Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974
Question 1 2 points Save What did the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 do? It developed standards for the minimum wages a company could pay its employees in order to fulfill Social Security retirement obligations. It mandated that companies create a financially sound employee pension plan for full and part-time employees. It set uniform minimum standards to assure that employee benefit plans are established and maintained in a fair and financially sound manner. It detailed what benefits a company must offer its employees. It implemented a plan for job-sharing and flextime arrangements with employees who are paid on an hourly basis. Question 2 2 points Save In which decade was much of the employment law in the United States enacted? 1970s 1930s 1890s 1850s 1990s Question 3 2 points Save Which of the following most closely describes the relationship between consumers and businesses? All consumers are closely affiliated with the ethical principles the companies they buy from represent. There really is no relationship between businesses and consumers. They are fundamentally connected by an economic relationship that often leads to deeper attachment. The relationships between consumers and businesses are purely economic in nature through the exchange of value. "Let the buyer beware" describes the power that businesses now have over consumers. Question 4 2 points Save What documents should a firm review as part of its social audit? Firm's ethics statement or statement of values Marketing materials and workplace policies as well as ethical policies related to supplier standards All formal and informal documents of the firm's policies concerning areas covered by the audit All formal documents that make explicit commitments to social responsibility Company's current mission statement and strategic objectives only Question 5 2 points Save Which of the following is not one of the benefits of conducting a social audit? The auditing process ensures that a firm will not face challenges related to its social responsibility efforts in the future. The auditing process provides a mechanism to assess risks and detect problems. The auditing process helps document a firm's compliance with legal requirements. It gives a company a chance to resolve issues before they result in negative publicity or fines and litigation. This process can strengthen relationships with the company's stakeholders by satisfying their demands for increased transparency. Question 6 2 points Save According to research, corporate success is slowly evolving to include four equal and complementary goals, which includes becoming all of the following except a(n) __________ of choice. consumer employer neighbor supplier investment Question 7 2 points Save What is ISO 14000? International regulatory body that is responsible for punishing companies who are not in compliance with global environmental standards National environmental standards that promote a cleaner and safer environment for all Americans The required standard for reporting information about environmental performance to stakeholders A comprehensive set of environmental standards that encourage a cleaner, safer, and healthier world A standardized auditing process that evaluates a company's environmental performance Question 8 2 points Save Which division of the Federal Trade Commission works to protect consumers against unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent practices? Bureau of Consumer Protection Deceptive Trade Practices Commission Privacy Protection Agency Consumer Information Bureau Consumer Product Safety Commission Question 9 2 points Save Up until the twentieth century, how did people generally think of the environment? In terms of how natural resources could be harnessed to meet the need for food, shelter, and recreation As a beautiful natural resource that needed to be protected from actions that harmed its beauty As resources that should be used in unlimited quantities to satisfy the need for shelter, food, and transportation As a resource that dictates how people should live their lives As nature including wildlife, trees, oceans, rivers, and mountains Question 10 2 points Save Which of the following situations may constitute quid pro quo sexual harassment? A male coworker makes unwelcomed sexual advances toward a female coworker, which causes her to feel that her job is threatened. A male manager suggests to one of his female employees that she will receive a raise if she wears shorter skirts and works "overtime" once a week. Many male employees of a company make repeated remarks about how men are more intelligent than women, which makes the environment difficult for female employees. A female employee asks one of her subordinates out to dinner over and over again even though he always tells her no, and he is beginning to feel uncomfortable around her. A male employee often disseminates e-mails of a sexual nature to his coworkers that creates an awkward atmosphere for a couple of his female coworkers. Question 11 2 points Save Which of the following best defines the natural environment from a business perspective? Any entity or combination of entities that has an impact on the way that organizations conduct their business The physical world, including all biological entities, as well as the interaction between nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies Any resource that is found in limited quantity and requires protection through national or state regulation The physical world including all biological and geological entities Plants, animals, human beings, oceans and other waterways, land, and the atmosphere Question 12 2 points Save What does saying "technology has a self-sustaining nature" mean? The money received from new technologies will fund additional future advances. Technology acts as a catalyst to spur even faster development. Technology helps companies meet stakeholders' needs more efficiently. People begin to rely on technology and cannot function without it. Technology has become an indispensable aspect of life and society. Question 13 2 points Save If a consumer staged an accident in a store and sought damages against the store for its poor safety standards, this customer has committed which fraudulent activity? Shoplifting Product misuse Collusion Guile Duplicity Question 14 2 points Save What are the two largest recipients of philanthropic donations? Religion and education Healthcare and education Hunger and environment Healthcare and religion Education and environment Question 15 2 points Save By the 1980s, what type of analogy was being used to describe the workplace? Master-servant Prison Social club Athletic team Family Question 16 2 points Save What is social auditing? A scientific process that can be used to determine any company's level of commitment to its various groups of stakeholders A very informal procedure that attempts to report on a company's performance in meeting its economic and ethical responsibilities The process of assessing and reporting a business's performance on fulfilling the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities expected of it by its stakeholders The process of assessing a company's environmental impact and making this information available to all of the company's stakeholders An evaluation of whether or not a company is meeting its economic and legal requirements as determined by its shareholders Question 17 2 points Save To whom should consumers turn first when exercising their right to seek redress? Consumer Protection Agency Federal Trade Commission Their attorney Seller of the product/service Local Better Business Bureau Question 18 2 points Save Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and methane in the earth's atmosphere can result in which negative environmental impact? Air pollution Acid rain Greenhouse melting Global warming Kyoto gases Question 19 2 points Save In what industry did Upton Sinclair expose atrocities and unsanitary conditions in his novel, The Jungle, which led the public to demand reform? Automobile Textile Soft drink Meatpacking Pharmaceutical Question 20 2 points Save Which of the following is not a "do" of social auditing? Do report the results on a formal basis only, both publicly and privately Do get department managers and staff involved, especially when deciding on the scope of the audit Do set up an internal audit system to report to the board of directors or other executive group Do recognize that social auditing is specific to each organization's stakeholders, business purposes, and responsibilities Do allow a good amount of time for drafting and finalizing the final audit report Question 21 2 points Save What concept governed employment up until the early 1900s? Employment at will Vesting Master-servant FLSA Labor unions Question 22 2 points Save In what decade did environmental concerns start to become a focus of governments around the globe in the form of environmental protection laws? 1910s 1930s 1950s 1970s 1990s Question 23 2 points Save How does the level of job-related stress and fatigue in the United States generally compare to that in Japan? The United States experiences a much higher level of stress-related symptoms from work than does Japan. Both countries experience nearly the same high levels of work-related stress and fatigue problems. Due to the relatively slack work effort in both the United States and Japan, work-related stress and fatigue are uncommon. The overall work-related stress and fatigue in the United States is moderate compared to the high levels in Japan. Although they are quite comparable, the United States workers experience slightly more stress-related problems than Japanese workers. Question 24 2 points Save What must high-commitment organizations strive to do with respect to environmental issues and the organization's stakeholders? Constantly keep all of their stakeholders satisfied Avoid much negotiation in order to maintain a proper balance of power Evaluate the latest information and maintain consistent communication with all stakeholders Prioritize claims by refusing to evaluate ones that are potentially insignificant Remember that all stakeholders are equal and treat them as such regarding environmental issues Question 25 2 points Save How does the financial auditing concept of materiality relate to the social auditing process? Users of a social audit could be misled if the audit fails to include material measures of stakeholders' perspectives. If the company does not consider customers to be important stakeholders, they should not be included in the social audit. Tight internal control must be in place to ensure the overall reliability of the contents of the social audit. It is important that every issue of concern to every stakeholder be included in the audit in order to make it complete. There must be a way to independently verify the accuracy of the information about a company's social responsibility efforts. Question 26 2 points Save Which of the following statements best describes international initiatives on privacy? Russia is on the forefront of privacy regulation and has taken drastic measures to protect the privacy of its citizens within Russia and around the world. Japan has demonstrated rather little concern about protecting the privacy of its citizens and has few regulations about online privacy. In the international realm of privacy regulation, the United States is not the strictest but does attempt to protect its citizens' privacy. Although many other countries have regulations and restrictions on privacy and the Internet, none are as stringent as those in the United States. In general, European privacy regulations are less stringent than those of the United States and Japan. Question 27 2 points Save What is socially responsible buying? Buying that attempts to take into account the public consequences of organizational buying or bring about positive social change through organizational buying behavior Maintaining strict standards about suppliers' commitment to social issues When an organization uses more than its share of greenhouse gas emissions and purchases credits from other companies who have already surpassed their target level When consumers take factors such as the percentage of recycled material included in a product and its packaging into account when making purchase decisions Organizational buying policies that mandate the purchase of materials that are approved as environmentally friendly regardless of the costs involved Question 28 2 points Save Specific development, pricing, promotion, and distribution of products that do less harm to the environment are known as nonpolluting promoting. eco-labeling. green marketing. earth friendly. environmental designing. Question 29 2 points Save How much of pretax profits may businesses in the United States declare as tax-deductible contributions? 2% 5% 10% 20% None Question 30 2 points Save Which area of law refers to a business's legal responsibility for the performance of its products? Lemon laws Strict accountability Product liability Product misuse Warranties Question 31 2 points Save Which of the following is one of the arguments for banning human cloning? Human cloning does not have the potential to enhance human life in any way and therefore is not worth the money it costs. When cloning is used to treat a patient, an actual fully developed human must be destroyed. Cloning has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of diseases and create replacement organs. Cloning is unethical because it involves humans meddling with nature. Banning human cloning could threaten important research, especially in the areas of infertility and cancer treatment. Question 32 2 points Save What is the real difficulty in conducting a risk analysis? Measuring the costs and benefits of environmental decisions, especially in the eyes of interested stakeholders Identifying which stakeholder groups have concerns about various environmental issues Conducting government or industry research as part of the response to environmental concerns Identifying the environmental issues that might be related to any one type of company or product Determining the specific environmental factors that could impact a business decision Question 33 2 points Save Initiatives in workplace diversity focus on developing a workforce that is 50% men and 50% women. understanding the ways in which people from different generations communicate and make decisions. reducing lawsuits related to affirmative action. recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce as a business imperative. meeting the legal guidelines of equal opportunity. Question 34 2 points Save What does the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) require certain employers do? Provide 12 weeks of leave at 50 percent of the employee's normal salary for a family or medical reason. Provide all employees with 10 weeks of job-protected leave for certain family and medical emergencies. Allow employees up to a year of unpaid leave to attend to a family medical emergency without the loss of their jobs. Provide 12 weeks of paid leave to an employee with a special family or medical circumstance. Provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons. Question 35 2 points Save Why did McDonald's start displaying warning signs that its coffee is hot after the famous lawsuit? As a form of advertising that the coffee at McDonald's is always fresh To try to eliminate further injury and product liability So that customers would not think McDonald's was serving iced coffee As a friendly reminder to customers that coffee is in fact hot Because the government ordered that these signs be posted Question 36 2 points Save Which of the following is least likely to be an example of a work/life program arrangement? An employee is allowed to come into work early and leave early two days a week in order to attend his son's basketball games and daughter's soccer games. An employee is allowed to take the one-week of vacation time he has earned. An employee is allowed to work from home three days a week during the hours that are most convenient for the employee. A mother needs to work approximately the same hours as school is in session so that she is able to take her children to school and pick them up from their after-school activities. Satellite offices of a large company are opened in various locations around large cities to reduce the stress associated with long commutes employees must make to get to the downtown office. Question 37 2 points Save What is the main problem associated with genetically modified plants and genetic engineering of animal cells? They are almost impossible to create and produce. They fail to increase the yield of crops. The long-term effects cannot be predicted. They do not seem to improve the short-term outcome. They are too expensive to be practical. Question 38 2 points Save In the data analysis step of the social audit, the audit committee should do all of the following except draw some conclusions about the information obtained in the previous stages. weigh the findings against standards identified earlier, both quantitatively and qualitatively. examine how other organizations in the industry are performing in a particular area. convert all information collected into a quantitative format that can be used for easy review and comparison. compare the company's internal perceptions to those discovered during the stakeholder assessment stage. Question 39 2 points Save Which of the following best describes the relationship between drinking water quality and water pollution? Very few drinking water systems in the United States are in violation of federal safety standards as these water pollution problems are found only in less industrialized countries. Water pollution is generally less of a factor in industrialized areas, because most industries carefully clean potentially harmful discharges in order to protect drinking water quality. Water pollution most likely affects the quality of drinking water from surface reservoirs such as rivers and lakes since these are the primary sources of our drinking water supplies. Although water pollution usually affects the fish, animals, and plants living in and near the bodies of water, it rarely impacts the quality of the drinking water directly. Water from surface reservoirs and water from underground aquifers can both be harmed by water pollution. Question 40 2 points Save Which of the following best describes the reasons that companies want to conduct social audits? Companies exceed their legally prescribed duties and conduct social audits for a variety of reasons that lie along a vast spectrum. A firm may want an official audit so it will be able to project a good image to hide corrupt ways. A company may want to make its closest competitors look bad in order to attract more customers and increase market share. Firms are genuinely interested in understanding performance in order to improve and achieve the best social performance possible. A company may simply feel pressure to conduct an audit on its social responsibilities because many other companies are doing it. Question 41 2 points Save What is done in the beginning stages of both financial and social audits? Reviewing documents Measuring data Reporting Interviewing stakeholders Planning Question 42 2 points Save Which of the following situations describes a risk that may occur with social auditing? The company learns that community leaders feel the company should take a more active role in the community. A firm becomes more familiar with the possible challenges it will face in the future as a result of the audit. The company discovers a criticism that stakeholders have of the company's practices that cannot be easily addressed or dismissed. A group of stakeholders become aware of a little known program that benefits local elementary students during the course of the social audit. A firm uncovers a problem during the course of the audit and is therefore prepared to deal with it when the results of the audit are released. Question 43 2 points Save What experiences effectively ended the loyalty and commitment-based contract that employees had developed with employers? Employers began to say that employees were not that valuable to the company's success. Employers took steps to cut costs through workforce reduction as the demands for global competitiveness increased. Employers began to offer work-life balance perks to lure talented workers away from their current employers, and loyalty suffered. Employees' desire for job security changed, and they no longer had a psychological need for security. Employers felt that employees were not living up to the conditions of their psychological contracts. Question 44 2 points Save What is the primary reason that a firm might have an independent audit of its social report? To meet a requirement of the social auditing process In order to make the social auditing process worthwhile To formally state that the company is truly a good corporate citizen To assess the quality, accuracy, and completeness of the social report To allow stakeholders an opportunity to view the information themselves Question 45 2 points Save What does cause-related marketing do? Creates a link between an environmental cause and the company as a whole Consists of purposeful marketing that provides consumers with needed product information Links corporate resources and knowledge to address broader social, customer, employee, and supplier problems and needs Ties an organization's product or service directly to a social concern Provides an opportunity to associate a company's name and brands to a particular sports event Question 46 2 points Save Why is it difficult for the government to hire and retain forensic computer experts to control the activities of cyber criminals? The highly skilled experts are hired away by firms who pay much higher salaries than the government. Crimes committed online seem mild and unimportant compared to other types of white-collar crime. The government does not have the jurisdiction to seek out and punish those who commit online crimes. The government is not concerned with these issues and leaves the control up to the private sector. There are less than fifty high-caliber forensic computer experts in the country. Question 47 2 points Save What type of document is likely to be the most reliable and objective source of information in a social audit? Externally generated and circulated document from an external stakeholder group Internally generated and externally circulated document regarding social responsibility activities Internally generated and circulated document about the company's social responsibilities Report about the volunteer hours of staff members that is internally generated Internally and externally generated documents are usually equally reliable because it is difficult to falsify these records Question 48 2 points Save What is the main legislation to regulate atmospheric emissions? Pollution Prevention Act Clean Air Act NAAQS Environmental Protection Act Pure Atmosphere Act Question 49 2 points Save The design, arrangement, and use of equipment to maximize productivity and minimize fatigue and physical discomfort are known as ergonomics. chiropractics. massagonics. preventative health. comfort engineering. Question 50 2 points Save When conducting a social audit, a company should avoid doing all of the following except forgetting to focus on the benefits and the business case for social responsibility. starting the audit without talking to someone who has performed one and reading other similar audits. allowing one stakeholder's issues to outweigh the others. including only the good and not the bad aspects of the firm's performance. publicizing the role of the audit team and its purpose