Session:7 What Employees Owe Employers
Answer Key
Business Ethics | Leadership Development – Micro-Learning Session
Rice University 2020 | Michael Laverty, Colorado State University Global Chris Littel, North Carolina State University| https://openstax.org/details/books/business-ethics
1. C
2. B
3. True
4. Conflict of interest: The employee must not act in a way that would result in a conflict of interest with the employer.
5. Duty of confidentiality: Employers are well within their rights to expect employees to honor their duty of confidentiality and maintain the secrecy of such proprietary material as trade secrets, intellectual property, and customer data.
6. A. Employers can encourage positive behavior toward customers by empowering employees to use their best judgment when working with them.
7. B
8. True
9. Customers’ perceptions are formed by the employees with whom they have contact, and these perceptions affect not only the company but all the employees who depend on its success for their livelihood.
10. D. Violence by a customer occurs when the violent person has a legitimate relationship with the business, perhaps as a customer or patient.
11. A
12. True
13. Employees owe each other courtesy and respect.
14. NIOSH indicates that violence at work usually fits into one of four categories: traditional criminal intent, violence by one worker against another, violence stemming from a personal relationship, and violence by a customer.
15. A
16. B
17. False. Despite legal and cultural differences that may allow bribes in other countries, U.S. firms and their employees are prohibited from paying them.
18. In addition to individuals, bribery injures competitors, the government, and the free-market system as a whole.
19. Factors that help establish the ethics and legality of gift giving include the value of the gift, its purpose, the circumstances under which it is given, the position of the person receiving it, company policy, and the law.
20. B
21. False. Generally speaking, labor law gives workers the right to discuss among themselves the specifics of their individual employment agreements, including matters of salary.
22. True
23. Employees can post information online about wages, hours, and working conditions, and that speech is protected by federal statute.
24. Employees should not seek revenge on a boss with whom they are angry. Of course, even if an employee has a personal revenge motive, if the company is actively breaking the law, it is still important that the wrongdoing be reported.
25. The employee should usually try internal reporting channels first, to disclose the problem to management before going public.