Glossary Chapter 3 accommodative strategy a social responsiveness strategy in which a company chooses to accept responsibility for a problem and to do all that society expects to solve that problem concentration of effect the total harm or benefit that an act produces on the average person conventional level of moral development second level of moral development in which people make decisions that conform to societal expectations defensive strategy a social responsiveness strategy in which a company chooses to admit responsibility for a problem but do the least required to meet societal expectations discretionary responsibilities the expectation that a company will voluntarily serve a social role beyond its economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities economic responsibility the expectation that a company will make a profit by producing a valued product or service ethical behaviour behaviour that conforms to a society’s accepted principles of right and wrong ethical intensity the degree of concern people have about an ethical issue ethical responsibility the expectation that a company will not violate accepted principles of right and wrong when conducting its business ethics the set of moral principles or values that defines right and wrong for a person or group legal responsibility the expectation that a company will obey society’s laws and regulations magnitude of consequences the total harm or benefit derived from an ethical decision overt integrity test written test that estimates employee honesty by directly asking job applicants what they think or feel about theft or about punishment of unethical behaviours personality-based integrity test written test that indirectly estimates employee honesty by measuring psychological traits, such as dependability and conscientiousness postconventional level of moral development third level of moral development in which people make decisions based on internalized principles preconventional level of moral development first level of moral development in which people make decisions based on selfish reasons primary stakeholder any group on which an organization relies for its long-term survival principle of distributive justice ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that harms the least among us: the poor, the uneducated, the unemployed principle of government requirements ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that violates the law, for the law represents the minimal moral standard principle of individual rights ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that infringes on others’ agreed-upon rights principle of long-term self-interest ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that is not in your or your organization’s long-term self-interest principle of personal virtue ethical principle that holds that you should never do anything that is not honest, open, and truthful, and which you would not be glad to see reported in the newspapers or on TV principle of religious injunctions ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that is not kind and that does not build a sense of community principle of utilitarian benefits ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that does not result in greater good for society proactive strategy a social responsiveness strategy in which a company anticipates responsibility for a problem before it occurs and would do more than society expects to address the problem probability of effect the chance that something will happen and then harm others production deviance unethical behaviour that hurts the quality of work produced property deviance unethical behaviour aimed at the organization’s property proximity of effect the social, psychological, cultural, or physical distance between a decision maker and those affected by his or her decisions reactive strategy a social responsiveness strategy in which a company chooses to do less than society expects secondary stakeholder any group that can influence or be influenced by the company and can affect public perceptions about its socially responsible behaviour shareholder model view of social responsibility which holds that an organization’s overriding goal should be profit maximization for the benefit of shareholders shrinkage employee theft of company merchandise social consensus agreement on whether behaviour is bad or good social responsibility a business’s obligation to pursue policies, make decisions, and take actions that benefit society social responsiveness the strategy chosen by a company to respond to stakeholders’ economic, legal, ethical, or discretionary expectations concerning social responsibility stakeholder model theory of corporate responsibility which holds that management’s most important responsibility, long-term survival, is achieved by satisfying the interests of multiple corporate stakeholders stakeholders persons or groups with a “stake” or legitimate interest in a company’s actions temporal immediacy the time between an act and the consequences the act produces whistle blowing reporting others’ ethics violations to management or legal authorities workplace deviance unethical behaviour that violates organizational norms about right and wrong