Xaviers Institute of Business Management Studies

Business Ethics

Max. Marks: 80

SECTION - A

1. Answer any ten of the following in about 3-4 lines each: (2x10-20)

a) Define Business Ethics.4

b) What is morality? 45
c) How religion and ethics are related?5
d) What is ethical dilemma?
are situations in which there is a choice to be made between two options, neither of
which resolves the situation in an ethically acceptable fashion.

e) Define Corporate Governance.108

f) Whar are attitudes?
g) What is the psychological egoism?
Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by self-
interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. It claims that, when people choose
to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they
themselves expect to obtain, directly or indirectly, from doing so
h) State the two unethical practices in Software Company?
i) What are tax ratios?
Tax ratios are a series of financial ratios that compare a company's tax rate, or the amount of money
it pays in tax, to its total revenue, net income, equity value or some other measure of worth.
j) List four features of utilitarianism?62
k) What is whistle blowing?207
l) What is software privacy?227

SECTION - B

Answer any three of the following. Each question carries 5 marks.

(3x5=15)

2. Explain the significance of ethics in business planning and decision

making.
3. What are corporate crimes? What are their effects on society?
4. What are the implications of unethical practices on human resource
management?
5. What do you mean by classical utilitarianism? Explain its principles. 61
& 62
6. Explain the benefits of good corporate governance.
Benefits of Corporate Governance
1. Good corporate governance ensures corporate success and economic growth.
2. Strong corporate governance maintains investors’ confidence, as a result of which, company can raise
capital efficiently and effectively.
3. It lowers the capital cost.
4. There is a positive impact on the share price.
5. It provides proper inducement to the owners as well as managers to achieve objectives that are in
interests of the shareholders and the organization.
6. Good corporate governance also minimizes wastages, corruption, risks and mismanagement.
7. It helps in brand formation and development.
8. It ensures organization in managed in a manner that fits the best interests of all.
9. Role clarity for the owners and management team. Governance permits managers and owners to
delineate their roles and separate the issues of ownership (shareholding) from the management of the
business. This usually facilitates faster decision making as it allows managers and owners to choose
which ‘hat’ to wear depending on the issue or matter at hand.
10. Purposeful strategic direction. Corporate Governance relies on the company defining and following a
definitive strategic direction. This enables the owners and/or management to apply the right resources
to the most beneficial opportunities. In turn this typically leads to the quicker achievement of company
goals, while minimising wasted resources on less important activities.
11. Retention of staff. Motivation increases when employees/staff are part of a business that has a well
defined and communicated vision and direction. This can improve staff retention which can become
especially important when it comes to attracting and retaining senior talent.
12. Improved relationships with the bank. Corporate Governance enables robust and regular financial and
management reporting. The resulting systematic approach to producing data will foster confidence in
your business from your funders/banks as well as your investors. Improved access to capital can be
another flow-on benefit from sound Corporate Governance.
13. Improvement in profitability. Governance often leads to improved reporting on performance. This means
managers and owners are better equipped to make higher quality decisions that can drive an increase
in sales and margins and a reduction in costs.

SECTION - C

Answer any three of the following. Each question carries fifteen marks.
(3x15=45)

7. Explain the ethical issues involved in managing finance with an

objective
of maximizing shareholders wealth rather than shareholders interests.252

8. Describe congnitivism and non-congnitivism ethical theories.

Non-cognitivism is a variety of irrealism about ethics with a number of influential
variants. Non-cognitivists agree with error theorists that there are no moral properties
or moral facts. But rather than thinking that this makes moral statements false, non-
cognitivists claim that moral statements are not in the business of predicating
properties or making statements which could be true or false in any substantial sense.
Roughly put, non-cognitivists think that moral statements have no substantial truth
conditions. Furthermore, according to non-cognitivists, when people utter moral
sentences they are not typically expressing states of mind which are beliefs or which
are cognitive in the way that beliefs are. Rather they are expressing non-cognitive
attitudes more similar to desires, approval or disapproval.
Cognitivism is perhaps best defined as the denial of non-cognitivism. Cognitivists
think that moral sentences are apt for truth or falsity, and that the state of mind of
accepting a moral judgment is typically one of belief. They think that typical
utterances of indicative sentences containing moral predicates express beliefs in the
same way that other sentences with ordinary descriptive predicates typically do.
(There is some reason to be careful here since cognitivists may not need to employ the
sense of ‘express’ that expressivists need to get their theory off the ground. See
Schroeder 2008a.) Different species of cognitivist disagree about the contents of moral
sentences and beliefs, about their truth conditions, and about their truth. To discuss all
the varieties would require a complete taxonomy of possible metaethical positions.
What they have in common, however, is that they all deny that an adequate account of
moral judgments can be given consistent with the two negative non-cognitivist theses.

9. Explain the impact of corporate governance of Narayana Murthy

Committee.

10. Explain the factors influencing ethical environment a service

organization.

11. Explain the corporate social responsibility towards the educational

institutions.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an increasingly important activity to

businesses nationally and internationally. According to Lord Holme and Richard Watts
"Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave
ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the
workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large" As
globalisation accelerates and large corporations serve as global providers, these corporations
have progressively recognized the benefits of providing CSR programs in their various
locations. Traditionally in the United States, CSR has been defined much more in terms of a
philanthropic model. Companies make profits, unhindered except by fulfilling their duty to
pay taxes. Then they donate a certain share of the profits to charitable causes. It is seen as
tainting the act for the company to receive any benefit from the giving

Objectives
1. To highlight the role of corporate social responsibility as an essential feature of
corporate policy.
2. To focus on the need for corporate social responsibility to play a major role in
Education in India.
3. To stress the inter-relationship between the roles of Government,corporate and
education in India
4.
Suggestions
1. CSR programmes should contribute a bulk of their resources to education.
2. Investments in research, spread of information and communication technology from
school level onwards are the need of the hour.
3. Collaborations between Government, educational institutions and corporate will
accelerate educational reform and thus bring about the desired social development

CSR and Education

Today, public education faces the mounting challenges of standardized testing, strained
budgets, teacher retention, and global workforce competition. At the same time, corporate
America has added pressure to prove itself to consumers, investors, and government
regulators. These demands have given way to new opportunities for businesses to support
education in a win-win situation that benefits everyone.

Businesses have begun to take a more targeted approach in their corporate social
responsibility programs and are seeking to impact areas that have a correlation with their own
business goals. For many businesses, education is an important part of their plans, since the
needs exist in all geographic areas, across all subject areas, and for all kinds of people. The
bottom line is that educational outreach efforts have the potential to make a real and lasting
difference for all players involved.
Companies get involved in education for a number of strategic reasons, including building a
positive reputation and goodwill among consumers, employees, investors, and other
stakeholders; developing brand recognition, whether to increase consumer loyalty, boost
sales, or establish the company as an industry leader; building a more educated workforce;
raising consumer awareness about a particular issue; and fulfilling a company mission or
mandate Students, schools, and the general public can benefit from the experience and
expertise that corporations bring to the table, particularly if the groups work together to
ensure the right needs are being met on both ends. Companies looking to contribute to public
school education, for instance, must consider the many demands that schools and educators
face daily – time constraints, tight budgets, technology access, standardized testing, and
explicit curriculum standards – as well as the unique places where outside help is needed. As
long as they address the right needs, businesses have the ability to make a tremendous
impact. By providing highly engaging resources, by building in strong connections with
instructional needs, and by effectively marketing the resources, more and more companies are
simultaneously meeting educational goals and their own business goals. Parents are
enthusiastic about the industry involvement, too, so long as it’s positive and productive. A
Michigan survey conducted in April 2007 by The Detroit News, The Skillman Foundation,
and Your Child showed that 77% of parents think businesses should play a role in education,
particularly by providing additional resources General Electric has a five-year, $100-million
“College Bound” program to boost the number of high school students who go to college in
certain school districts. The program encompasses math and science curricula, professional
development, management capacity, and the involvement and expertise of GE officials. One
school superintendent said the initiative combines “high academic standards, best educational
practices, collaborative relationships, and the expertise of a longstanding partner and global
technology leader.” In 2004, Citigroup announced the formation of its Office of Financial
Education, along with a 10-year, $200-million commitment to financial education. Since
then, the company has developed curriculum programs for aspiring entrepreneurs, college
students with questions about credit, and pre-scholars who are just starting to learn about
money, among others. Thousands of Citigroup employees volunteer their time to teach
theseprograms, which have reached people in more than 60 countries. Beyond curricula,
some
businesses get involved in the education world to train a new generation of employees. Last
year, President Bush introduced the American Competitiveness Initiative to strengthen
education, increase investment in research and development, and encourage entrepreneurship,
with the goal of helping the U.S. maintain its global leadership role in science and
technology. Professional development, particularly popular in biomedical sciences and
engineering, allows companies to reach out and flex their strengths and expertise, while
ultimately strengthening a potential pool of employees. Biotechnology giant Genentech’s
CEO, Dr. Arthur Levinson, recently said, “We’re hiring as many good people as we can out
there, but there’s not an infinite number of terrific people.” To address the shortage, the
company sponsors biotechnology workforce initiatives, offers financial assistance and
internships to diverse students, and supports health science education efforts from K-12
through the graduate level. This type of comprehensive, focused, relevant involvement is key
to the new direction of corporate social responsibility. A new era of corporate involvement
and investment in education is here, with promise and opportunity framing the way forward

Answer sheet – links

http://www.casestudyandprojectreports.com/business-ethics-xibms-mba-exam-answer-sheet/

http://www.casestudyandprojectreports.com/business-ethics-xibms-mba-exam-answer-sheet/