Chapter 5

1. Do you agree with Machiavelli that the end justifies

the means?
Yes as long as they are intended for the greater
good. They will neither be immoral or unethical. If
the same principles are used by people for
personal gain - they become immoral and
unethical.
2. Discuss briefly the Moral Positivism of Thomas
Hobbes. Make positive laws as norms of morality.
Moral Positivism sets aside the natural order of
things. Hobbes moral positivism anticipates the
chaotic outcome if laws are not abided. We all
believe that the purpose of the government is to
protect the rights of its people, presence, justice,
and laws.
3. Differentiate an egotist from an egoist. Point out their
similarities and striking differences.
Both egotist and moist think about themselves
first. They are self-centered, arrogant, always
praising and talking about himself.
Egotist - considers himself as superior when
compared to others; self-centred; person who is
interested in I and only talks about himself
Egoist - puts his needs and himself before
others; selfish; believes that he is better and
more important than anyone else
4. Discuss briefly Kants Moral Rationalism. Cite three
possible contributions of Kants ethical philosophy in
the management of organizations.
Kant believed that the reason is autonomous.
For him, reason is the be all and end all pf
everything. All truths and all knowledge are
derived from human reason, therefore, all laws
and all moral principles also came from human
reason.
Kant introduced the importance of humanistic
dimensions into business decisions, e.g. treat
human beings not as means to an end, because
human beings have ends in themselves
Kant stressed the importance of motives and of
acting on principles e.g. business decisions are
based sometimes on personal convictions and
principles regardless of the outcomes or results.
Kants Categorical Imperatives gives us firm
rules to follow in moral decision making, rules
that do not depend on circumstances or results
and that do not permit individual exceptions e.g.
no matter what the consequences may be or
who does it, some actions are always wrong;
lying, breaking promises
5. Discuss briefly the concept of a good act in
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a theory very much similar to
Hedonism. It makes utility or usefulness a norm
of morality. If an act administers to the temporal
welfare and happiness of a man, then it is good.
But if an act obstructs, or hinders happiness,
then it is bad. An act is considered moral if it
results in good consequences, otherwise, it is
immoral.
Chapter 6
1. Explain why quid pro quo sexual harassment is illegal
and immoral.
Quid pro quo means this for that and is defined
as requiring a sexual favour or interaction as a
condition of employment or in exchange for an
employment benefit (promotion, transfer, pay
raise, etc.)

2.

Is subliminal advertisement moral or immoral?

Explain your answer.
Subliminal advertising conveys hidden messages
of which viewers are not consciously aware. This
ad strategy poses serious ethical issues,
particularly because subliminal ads can
manipulate consumer behavior even when
consumers arent making a conscious choice
and arent aware of what theyve seen.
Advertising becomes immoral when the
advertisement persuades consumers becomes
deceptive, misleading and manipulative. It
depends on the message they convey.

3. Cite and enumerate other forms of sexual harassment

that are common in the workplace.
Unwanted touching, patting, pinching or brushing
up against a person
Comments about your body, leering, wolfwhistling, catcalls, insults of a sexual nature,
persistently pestering for a date
Displaying or circulation of pornographic pictures
with the intention of harassing someone/posting
of explicitly sexual materials
Workplace blackmails (suggestions that sexual
favours may further your career or refusal may
hinder it)
Green jokes
Obscene letters
Sexual propositions
Suggestive looks
4. Differentiate lying from making a false statement.
Lying is immoral while false statements is not
necessarily immoral. Lying is when someone
makes sales claims, which the advertiser know it
to be false, for the purpose of misleading,
misinforming, or deceiving potential customers.
False statements is the act of making a
statement from which false conclusions may be
drawn.
5. Why is caveat emptor considered unethical?
Caveat emptor means let the buyers beware.
Sometimes a seller will know of defects in the
goods but will deliberately mask these defects.
Deliberately withholding information in any
business transaction is also an unethical
practice
6. Cite some ethical issues related to workplace
romance.
Interventions
Legal/Ethical Considerations
Sexual Harassment
7. Enumerate the conditions for a labor strike to be
considered moral.
There is a sufficient and just reason for it. The
intended good results must be proportionate to
the evil effects. The means employed are lawful.
8. Differentiate bribery from giving?
Gift-giving is an act of extending good will to an
individual in an effort to share something with
them. Bribery is defined as a practice of giving
renumeration for performance of an act that is
inconsistent with the work contract or the nature
of the work one has been hired to perform

9. What is your definition of fair wage?

Fair wage is simply a term to describe a policy
that would ensure that unionised and non
unionised works get paid for wages for the same
work done.
Renumeration which is enough to support the
wage-earner in reasonable and frugal comfort.
10. Discuss why money laundering is illegal and immoral.
Money laundering is the process of disguising
illegally obtained money so that the funds may
appear to come from legitimate sources or
activities. Money laundering occurs in
connection with a wide variety of crimes,
including illegal arm sales, drug trafficking,
robbery, fraud, racketeering and terrorism
11. What are the conditions for a whistleblowing to be
considered moral?
Company must be engaged in illegal or immoral
practice or about to release a product which will
do serious harm to individuals or to society in
general
Employee should report his concern or complain
to his immediate superior
If no appropriate action is taken, the employee
should take the matter up the managerial line
before he or she is obliged to go public
The employee must have a good reason to
believe that by going public, he will be able to
bring about the necessary changes
It is done from the appropriate moral motive -as
provided in the definition of whistleblowing
The whistleblower, except in special
circumstances, has exhausted all internal
channels for dissent before going public
The whistleblower has compelling evidence that
the inappropriate actions have been ordered or
have occurred
The whistleblower has acted after careful
analysis of the danger. How serious is the moral
violation? How immediate is the problem?
Can the whistleblower point to a specific
misconduct?
The whistleblower has some chances of success.
12. Which type of selling will you recommend - pyramid or
MLM? Why?
I would recommend the MLM type of selling
because it is legal, income generated only on
product sales, and provides a training program.
13. Cite some negative effects of the Multilevel
Marketing.
The negative effect is that there are many
multilevel distributorship schemes that often call
themselves a network but are nothing more
than sophisticated chain letters. They are thinly
disguised pyramids which operate like a real
pyramid claiming participants can earn a lot of
money by concentrating on their efforts on
recruiting distributors rather than on selling a
product.
14. Differentiate between a monopoly and an oligopoly
Monopoly is defined as a market situation where
there is only one provider of a kind of product or
service while an oligopoly denotes a situation
where there are few sellers for a product or
service.

15. What is a subliminal advertisement? Give some

examples of this type of advertisement. Do you think
this type of advertisement is immoral? Explain your
answer.
A subliminal advertisement includes elements in
a visual or aural presentation that are not
consciously perceived but influence behavior.
Advertisers often try to create an association
between a product and happiness, better health
or more financial stability. However, true
subliminal advertising attempts to create an
association that the consumer doesn't notice.
For example, an advertiser might insert a single
frame into a cartoon that contains a message or
could use an image that triggers sexual thoughts
without the consumer being consciously aware of
such thoughts. It is extremely difficult to prove
that an advertiser has used subliminal ads,
because consumers aren't consciously aware
that the ad is affecting their behavior.