The Basics of Ethics

Self-assessment: An Inventory of Attitudes and Beliefs About Professional and Ethical

Issues in the Business Profession

Directions: The purpose of this inventory is to survey your thoughts on various professional and ethical
issues in the field of the business profession. The inventory is designed to introduce you to these issues
and to stimulate your thoughts and interests.
This is not a traditional multiple-choice test in which you must select the “one right answer.”
Rather, it is a survey of your basic beliefs, attitudes, and values on the specific topics related to the practice
of the business profession. For each question, write in the letter of the response that most clearly reflects
your viewpoint at this time. You may choose more than one response if you wish. In addition, a blank line is
included for each item if you want to provide another response that is more suited to your thinking or to
qualify a chosen response.
 Get a whole sheet of yellow paper, write your name on the right side of the paper, your
course/year on the left side, and your favorite or meaningful bible verse to you on the center.
Copy the questions only together with the letter of your answer followed by a two-sentence
explanation.

Let’s start 😊
1. The notion of relating ethics and business:
a. is a big joke
b. should be clearly taught in school
c. is very complex, and therefore, not for me
d. is only for those in the managerial positions
e. should be of greater interest for all businessmen
f. _________________________________

2. The personal characteristics of students taking up the business courses are:

 a. not really that relevant to succeed in life
b. the most important variable in determining the quality of service to be given after their graduation
c. shaped and molded by those who teach them
d. not as important as the skills and knowledge that they will possess
e. _________________________________

3. Which of the following is the most important personal characteristics of a good businessman?
a. willingness to serve the community
b. openness and honesty
c. a sense of being “centered” as a person
d. shrewd
e. _________________________________

4. To develop trust, it is important to stress:

a. fairness in the practice of ranking and seniority
b. an open and honest communication
c. favoritism and nepotism
 d. buddy-buddy system
e. _________________________________

5. Concerning honesty to customers, I believe that:

a. it is not necessary to establish a good relationship
b. it is essential if a relationship is to be established
c. it should rarely be done
d. it should be done only when the businessman feels like doing it
e. _________________________________

6. Of the following factors, which is the most important in determining whether or not a business enterprise
will be successful?
a. the kind of person a businessman is
b. skills and knowledge in the exercise of one’s profession
c. the amount of profit that one can generate
d. one being loved by the community and his employees
e. _________________________________
7. Of the following, which is the most important attributed of an effective and successful businessman?
a. knowledge of business theories
b. skills in using techniques appropriately
c. genuineness and openness
d. ability to achieve and set goal
e. _________________________________

8. Regarding the manager/employee relationship, I think that:

a. the manager should remain objective in his dealings
b. the manager should be a friend to his employees
c. a personal relationship, but not friendship, is essential
d. the manager should be strict/rigid
e. _________________________________

9. I should be completely open, honest, and transparent, with my employees:

a. when I like and value them
 b. when I have negative feelings toward them
c. rarely, if ever, so that I will avoid negatively influencing the manager/employee relationship
d. only when I intuitively feel like doing the right thing
e. _________________________________

10. I expect that I will experience professional “burnout” if:

a. I get involved in too many exciting and demanding projects
b. I must do things in my work that are not personally meaningful
c. my personal life is characterized by conflict and struggle
d. my customers complain a lot
e. _________________________________

11. If I were an employee and were convinced that my supervisor was encouraging trainees/ “practicumers”
to participate in unethical behavior, I would:
a. first discuss the matter with the supervisor
b. report the supervisor to the director/president of the company
c. ignore the situation for fear of negative consequences
 d. take a “hands-off, that is not my problem” attitude
e._________________________________

12. Of the following, my greatest fear when I think about beginning a business enterprise is:
a. that I will make a lot of mistakes
b. that my customers won’t stay long in my company
c. that I will identify too much with my company problems
d. that I won’t know enough or be skillful and enough in using techniques
e. _________________________________

13. Of the following motivations, the one that best expresses my reason for wanting to be a businessman
is:
a. my desire to help people
b. my hope of changing the world in some way
c. my need to see other people develop themselves as fully human
d. the prestige and status that I associate with being a successful and well-respected businessman
e. _________________________________
14. When I consider being involved in the business profession, I value most:
a. the money I expect to earn
b. the security I imagine I will have in the job
c. the knowledge that I will be intimately involved with people
d. the personal growth I expect to experience through my work
e. _________________________________

15. I believe that the real reason for professional licensing and certification is:
a. to provide information to the public about services of a particular profession
b. to protect the public setting minimum levels of competence
c. to upgrade the different professions by assuring that the highest standards of excellence are
promoted
d. to protect the self-serving interest of various professions and to reduce competition
e. _________________________________

16. A sexual relationship between client and a manager is:

 a. ethical if the client initiates it
b. ethical if the manager decides it is in the best interest of the business
c. ethical only when the client and manager discuss the issue and agree to the relationship
d. never ethical
e. _________________________________

17. Concerning the issue of touching a subordinate, I think that touching:

a. is unwise, because it could be misinterpreted by the subordinate
b. should be done only when the manager genuinely feels like doing it
c. is important in a business deal
d. is ethical when the subordinate request it
e. _________________________________

18. Concerning the businessman’s responsibility to the community, I believe that:

a. a businessman should educate the community concerning the nature of their work
b. the businessman should attempt to change patterns that need changing
c. community involvement falls outside of the proper scope of doing business
 d. businessman should become involved in helping customers use the resources available in the
community
e. _________________________________

19. As a trainee, if I thought my supervision was inadequate, I would:

a. talk to my supervisor about it
b. continue to work without complaining
c. seek supervision elsewhere
d. feel let down by the school I enrolled in
e. _________________________________

20. When it comes to working within institutions, I believe that:

a. I must learn how to survive with dignity within a system
b. I must learn how to subvert the system so that I can do what I deeply believe in
c. the institution will stifle most of my enthusiasm and block my real change
d. I can’t blame the institution if I am unable to succeed in my programs
e. _________________________________
End….