Q&A Hero

Q: Issues development is a very well-defined process that allows managers to understand clearly what stage of the life cycle a particular issue is in.

Q: Sweatshop conditions are often compared to those of which other group of workers' conditions? A. Multinational corporations B. Graduate assistants C. Child laborers D. Migrant farmworkers

Q: A__________ is a standard, proven work process that enables those involved to make controlled and orderly progress in developing high-quality software. a. software guide b. software development methodology c. software manual d. software project management

Q: The issues development process refers to the transformation of issues from a low-key and flexible stage to the regulation and litigation stage.

Q: According to UNICEF, what percent of child labor is involved in the production of goods for export? A. 5% B. 25% C. 50% D. 75%

Q: Software suppliers frequently write__________ to attempt to limit their liability in the event of nonperformance. a. manuals b. warnings c. warranties d. sureties

Q: "Child Labor" refers, generally, to which of the following sets of practices? A. Working on farms doing chores before and after school for little or no pay. B. Working at a part-time job after school for minimum wage. C. Working in unsafe conditions often damaging to health for poor pay. D. Babysitting and/or mowing yards for neighbors for very little pay.

Q: __________ can be oral, written, or inferred from the seller's conduct. a. Indemnity b. Strict liabilities c. Warranty tolling d. Express warranties

Q: The formulation stage of the issues management process involves designing the firm's response to the issues facing it.

Q: An efficient issues management process will analyze issues before ranking them.

Q: According to the International Labor Office, what percentage of children between the ages of 10 and 14 are working (not only in Asia, but in parts of Western Europe, as well)? A. 25% B. 50% C. 75% D. 5%

Q: When sued for__________ , a software supplier is not held responsible for every product defect that causes customer or third-party loss. a. breach of warranty b. misrepresentation c. strict liability d. negligence

Q: Which of the following is not a benefit of international outsourcing? A. Purchasing goods more cheaply B. Cheaper labor C. Closer controls on the manufacturing process D. Easier regulatory practices

Q: __________ means that the defendant is held responsible for injuring another person, regardless of negligence or intent. a. Contributory negligence b. Misrepresentation c. Strict liability d. Breach of warranty

Q: Top managers who adopt a more open mindset for the issues that their subordinates consider important are said to be "buying" those issues.

Q: Which of the following arguments assumes that some fair determination of comparable work is not only possible, but morally justifiable (and perhaps, morally required)? A. Equal pay for equal work B. Equal pay for equivalent work C. Equal pay for comparable work D. Equal pay for incompatible work

Q: Issues selling is the process by which stakeholders convince managers to pay attention to the stakeholders' particular interests.

Q: If the product fails to meet the terms of its written guarantee, the buyer or lessee can sue for__________. a. breach of warranty b. comparative negligence c. contributory negligence d. strict liability

Q: In one lawsuit in the early__________, a financial institution became insolvent because defects in a purchased software application caused errors in several of its systems. a. 1990s b. 1980s c. 1970s d. 1960s

Q: The stages of the issues management process are easily separable; thus each can be assigned to a specialist with the public affairs office.

Q: Which of the following would justify paying a professor of humanities a different amount that paying a professor of computer science if all other things like publications, class sizes, and the like were equal? A. Computer science is a harder discipline than the humanities. B. The humanities are harder disciplines than computer science. C. Professors of computer science tend to be paid more, and thus, it is reasonable to continue the practice. D. A professor of humanities is in less demand outside academia than a professor of computer science.

Q: An issue is a matter that is in dispute between two or more parties.

Q: The United States government defines which of the following as the income level at which a family of four can be supported? A. the poverty level B. the minimum wage level C. the living wage level D. the welfare level

Q: Process-control computers enable the process to be monitored for variations from operating standards and to eliminate product defects before they affect product__________. a. quality b. delivery c. testing d. development

Q: Which of the following is not an historical and potential consequence of unrestricted free markets? A. sweatshops B. living wages C. child labor D. unhealthy working environments

Q: A type of business system is the__________, which is used to develop accurate forecasts of customer demand, recommend stocks and bonds for an investment portfolio. a. upgrade management system b. decision support system c. executive information system d. data information system

Q: The issues that companies are having to deal with are becoming widely divergent, making the process of issues management more difficult.

Q: Which of the following is the Marxist response to the notion of a just wage? A. A just wage is a wage that provides the worker with the means to live a prosperous life. B. A just wage is whatever the market will bear. C. Wages cannot ever by just because all wage labor involves exploitation. D. Wages can only be just if the wage is just compensation for the labor expended.

Q: Which of the following is true of software testing? a. White-box testing involves viewing the software unit as a device that has expected input and output behaviors but whose internal workings are unknown. b. Black-box testing treats the software unit as a device that has expected input and output behaviors but whose internal workings, unlike the unit in whitebox testing, are known. c. Static testing involves software programs called static analyzers which are run against new code.d. Integration testing involves independent testing that is performed by trained end users to ensure that the system operates as they expect.

Q: In reality, the conventional and strategic management approaches to issues management have much in common.

Q: The right of the employee to be free from sexual harassment does not impose an obligation on which of the following? A. the employing firm B. supervisors C. other employees D. the court system

Q: The narrow approach to issues management severely restricts the options available to respond to important issues.

Q: Which of the following is true of strategies for engineering quality software?a. High-quality software systems are tough to learn and use because they perform slowly.c. Developers develop high-quality software instantaneously without a set of principles. b. Software defects never lead to injury.d. The first release of any software rarely meets all its users' expectations.

Q: Which of the following is an example of hostile environment sexual harassment? A. Submission to sexual requests as a condition of continued employment. B. Failure to keep the workplace free from actions by other employees or managers that create an offensive environment. C. Words or actions of a sexual nature that interfere with one's work. D. Words or actions with sexual overtones that make an employee uncomfortable.

Q: Issues management is a process by which a firm deals with its most important stakeholders' demands.

Q: Software quality is defined as the degree to which a software product meets: a. the needs of its users. b. the standards of its competitors. c. sustainability and environmental protection needs. d. the minimum financial return standards.

Q: Which of the following is an example of quid pro quo sexual harassment? A. Submission to sexual requests as a condition of continued employment. B. Failure to keep the workplace free from actions by other employees or managers that create an offensive environment. C. Words or actions of a sexual nature that interfere with one's work. D. Words or actions with sexual overtones that make an employee uncomfortable.

Q: One of the factors that has helped make issues management and crisis management more important to business is instant global communication.

Q: In the context of developing safety-critical systems, the safety engineer's role is limited to producing a hazard log. a. True b. False

Q: Which of these is not a right that employees have? A. The right to be treated with respect. B. The right to be fairly compensated. C. The right to meaningful work. D. The right to work in safe conditions.

Q: Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions. Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it. In what do value-based companies believe?

Q: Software developers do not typically work closely with safety and software engineers. a. True b. False

Q: Which of the following is true about the right to freedom of expression? A. Employers can morally limit the right of employees to freedom of speech on the job. B. Employers can morally limit the right of employees to criticize the company outside of the workplace. C. Employers can morally limit the right of employees to criticize the company when away from the job and on their own time. D. Employers cannot morally limit the right of employees to freedom of speech.

Q: Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions. Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it. Assume that you manage the public affairs office for a large American financial investment firm. Your company has decided to pay incentive bonuses to individuals for the number and volume of investment exchanges made. Using the knowledge that you have gained so far in this class (i.e., from all chapters and discussions), develop a policy on incentive bonuses for the firm's public affairs office.

Q: Risk analysis is important for safety-critical systems, but is useful for other kinds of software development as well. a. True b. False

Q: The rule of "last on, first off" with respect to firing policies protects which of the following? A. The rights of junior members of a firm to job security B. The job security of middle management. C. Seniority rights to job security D. The pension rights of new employees.

Q: Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions. Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it. The authors indicate that the key difference between public affairs and public relations is the goals of the client. What do they mean by the goals of the clients when both have the same goals?

Q: When developing safety-critical systems, a key assumption must be that safety will automatically result from following an organization's standard development methodology. a. True b. False

Q: Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions. Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it. Compare the public affairs office of today with its predecessor from twenty years ago.

Q: Which of the following is true about preferential hiring? A. Preferential hiring is not mandatory in any given case, although overall, a firm must make adequate progress toward achieving affirmative-action goals B. Qualified women and minority members cannot be given preference on the basis of sex or race. C. Affirmative action justifies hiring unqualified women or minority members in preference to men. D. Balanced hiring requires that firms must employ quotas to meet affirmative-action goals.

Q: In the context of maturity level distribution across a large sample of organizations, the percentage of organizations at the initial maturity level is 36. a. True b. False

Q: Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions. Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it. Explain Porter and Kramer's perspective that interdependence between business and society takes two forms.

Q: Which of the following is true about affirmative action? A. Qualified women and minority members cannot be given preference on the basis of sex or race. B. Affirmative action justifies hiring unqualified women or minority members in preference to men. C. Preferential hiring is a mandatory way of making adequate progress toward achieving affirmative-action goals. D. Qualified women and minority members can morally be given preference in order to achieve affirmative action goals.

Q: Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a process improvement approach that defines the essential elements of effective processes. a. True b. False

Q: Which of the following is a Rawlsian argument against discrimination? A. Since the least advantaged in a society would be better off in a nondiscriminatory society than in one that discriminates, the rational person would see that nondiscrimination is morally preferable. B. People are treated as members of class with a certain characteristic, not as persons. They are not ends in themselves, but because of that characteristic, they are denied equal treatment and respect. C. The dominant class has a desire to maintain its superiority and its class prerogatives. D. Systematic discrimination produces a class of people who are arguably treated unjustly. Other groups in the society will also have cause to worry about whether they will be the next group to be discriminated against. On the whole, more harm than good is done.

Q: Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions. Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it. A current issue that holds significant public policy implications is the economic meltdown and its consequences Discuss some of the public policy implications associated with this.

Q: User acceptance testing is performed by trained end users to ensure that the system operates as they expect. a. True b. False

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. Describe some of the ways in which the public affairs office can help an operating manager to understand that public affairs are truly relevant to what he or she does.

Q: Which of the following is a Kantian argument against discrimination? A. Since the least advantaged in a society would be better off in a nondiscriminatory society than in one that discriminates, the rational person would see that nondiscrimination is morally preferable. B. People are treated as members of class with a certain characteristic, not as persons. They are not ends in themselves, but because of that characteristic, they are denied equal treatment and respect. C. The dominant class has a desire to maintain its superiority and its class prerogatives. D. Systematic discrimination produces a class of people who are arguably treated unjustly. Other groups in the society will also have cause to worry about whether they will be the next group to be discriminated against. On the whole, more harm than good is done.

Q: In integration testing, special software programs called static analyzers are run against the new code. a. True b. False

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. The textbook mentions that global public affairs must balance externally and internally focused activities. Describe some of the activities in which an global public affairs department would be interested.

Q: Which of the following is a utilitarian argument against discrimination? A. People are treated as members of class with a certain characteristic, not as persons. They are not ends in themselves, but because of that characteristic, they are denied equal treatment and respect. B. Since the least advantaged in a society would be better off in a nondiscriminatory society than in one that discriminates, the rational person would see that nondiscrimination is morally preferable. C. The dominant class has a desire to maintain its superiority and its class prerogatives. D. Systematic discrimination produces a class of people who are arguably treated unjustly. Other groups in the society will also have cause to worry about whether they will be the next group to be discriminated against. On the whole, more harm than good is done.

Q: A successful defense against a product liability case is typically expensive in terms of legal fees. a. True b. False

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. Describe what is meant by "buffering" and "bridging."

Q: Which of the following is a right workers have? A. Vacations B. A living wage C. Rest periods D. Workdays of reasonable length

Q: Software suppliers attempt to limit their liability by specifying that although software is warranted to run on a given machine configuration, no assurance is given as to what that software will do. a. True b. False

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. One view of the public affairs function is that it serves as a window. Explain why this analogy is used to describe public affairs.

Q: Which of the following is not a criticism of the employment-at-will doctrine. A. The relationship is not symmetrical because the employee can set the conditions of employment because it is his or her labor that is purchased. B. The relationship is not symmetrical because ordinary workers must work to get the wherewithal to live, and so he is both forced to work and lives in fear of losing his job if he has no contract guaranteeing him a secure position. C. The relationship is not symmetrical because ordinary workers are not free to set the conditions of employment they way the employer is free to set the conditions for the potential employee. D. The relationship is not symmetrical because the employee cannot work for whatever company he or she chooses, but is limited by the openings available and by the choice or choices offered.

Q: Under the doctrine of supervening event, the original seller is not liable if the software was materially altered after it left the seller's possession and the alteration caused the injury.a. Trueb. False

Q: Which of the following is true about the rights and obligations of employers in the employment-at-will doctrine? A. Employees are free to work for whomever they choose who offers them a job, but they must give some reason for quitting when they choose to leave employment. B. Employees are free to work for whomever they choose who offers them a job, and they may quit whenever they wish, for any reason or even for no particular reason. C. Employees must take the first job offered, but they may quit whenever they wish, for any reason or even for no particular reason. D. Employees are free to work for whomever they choose who offers them a job, but they can only quit with the mutual agreement of the employer.

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. Why would a firm elect to perform a social audit, when it is not required? What benefits can accrue from a social audit?

Q: There is no federal product liability law. a. True b. False

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. Describe what the text means by "sustainable strategic management."

Q: Which of the following is true about the rights and obligations of employers in the employment-at-will doctrine? A. Employers are free to hire whomever they choose but must give just cause for firing them. B. Employers must hire the best qualified person for the job and must give just cause for firing them. C. Employers are free to hire whomever they choose and to fire them whenever they choose. D. Employers must fire the best qualified person for the job but can fire them whenever they choose.

Q: Software product litigation first occurred in 2000. a. True b. False

Q: One might argue that attempts by the government to limit an individual's of tobacco or alcohol is an example of which of the following? A. Manipulation B. Coercion C. Fairness D. Paternalism

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. Describe some of the types of evidence that a firm displays enterprise-level strategic thinking.

Q: Software defects are commonly lethal and many personal injuries are related to software failures. a. True b. False

Q: Provide a short answer to each of these questions. Be sure to fully explain your answer. Review Johnson & Johnson's Credo, in which it lists its duties to its stakeholders. Do you notice anything unusual in the priorities given to those duties?

Q: Subliminal advertising is immoral for which of the following reasons? A. It makes false statements about a product. B. It is an overt attempt to persuade. C. It is coercive and manipulative. D. It is meaningless because it is easily dismissed.