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Assessment Questions

1. Which of the following is not an intellectual virtue according to Aristotle?
    1. the basic order of life
    2. knowledge
    3. wisdom
    4. prudence
correct answer

1. A 

2. Deliberative prudence does all the following except ________.
    1. align ends and means
    2. encourage prodigality
    3. avoid conflict
    4. prevent rash behavior
correct answer

2. B

3. True or false? According to Aristotle, happiness is a virtuous activity of the soul.
correct answer

3. True

4. True or false? It is possible to act deliberately and shrewdly in a good way or toward a good end.
correct answer

4. True

5. How might virtue ethics apply to contemporary business?
correct answer

5. Because virtue ethics emphasizes individual character and conscience, it can have a tremendous influence on organizational culture by encouraging individuals to stand up for sound, ethical, and responsible business practices.


6. Quan means which of the following?
    1. adherence to the past
    2. philosophic tradition
    3. practicality
    4. insistence on protocol
correct answer

6. C

7. The Analects of Confucius ________.
    1. are similar to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
    2. represent an oral tradition
    3. reflect Buddhist ideals
    4. codify a system of virtue ethics
correct answer

7. D

8. True or false? Confucian virtue ethics is similar to the Aristotelian version in that both are very practical.
correct answer

8. True


9. True or false? According to Confucius, the hope for reform of Chinese society was a centralized planning system.
correct answer

9. False. Confucius’s hope for reform was the five great relationships that support Chinese society:
parent/child, husband/wife, elder/junior sibling, master/apprentice, and ruler/subject.

10. How can wholeheartedness and sincerity serve as models of risk assessment?
correct answer

10. Wholeheartedness and sincerity require not just competence but compassion when dealing with stakeholders and making executive decisions. Reflecting the overall Confucian concern for balance, they temper initiative and boldness with self-regulation.


11. “Control” as used in this section does not refer to which of the following?
    1. reverence
    2. phrónēsis
    3. temperance
    4. Confucian self-regulation
correct answer

11. A

12. Managerial ethics is related to which of the following?
    1. shareholder wealth
    2. righteousness
    3. bureaucracy
    4. honor
correct answer

12. B

13. True or false? In both East and West, the means used to achieve a certain end are often more important than the end.
correct answer

13. True


14. True or false? Individualism was the greatest value in Confucian ethics.
correct answer

14. False. In Confucian ethics, the locus of ethics and moral decision making was the family rather than the individual. The most important value was the development of humanity and putting an end to anarchy, and this was done best in the context of the family.

15. Utilitarianism is a system that ________.
    1. considers historical conditions
    2. approaches Aristotelian deliberation
    3. builds on natural law theory
    4. attempts to quantify the good
correct answer

15. D

16. In On Liberty, John Stuart Mill ________.
    1. proposes a harm principle
    2. exalts libertarianism
    3. prescribes a consequentialist answer to ethical crises
    4. rejects rights
correct answer

16. A

17. True or false? John Stuart Mill’s emphasis on human rights distinguishes him from Jeremy Bentham.
correct answer

17. True

18. How does utilitarianism affect contemporary business practice?
correct answer

18. Utilitarianism is pervasive in contemporary business practice, management theory, and decision-making through cost-benefit analysis. Decisions are often made based on the “bottom line” of profit, numbers of stakeholders affected, or overall utility to the organization. Utilitarianism is reflected in this abiding emphasis on efficiency, often to the neglect of other factors.

19. Does the value that John Stuart Mill placed on the deliberative process and individual expression as the main ways of arriving at truth have any relevance for political debate today?
correct answer

19. Certainly there exists a need today to engage in political debate that includes all sides of an issue in respectful ways. Mill’s teaching on the role of free speech in society can be a starting point and a reminder of the importance of civil debate and freedom.

20. Immanuel Kant objected to dogmatism in ________.
    1. religion
    2. science
    3. both A and B
    4. neither A nor B
correct answer

20. C

21. True or false? Immanuel Kant contended that people often interpret reason subjectively.
correct answer

21. True


22. True or false? A criticism of Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative is that its refusal ever to permit exceptions in acting ethically is impossible to observe in life.
correct answer

22. True

23. What are the essential differences between John Stuart Mill’s version of utilitarianism and Immanuel Kant’s deontology?
correct answer

23. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist philosophy dependent solely on outcomes. Although focused on rights, Mill’s utilitarianism also depends on results. Deontology is concerned with motive, duty, and one’s obligation to act regardless of circumstances or outcomes.

24. How does Kantian ethics work in a business setting?
correct answer

24. Because Kantian ethics is about treating people not as means but as ends, this philosophy can influence nearly every aspect of business, from research and development to production, manufacturing, marketing, and consumption. It may be difficult to implement, however, because many businesses are focused on efficiency and production to the near-exclusion of other factors.

25. John Rawls’s theory of justice is based on which of the following?
    1. cognitive structures
    2. moral duty
    3. social contract theory
    4. survival of the fittest
correct answer

25. C

26. The “veil of ignorance” ensures which of the following?
    1. mass delusion
    2. objectivity
    3. self-reliance
    4. Enlightenment reason
correct answer

26. B

27. True or false? John Rawls’s theory of justice is mainly non-Utilitarian.
correct answer

27. True

28. A distinguishing characteristic of justice theory is that it emphasizes method over content.
correct answer

28. True

29. What challenges does Rawlsian justice theory present when it comes to the redistribution of goods and services in society?
correct answer

29. Rawls’s theory has been called radical because it redistributes goods and services without regard for extenuating circumstances or historical context. It also has been accused of stifling enterprise, innovation, and investment.

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