Match the items of List (I) with those of List (II); and choose the correct combination : Code :List - I List - II (a) Ethics are the principles of conduct governing an individual or profession. (i) John Donaldson (b) Ethics is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad, or right and wrong, or with moral duty and obligation. (ii) Keith Davis (c) Ethics are a set of rules that defines right and wrong conduct. (iii) Shea (d) Business ethics, in short can be described as the systematic study of moral (ethical) matters pertaining to business, industry or related activities, institutions, or practices and beliefs. (iv) R. Wayne Mondy
(a)-(iii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(ii), (d)-(i)
(a)-(iii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(ii), (d)-(i) — option 2.
| Definition | Author | What is distinctive about it |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Ethics are the principles of conduct governing an individual or a profession | (iii) Shea | The key word is profession. This definition extends ethics beyond the individual to professional codes — medicine, law, accountancy — and is the narrowest and most practical of the four |
| (b) Ethics is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad, or right and wrong, or with moral duty and obligation | (iv) R. Wayne Mondy | Calls ethics a discipline — a field of study — and is the broadest, philosophical definition. Mondy is an author on human resource management |
| (c) Ethics are a set of rules that defines right and wrong conduct | (ii) Keith Davis | The shortest and most operational. Davis is best known for his work on business and society and on the social responsibility of business |
| (d) Business ethics is the systematic study of moral matters pertaining to business, industry or related activities | (i) John Donaldson | The only definition of business ethics specifically, rather than of ethics generally. Donaldson wrote extensively on business ethics as a field |
How to reason it out if the attributions are not remembered exactly. Definition (d) is the only one that mentions business, so it belongs to the writer identified with business ethics as a subject — Donaldson. That single placement eliminates options 1 and 4 at once, since neither ends with (i). Between options 2 and 3, the question is whether (a) belongs to Shea or Mondy: (a) speaks of principles of conduct, the shorter and more applied formulation, while (b) calls ethics a discipline, the academic formulation that belongs to the textbook author. That gives option 2.
What the four definitions have in common, and it is the substance behind the matching: every one of them treats ethics as a standard of right and wrong applied to conduct. They differ only in scope — individual, professional, academic or business — not in what ethics is.
Where business ethics stands apart from ethics generally : it must reconcile moral obligation with the profit motive, and it operates through institutions — codes of conduct, ethics committees, whistle-blower protection, corporate governance — rather than through individual conscience alone.
Hence, the answer is (a)-(iii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(ii), (d)-(i).
Similar Questions
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.
Read the following passage and answer the questions :
Jensen examines the dynamics of corporate takeovers and challenges prevailing misconceptions surrounding them. He argues that takeovers are not merely hostile disruptions but serve as a crucial mechanism of the market for corporate control. According to Jensen, inefficient management teams often fail to maximize shareholder value and takeovers act as disciplinary tool by transferring control to more competent managers. He emphasizes that while popular belief portrays takeovers as destructive to employees and communities, empirical evidence suggests that they frequently generate significant economic gains by reallocating resources to more productive uses. Jensen distinguishes between the folklore-emotional and political arguments against takeovers depicting as harmful to employees and society and the science, which demonstrates thier role in improving efficiency and shareholder wealth. He also addresses concerns about debt financing in leveraged buyouts, contending that high leverage can impose financial discipline on managers by reducing wasteful spending. Ultimately, Jensen frames takeovers as an essential corrective force within capitalism, countering managerial inefficiency and aligning corporate behavior with shareholder interests. His analysis laid the groundwork for modern corporate finance debates on governance, agency costs and the value-creating potential of mergers and acquisitions.
Statement (I) : The science of ethics is a normative science.
Statement (II) : Normative sciences judge the value of the facts in terms of an idea; concerned with judgements of ‘what ought to be’ but not with factual judgements.
Code :
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 :
Deontological theory of ethics is concerned with which of the following ?
(a) Duty ethics
(b) Obligation ethics
(c) Rule based ethics
(d) Classical ethics
Code :
Utilitarianism theory of ethics refers to which one of the following ?
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 :
Important Questions from Corporate governance and business ethics
Which one of the following is not a norm of corporate governance ?
Which one among the following is not a true statement?
Who among the following has not given a model on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
For customers, which are the areas of ethical and social responsibility concerns?
A. Product Safety
B. Fair Price
C. Fair Wages
D. TQM
E. Proper disclosures and information
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
"Corporate governance is to conduct the business in accordance with the owner's (shareholders) desires" is conceptualized by
