ORGL 4223
The Individual, The Organization, and Society
Course Objectives
Objective 1: Students will think critically and communicate clearly concerning substantive issues such as diversity and environmental issues such as diversity and environmental stewardship affecting organization in the early 21st century.
2: Students will apply social responsibility concepts and ethical principles to current issues confronting individuals, organizations, and their societies.
3: Students will articulate the social responsibilities of organizations.
4: Students will identify the implications of globalization for individuals, organizations, and societies.
5: Students will identify issues concerning individual freedom in the organization.
6: Students will articulate the impact of technology on individuals, organizations, and society.
Course Content Areas:
Content Area 1: Environmental Stewardship.—depletion and distribution of resources;
pollution; environmental regulation.
2: Globalization and Economic Issues.—world trade issues; trade blocs; international competition; integration; regulation.
3: Organizational Responsibility to.—workforce; consumers; owners and shareholders; community; organization’s home society; international communities; developing countries.
4: Diversity.—gender; sexual orientation; culture; ethnicity; age; socioeconomic status or class; diversity as an asset; fairness and due process
5: Technological Change.—worker displacement and obsolescence; pace of change; access to information and privacy issues; networking; retraining; legal and security issues.
6: Individual Freedoms in the Organization.—individual expression; privacy.
Ethical Considerations.—individual ethics; organizational ethics.
1. Technological advances in the computer field have made employees more productive. Which statement identifies the greatest negative impact computers have on our environment: (Content area 1)
A. The amount of energy required to run the computers creates harmful green house gases.
B. Discarded computers and monitors fill up landfills with carbon waste and toxic metals.
C. Most personal computers are recycled and the impact to the environment is minimal.
D. There are no negative impacts to the environment due to computers.
2. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in a direct response to ethical issues related to: (objective 2)
A. Employment irregularities (equal opportunities for minorities).
B. Home mortgage irregularities
C. Banking irregularities
D. Accounting/Audit irregularities
3. Which of the following companies is being the most socially responsible?(objective 2)
A. A company trying its best to operate in a way which will help local students get education and jobs.
B.A company halting its production of toxic gases after it discovered that people objected to this practice and threatened legal action.
C.A company trying to maximize its profits and then contributing to an environmental protection fund.
D.A company changing its product design to comply with regulatory mandates.
4. Corporations should be socially responsible because they:(content area 3)
A.Are responsible to the stockholders of the company.
B.Create jobs, influencing the lives of employees.
C.Create a tax base that benefits all residents of the community.
D.All of the above.
5. The acceleration of globalization has been driven by:(content area 2)
A.Communications technology.
B.Transportation systems.
C.Social and political reforms.
D.All of the above.
6. The primary purpose of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to:(content area 2)
A.Lend foreign currency to member countries.
B.Exchange one currency for another.
C.Consolidate the debt facing third world nations.
D.Collect the principal and interest on loans made by The World Bank to third-world nations.
7. American companies are outsourcing their manufacturing operations overseas because of: (objective 4)
A.Strict law enforcement overseas.
B.High environmental standards overseas.
C.Weak health and safety regulations overseas.
D.Strong worker unions overseas.
8. The anti-trust cases brought against Microsoft by regulators in the United States and Europe are examples of: (content area 2)
A.Promoting long-term profits for business.
B.Government efforts to reduce a company's abuses of its monopoly power in the marketplace.
C.Correcting social problems caused by business.
D.None of the above.
9. The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives workers the right to a job:(objective 5)
A.With equal wages for similar kinds of work.
B.With wages that enable an employee to enjoy a decent standard of living.
C.That is free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious injury.
D.That does not require them to lift, bend, or move items at any time on the job.
10. Which of the following is not an argument favoring employee drug testing?(objective 5)
A.It improves employee productivity.
B.It decreases employee theft and absenteeism.
C.It promotes safety in the workplace.
D.It is an intrusion on individual privacy.
11. Which of the following is true about random drug testing of employees?(objective 5)
A.It screens randomly-selected employees at various times through the year.
b.It randomly tests selected applicants before hiring, as a part of a physical examination.
c.It tests an employee believed to be impaired by drugs and unfit for work.
d.It regularly tests employees from randomly-selected job categories or job levels.
12. The digital divide describes the gap between those:(content area 5)
A.Individuals who have technology and those who do not.
B.Businesses who use e-business and those who do not.
C.Businesses who use online information and those who do not.
D.Individuals who have broadband technology and those who do not.
13. Approximately what percent of incidents of sexual harassment are never reported?(content area 4)
A.Less than 20 percent.
B.About 40 percent.
C.About 65 percent.
D.As many as 90 percent.
14. Reverse discrimination occurs when:(content area 4)
A.The government discovers that one group was discriminated against over 10 years ago.
B.One group is unintentionally discriminated against in an effort to help another group.
C.One group is intentionally promoted to meet government-mandated quotas.
D.All of the above.
15. Corporations have a role in establishing their community's:(objective 3)
A.Tax base.
B.Safety.
C.Economic growth.
D.All of the above.
15. What is the most critical social issue facing communities, according to community relations managers?(objective 4)
A.Education.
B.Health care.
C.Public safety.
D.Housing.
16. Intellectual property refers to:(objective 6)
A.Protecting one's ideas, concepts, and symbolic creations.
B.Special laws protecting copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
C.Prohibiting the downloading of commercial software or videogames.
D.All of the above.
17. The practice of downloading copyrighted songs was challenged because it:(objective 6)
A.Created congestion and overloaded demands on the servers.
B.Denied legitimate compensation to the recording artists.
C.Favored major recording companies and selective artists over others.
D.Resulted in bankruptcy for retail music outlets across the country.
18. Telecommunications has:(content area 5)
A.Diminished the human touch in our communications.
B.Enhanced the human dimensions in our communications.
C.Created more leisure time due to increase of productivity.
D.Reached it bandwidth limit and service is now being restricted.
19. Which of the following statements is (are) true about the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)? (objective 1)
A.It established a fund supported primarily by a tax on the petroleum and chemical companies.
B.It is regarded as one of the most successful environmental laws.
C.The funds collected are used to clean up sites where the original polluter cannot be identified.
D.Both A and C, but not B.
20. Which of the following is/are a cost of environmental regulation?(content area 1)
A.Unemployment.
B.Reduced capital investment.
C.Corporate restructuring.
D.All of above.
21. A firm subscribing to the ownership theory of the firm would mainly be concerned with providing value for its: (content area 3)
A.Shareholders.
B.Customers.
C.Board of Directors.
D.Community.
22. Stakeholder groups can include:(content area 3)
A.Stockholders.
B.The media.
C. Environmental activists.
D.All of the above.
23. Which of the following statements is correct about systems theory? (objective area 1)
A. All systems seek to destroy other forces in their environment.
B. All systems interact with, but are not affected by, other forces in their environment.
C. All systems interact with, and are affected by, other forces in their environment.
D. All systems are affected by, but do not interact with, other forces in their environment.
24. In an analysis of Global Corporate Citizenship, the term “Triple Bottom Line” refers to which of the following? (content area 3)
A. Company earnings, investor dividends, stock price.
B. CEO salary, gross sales, profit margin.
C. Employee pay levels, corporate tax rates, retirement funds.
D. Corporate earnings, environmental impacts, social impacts.
25. The U.S. Corporate Sentencing Guidelines: (content area 3)
A. Are absolutely feared by corporations.
B. Can serve to reduce fines and sentences in corporate criminal cases.
C. Have no positive value or benefit to corporations.
D. Have nothing to do with corporate responsibility.