BUSENV 0060 Managerial Ethics and Stakeholder Management

NAME ____________________________________________________________________

                                                                       Exam #2         

  • You will need to investigate answers to these questions in our readings and lectures.
  • 100 points total.  Note differing point values.
  • Type your answers after the questions in a different font.
  • Submit your completed exam no later than 5:00 p.m. March 22 as a Word attachment to an e-mail to kabala@duq.edu or stank@pitt.edu.
  1.   In brief, make the case for advertsing.  (2 pts.)
  • In brief, make the case that criticizes advertising.  (2 pts.)
  • What is the meaning of the phrase “weasel words” as it applies to advertising? (2 pts.)
  • What is required by the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act in regard to lending?  (1 pt.)
  • What is required by the federal Truth-in-Lending Act in regard to lending?  (1 pt.)
  • The textbook sets out a “top 10” list of safety principles.  Place the 10 in categories that cluster their meanings in some logical way which you explain.  (3 pts.)

   Explain the following 3 types of liability under the law.  (2 pts. each)

  • Strict liability
  • Absolute liability
  • Market share liability
  1. Explain what is meant but the phrase “tort reform.”  (2 pts.)
  1. Provide a working definition of the term “group think.”  (2 pts.)
  1. How did groupthink manifest itself in the NASA space shuttle case?  (3 pts.)
  1. How did groupthink manifest itself in the 2015 Volkswagen case?  (3 pts.)
  1. Explain 3 ways to combat group think in a decision setting  (2 pts. each)
  1. Explain the idea of “shareholder primacy” in corporate management. (2 pts.)
  1. Explain the idea that ownership and control are separated in the modern corporation.  (2 pts.)

Explain these terms that refer to executive compensation. (2 pts. each)

  1. Back dating    
  1. Bullet dodging 
  1. Spring loading
  • Clawback

Are the actions in questions 17, 18, and 19 ethical?  Why or why not?  (2 pts. each)

  • Back dating
  • Bullet dodging
  • Spring loading
  • Does the U.S. government require disclosure of executive compensation?         Yes      No
  • What is meant by the phrase “insider trading?  (2 pts.)
  • What is meant by the term “material information?  (2 pts.)         

In brief, what does the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) require concerning the following four actors?  (2 pts. each)

  • Auditing firms
  • Accounting firms
  • CEOs
  • CFOs
  • Explain each of the elements of the “ethics quick test” discussed in our textbook. (6 pts.)
  • Explain what David Shapira meant by the axiom “Clarify and confirm” and how to use it. (4 pts.)

The next 3 questions are derived from William D. Cohan’s article “Can Bankers Behave?”

  • Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, said the ongoing scandals prove that banks have not gotten the message.  What does she find is the problem?  (3 pts.)
  • Name 2 of the 3 changes made by Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman to senior staff remuneration?
    (2 pts. each)
  • What is the desired effect on banker behavior of changing compensation packages by reducing salary and increasing stock options?  (2 pts.)
  • Robert Hinkley proposes that 28 words be added to corporate charters to redefine corporate duties.  List them and fully explain their meaning. (3 pts.)
  • What agency of the U.S. government stipulates corporate disclosure of climate-related risks to their business?  (2 pts.)
  • Define corruption, and differentiate between bribes and grease payments. (2pts.)
  • Explain 3 major features of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  (6 pts.)
  • Corporate board member liability is limited by the “business judgment rule.”  What are the 3 elements of that rule that protect board members?  (6 pts.)
  • When Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf appeared before the Senate Banking Committee, what action against a division head of the company did he indicate he was not prepared to consider?  (2 pts.)