Every problem in the chapter beside the book’s answer, a chapter at a time as you scroll.
Chapter 9: Professions under the Microscope
18 problems · 0 figures9-1 §9.1 source ↗
What characteristic is common to most entrepreneurs?
- a.an advanced degree
- b.deep management experience
- c.a driven, highly competitive nature
- d.a large network of business contacts
Answer
C. a driven, highly competitive nature
9-2 §9.1 source ↗
Entrepreneurs are usually motivated by the teamwork spirit.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
B. False
9-3 §9.1 source ↗
Corporate culture comes from ________.
- a.the commitment of the company's employees
- b.the founder's idea of what the work environment should be like
- c.government regulations about labor relations
- d.the nature of the company’s product or service
Answer
B. the founder's idea of what the work environment should be like
9-4 §9.1 source ↗
One danger a growing start-up can face is ________.
- a.encroaching bureaucracy
- b.lack of good employees
- c.legal issues
- d.venture capitalists
Answer
A. encroaching bureaucracy
9-5 §9.2 source ↗
The phrase caveat emptor means the seller is principally responsible for purchase decisions, not the buyer.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
B. False
9-6 §9.2 source ↗
Children are discerning viewers of television advertising.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
B. False
9-7 §9.2 source ↗
Psychological appeals succeed when they ________.
- a.make consumers feel better about themselves
- b.let consumers compare themselves to their peers
- c.show consumers how to save money
- d.introduce new products
Answer
A. make consumers feel better about themselves
9-8 §9.2 source ↗
Even rational adults often fail to cast a suspicious eye to sophisticated ad pitches and end up making frivolous purchases.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
A. True
9-9 §9.3 source ↗
Should insurance coverage be mandatory for in some U.S. areas, such as hurricane coverage in the Southeast, tornado coverage in the Midwest, earthquake coverage on the Pacific Coast? Why or why not? Should government subsidies help underwrite the cost of this coverage? Why or why not?
Answer
Arguably, yes. Residences and businesses in these catastrophe-prone areas certainly would benefit from coverage. The difficulty comes in paying for it; it can be very expensive given the potential for cataclysmic loss. So an apparatus that would combine payment on the part of the insured but supplemented with tax subsidies might be most fair.
9-10 §9.3 source ↗
How prevalent has redlining been in the United States?
Answer
Very. Though it is essentially illegal everywhere, traces of it remain.
9-11 §9.3 source ↗
Premium rates for insurance coverage are based on statistical calculations of the historical rate of incidence of certain kinds of accidents, disasters, and theft, among other calamities against which we insure ourselves. Is this the most equitable way to assign these rates? Why or why not?
Answer
Statistically, this makes sense, but it often plays out unfairly for those insured individuals who absolutely do not contribute to the higher incidence of claims in certain areas. For example, suppose you are a very safe driver in a neighborhood of dangerous drivers. Your premiums for auto insurance will reflect not so much your own safety record as the overall rate of claims in your community.
9-12 §9.3 source ↗
Business insurance is a relatively recent offering.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
B. False
9-13 §9.3 source ↗
Insurance coverage offers a benefit we hope never to claim.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
A. True
9-14 §9.4 source ↗
Employer-sponsored wellness programs have no downsides for employees.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
B. False
9-15 §9.4 source ↗
Most European countries have multipayer health care systems like the United States.
- a.True
- b.False
Answer
B. False
9-16 §9.4 source ↗
In the European tradition, the main responsibility for supplying workers with health care lies with which of these groups?
- a.the government and labor unions
- b.labor unions
- c.nonprofit agencies and private companies
- d.individual workers
Answer
A. the government and labor unions
9-17 §9.4 source ↗
A job setting in which an employee gym and a snack bar featuring healthy foods and beverages were perks would benefit which of these groups?
- a.the owners/managers
- b.the customers or clients of the firm
- c.the employees
- d.all the above
Answer
D. all the above
9-18 §9.4 source ↗
Could an ethical case be made for managers dictating that employees adopt or avoid certain lifestyle practices (e.g., legally consuming cannabis) even when they are off the job? What would that argument be? What ethical counterarguments could be made?
Answer
Yes, such a case could be made, particularly if the company is providing health coverage for its employees, because the cost of this coverage to the employer is driven by the number of health claims made against it by workers. Furthermore, absenteeism reflects the health of employees, and their actions off the job help determine this. Conversely, permitting employers to stipulate worker behavior when not on the clock places great oversight in the hands of management and reduces individual autonomy significantly.
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Problems and answers are adapted from Business Ethics by Stephen M. Byars and Kurt Stanberry, OpenStax, and are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/business-ethics/pages/1-introduction. Illustrations: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. This adaptation is released under the same licence, is non-commercial, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by OpenStax or Rice University.