University of Dayton

PHL 313

CHAPTER 10

Multiple-Choice Questions

1)Bok argues that whistle-blowing is expressly claimed to benefit:

1. 1. The public
   2. A company
   3. Only the whistle-blower
   4. The law

2. Davis argues that a whistle-blower must reveal information that an organization does not want revealed, and that what any actual organization wants is:
   1. Obvious
   2. Debatable
   3. Expensive
   4. Unfair

3. Davis argues that few, if any, whistle-blowers are mere third parties like:
   1. Roger Boisjoly
   2. The good Samaritan
   3. Richard Posner
   4. Sherron Watkins

4. Davis argues that any good theory of justified whistle-blowing must recognize the typical whistle-blower’s:
   1. Duplicity
   2. Complicity
   3. Usefulness
   4. Innocence

5. Duska argues for “the cold hard truth” that companies are birthed and formed by a concern for:
   1. Loyalty
   2. Fraternity
   3. Fellowship
   4. Profit

6. Duska argues that the idea of loyalty to a company requires us to think of that company as a person with a goal of:
   1. Maximizing profits
   2. Human fulfillment
   3. Team cooperation
   4. Shared excellence

7. Bok argues that a whistle-blower’s accusation should concern:

1. 1. An imminent threat
   2. An unlikely outcome
   3. An explicit catastrophe
   4. A covert program

8. Davis argues that publicly revealing what one knows breaks the bond of:
   1. Fraternity
   2. Loyalty
   3. Complicity
   4. Deception.

9. Yardley suggests that blowing the whistle might sometimes turn the whistle-blower into:
   1. A scapegoat
   2. A martyr
   3. A victim
   4. A celebrity

10. For Soles, the view of loyalty that “more satisfactorily captures the everyday sense of loyalty with which most of us are familiar” is referred to as:
    1. Idealist
    2. Common sense
    3. Minimalist
    4. Normal

11. Randels argues that the standard account of business presents serious barriers to the idea of loyalty in the business context, because business tends to focus on the individual and:
    1. Self-interest
    2. Community effort
    3. Group norms
    4. Coalition-building

12. Randels argues that balancing one’s loyalties requires “a personal sense of wholeness,” which he labels:
    1. Virtue
    2. Happiness
    3. Integrity
    4. Fidelity

13. Bok points out that sometimes whistle-blowers may only be:
    1. Vengeful
    2. Delusional
    3. Paranoid
    4. All of the above

14. Zetter refers to Ariely as a “people hacker” because:
    1. He manipulates people.

1. 2. He learns people’s secrets.
   3. He studies the ways humans behave.
   4. He punishes people for cheating.

15. In one study, Ariely had subjects recite the Ten Commandments before participating, and he found that:
    1. Subjects identifying as Christian were more honest because they knew the Commandments.
    2. Subjects of all religions became more honest, because all religions have similar ethics.
    3. Even atheists became more honest, because they were reminded of their own moral standards.
    4. The Commandments made no difference in the outcome of the study.

True/False Questions

1.         Davis argues that the principle of a “minimally decent Samaritan” can account for all of the important difficulties of whistle-blowing.

2. Duska argues that loyalty to a corporation is probably misguided.

3.         Pulitzer insists that secrecy is crucial for all different kinds of “vice,” “crime,” and “swindle.”

4.         Soles argues that an employee’s loyalty to an employer is “mostly dangerous nonsense.”

5.         Solomon and Martin advocate a return to “blind loyalty,” given that the more recent swing to “earned loyalty” has had negative results.

6. Bok argues that for whistle-blowing to be effective, it must rouse its audience.

7. Davis uses “complicity theory” to solve the paradoxes of whistle-blowing.

8.         Randels argues that “loyal persons will perform certain duties and possess certain virtues.”

9. Ariely outlines exactly what makes a whistle-blower blow the whistle.

10.         Martin Luther King would likely have opposed whistle-blowing on the grounds of the importance of secrecy.

Fill-in-the-Blank Questions