alternatives
Realizing the need for a decision
6 Which of the following terms refers to an approximate assessment of the credibility of a claim?
Background information
Categorical imperative
Initial plausibility
Hypothetical imperative
7 __________ is a written approach to creative problem solving and decision making.
Groupthink
The Delphi technique
The nominal group technique
Brainstorming
8 Which of the following takes place in the final stage of the decision-making process?
Examining why any expectations for a decision were not met
Ranking the various alternatives in order of practicality
Giving middle managers sufficient resources to achieve a goal
Making minor decisions related to the chosen alternative
9 Which of the following is true of a good inductive argument?
The greater the support the premise provides for the conclusion, the weaker is the argument.
The lesser the support the premise provides for the conclusion, the stronger is the argument.
The premise of a good inductive argument demonstrates its conclusion.
The premise of a good inductive argument supports its conclusion.
10 The management of a small-scale cosmetics company wants to increase awareness of their brand and its products in the market. They decide to choose between two alternatives: either launch a new advertising campaign on social media or offer promotional discounts in select stores. They conduct research on which of these two alternatives would be the most viable for the company. They compare the potential costs and potential benefits of each alternative. In this scenario, which of the following criteria is being evaluated by the management of the company?
Legality
Ethicalness
Economic feasibility
Innovative capacity
11 A cosmetics company has manufactured a new range of skin care products. The top management wants to create a common tagline for the entire range of products and therefore decides to get the managers of the company involved in the decision-making process. It conducts a number of sessions in which the managers are asked to work together and think of innovative taglines for the products and share their ideas with the rest of the group. Group members are specifically asked to be open to all ideas, however offbeat they may be. The members of the group are then asked to pick a tagline after debating the pros and cons of the most popular ideas. This scenario illustrates __________.
delayering
brainstorming
the Delphi technique
the nominal group technique
12 A(n) __________ presents a consideration for the acceptance of a claim.
fact
argument
opinion
issue
13 Which of the following is a question to be asked when one is presented with a claim?
When does the claim become a true statement?
What is likely to happen if the claim is examined in detail?
Does the claim speak about one particular subject?
When does the content of the claim pose a credibility problem?
14 Identify the conclusion in the following argument: Mark always leaves his phone at home when he goes to the gym. He has not been answering any calls in the past hour, so he is at the gym.
Mark does not answer calls when he is at the gym.
Mark leaves his phone at home when he goes to the gym.
Mark has not been answering calls.
Mark is at the gym.
15 Which of the following serves as the most reliable source of information about the world in general?
The background information one possesses
One's personal interests
Things that one learns from others
One's own observations
16 Which of the following occurs as a result of group members' being unable to simultaneously understand all the alternatives that are generated in a brainstorming session?
Groupthink
Production blocking
Delayering
Feedback control
17 The two factors that are used to assess the credibility of claims are claims themselves and their __________.
premises
soundness
sources
validity
18 An automobile company decides to do its bit for the environment by introducing new models of electric cars. The company's long-term goal is to eventually stop manufacturing gasoline cars and focus on manufacturing electric cars. The managers of the company reached this decision after critically evaluating the effects of car fluids and car emissions on the environment. They promise to do everything within their power to reduce the company's carbon footprint. Which of the following approaches does this scenario illustrate?
The defensive approach
The accommodative approach
The obstructionist approach
The egoistic approach
19 When a firm exhibits the highest degree of social responsibility, it has most likely adopted __________.
the defensive approach
the proactive approach
the accommodative approach
the obstructionist approach
20 Identify the unstated premise in the following argument: John is indifferent and has a laid-back approach to work. John should be fired.
Employees who strictly follow their company's work policy will never be fired.
Anyone who is indifferent and has a laid-back approach to work must be fired.
John is not only indifferent but also has a laid-back approach to work.
John should be fired because he is violating company policy.
21 Which of the following is the final step in the decision-making process?
Generating alternatives
Implementing the selected alternative
Learning from feedback
Recognizing the need for a decision
22 __________ refers to a decision maker's ability to discover unique and original ideas that lead to viable courses of action.
Strategy
Creativity
Problem identification
Problem formulation
23 Which of the following is a practice that would help foster creativity in an organization?
Rewarding employees who come up with innovative ideas
Holding on to unproductive ideas instead of eliminating them
Withholding feedback, regardless of whether it is constructive or unconstructive
Avoiding the use of contests to encourage employees for fear of promoting unhealthy competition
24 The top management of a cereal manufacturing company wants to change the packaging of their products and appeal to attract a younger age group. Since the company is located in three cities, the top management wants the managers from each city to weigh in and give their suggestions for improvement. A group leader is first picked, and the problem to be solved is written down. After this, a questionnaire is e-mailed to all the participating managers. The managers are asked to list down solutions to the problem and e-mail the questionnaire back to the group leader. This scenario illustrates the first few steps of __________.
the nominal group technique
brainstorming
production blocking
the Delphi technique
25 In which of the following approaches to social responsibility do managers often put their own interests first and cause other stakeholders to be harmed yet manage to stay within the law and abide by legal requirements?
The defensive approach
The accommodative approach
The obstructionist approach
The proactive approach
26 Which of the following practices should be avoided by managers who aim to foster creativity in their organizations?
Allowing employees to make mistakes and learn from them
Attempting to speed up a creative solution to a problem
Giving employees the opportunity to experiment with radical ideas
Encouraging creative employees to take risks
27 Which of the following statements is an example of an objective claim?
Shakespeare was a better poet than Milton.
The sun sets in the west.
Summers in California are very warm.
A dog is man's best friend.
28 __________ are often considered to be the most critical stakeholder group.
Suppliers
Customers
Employees
Managers
29 Creativity is most likely to result when:
employees are prevented from making mistakes.
managers constantly monitor talented employees.
employees are given the freedom and opportunity to take risks.
managers try to speed up the process of working on a creative solution.
30 Which of the following statements is an example of a subjective claim?
The earth is round.
Mozart is the greatest musical composer to have lived.
There is life after death.
Aliens exist in other galaxies in the universe.