Assertion (A) : Decisions in small matters largely tend to set a pattern for the more important ones you may make as managers. Reasoning (R) : A multi-industry survey conducted in the USA indicated that 40% of the managers said that their superiors had at some time told them to do certain things unethical. Code :
(A) and (R) both are correct but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Both are correct, but (R) does not explain (A) — option 4.
The assertion is correct. It states a well-established proposition of ethical behaviour: small decisions establish habits, and habits govern the large decisions when they arrive. A manager who accepts small gifts, pads an expense claim or shades a figure in a routine report is forming a disposition that will decide how he acts when the stakes are serious. This is the slippery slope of ethics, and it explains why organisations that tolerate minor lapses find major ones later. It is also why ethical training concentrates on everyday conduct rather than on dramatic dilemmas.
The reasoning is also correct as a statement of fact. Surveys of this kind — the finding is widely cited in business-ethics texts — do report that a substantial proportion of managers, around 40%, have been asked by a superior to do something they considered unethical.
But (R) does not explain (A), and this is the whole point of the item :
| Statement | What it is about |
|---|---|
| (A) | An internal process — how a manager’s own small decisions shape his later large ones. The cause lies within the individual |
| (R) | An external pressure — the frequency with which superiors ask subordinates to act unethically. The cause lies outside the individual |
Both are true observations about ethics in organisations, but they describe different phenomena with different causes. Nothing in the survey finding accounts for why small decisions set a pattern; the pattern would form even in an organisation where no superior ever applied such pressure. The two statements are related in subject and unrelated in logic — exactly the condition option 4 describes.
How to handle assertion-reasoning items of this shape. Verify the two statements separately, and only then ask whether the second supplies the cause of the first. Two true statements about the same topic very often stand in no explanatory relation at all, and examiners rely on candidates who, having found both true, stop there and choose option 1.
What (R) does establish, for its own sake: that unethical conduct in organisations is frequently a matter of hierarchical pressure rather than individual disposition, which is the argument for whistle-blower protection, ethics hotlines and codes of conduct that give a subordinate an authority to appeal to when refusing an instruction.
Hence, the answer is option 4.
Similar Questions
Assertion (A) : Bad corporate governance can cast doubt on a company's reliability.
Reasoning (R) : Companies that do not cooperate sufficiently with auditors can publish non-compliant financial results.
Code :
Which among the following are also called Corporate Social Responsibility ?
(a) Corporate Conscience
(b) Corporate Citizenship
(c) Responsible Business
Code :
Which one among the following is not a part of Corporate Social Initiatives ?
Which of the following is/are the component(s) of Ethics by field of interest ?
What is the right sequence of four psychological sub-processes in ethical action given by James Rest ?
CSR is important because :
Assertion (A) : Corporate behaviour towards stakeholders is an important concept in practice and a central part of corporate Governance.
Reason (R) : It has to be ethical, legal and responsible behaviour for organisation, stakeholders and society.
Code :
Which one of the following is not a principle of corporate Governance ?
Match the items given in the List - I and List - II and suggest the correct code :
List - I List - II (a) Ethics (i) Right code of behaviour for a group or profession (b) Morality (ii) Prescribes right conduct for everyone (c) Moral standard (iii) Needs some inclination to follow morality (d) Meta Moral Standard (iv) Practical and pragmatic Code :
Assertion (A) : When a corporation acts ethically and socially responsible in its business decisions and strategic planning, then the corporation will be more sustainable.
Reason (R) : Socially responsible corporate behaviour is increasingly seen as essential to long-term survival of companies.
Important Questions from Corporate governance and business ethics
Corporations are controlled and directed by which one of the following?
Which among the following is not a correct statement with regard to Corporate Governance in India ?
As per the Anglo-Saxon Model of Corporate Governance, the authority lies with the following. Arrange these in decreasing order of authority.
A. Board of Directors
B. Managers
C. Shareholders
D. Employees (Company)
E. Trade unions
Choose the correct sequence from the options given below
Assertion (A) : Corporate governance is an important instrument of investor protection.
Reason (R) : Strong corporate governance is indispensable to resilient and vibrant capital markets.
Which one of the following options is correct?
Which one of the following is not a norm of corporate governance ?
