Law Homework Help
Pima Community College Ethics for Public Administration Solved Quiz
Question 1
Match the following ethical systems with their descriptions where they best fit:Question 1 options:1234567
Actions or rules are morally justified if they result in effects that produce a net increase in human pleasure and a decrease in pain for the greatest number of people.
1234567
Moral values lack any objective meaning and morality is a conditioned response reduced to biological emotional reactions in the human body.
1234567
Categorical imperative – “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”
Human dignity – “So act as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in another, always as an end, and never as only a means.”
1234567
Moral values are created and change within each culture. This system believes we should show tolerance to outsiders even if we don’t agree with how they live.
1234567
Assuming there are no moral values and limited resources in the “state of nature,” the innate human tendency is to live selfishly by lying, cheating, and stealing from your neighbor to survive. For peace, there needs to be an agreement between individuals and groups to cooperate together for mutual benefit. In order to do this, there must be an authority figure who’s main role is to enforce this arrangement.
1234567
A value system that prioritizes each person’s interests over the interests of others.
1234567
A constant pursuit of a developed moral character of the individual person employing practical wisdom in every decision results in human flourishing in pursuit of the ultimate “good” for which we were all designed to do.1.
Virtue Ethics2.
Deontological Ethics3.
Utilitarianism4.
Social Contract Theory5.
Relativism6.
Egoism7.
Emotivism
Question 2
Immanuel Kant presented deontological ethics based on these two maxims:Question 2 options:
Never act in such a way that we treat humanity, whether in ourselves or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself.
All people should be treated equally.
Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.
Human beings were designed for a purpose.
Act only in a way which brings about the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest number of people.
Act so that your character reflects the golden mean between vices which serve as extremes on either end of virtue (deficiency on one end and excess on the other).
Question 3
The lecture and reading during the topic on Moral Reasoning in this course presented Dr. Terry Cooper’s conflicts for public administrators. Sometimes these conflicts can compete for prominence in our decision making. For instance, when a Border Patrol agent’s father asks him to help smuggle into the US an undocumented immigrant relative, what kind of conflict is this?Question 3 options:
organizational culture
external
role
priority
internal
Question 4
In Pojman & Fieser, the illustration of the “Pleasure Machine” is used to show that…Question 4 options:
the goal of ethics should be to maximize the amount of pleasure and decrease the amount of pain to the greatest number of people.
there is intuitively something more important than mere pleasure.
the amount of pleasure or pain is dependent on the person.
the pleasure machine described in the text would be ideal if it could actually exist in the real world.
Question 5
Identify the following concepts as either Cultural or Structural factors in organizational ethics.Question 5 options:12
traditions
12
communication channels
12
member attitudes and beliefs
12
organizational chart
12
recruiting and disciplinary processes
12
ethical norms1.
Culture2.
Structure
Question 6
We’ve discussed the Milgram experiment involving a scientist instructing subjects to administer an electric shock of progressive intensity. Subsequent to this study, Dr. Lawrence Kohlberg examined the case a bit further by comparing the participants’ actions in the experiment to their stage of moral development. He specifically looked at those who refused to continue to the lethal voltage and how those moral decisions compared or contrasted with a pyramid of progressive stages of moral development. Select the true statement(s) below from the list of options.Question 6 options:
For those in Kohlberg’s lower stages 1-4 (fear of punishment, social consequences, basic duty), 13 percent refused to administer the lethal shock.
Those at the top end of the moral development spectrum – stages 5 or 6 (belief in universally binding moral values) – Kohlberg observed that 75 percent of this group refused to shock at the lethal level.
There was no measurable difference between moral decisions and any of the stages of development. No matter how many times the study was repeated, the results measured statistically similar across all stages of moral development.
For those in Kohlberg’s lower stages 1-4 (fear of punishment, social consequences, basic duty), 75 percent refused to administer the lethal shock.
Those at the top end of the moral development spectrum – stages 5 or 6 (belief in universally binding moral values) – Kohlberg observed that 13 percent of this group refused to shock at the lethal level.
Question 7 (Mandatory) (7 points)
As a police officer tasked with arresting protesters who violate a stay at home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, you are likely to find yourself in an ethical dilemma between this/these set(s) of conflicting principles:Question 7 options:
loyalty to co-workers and integrity to tell the truth.
dedication to the job and personally held political views
loyalty to the Constitution and obedience to agency command.
a citizen’s right to protest and the safeguarding of public health
Question 8
Throughout this semester class, we’ve depended upon the concept of moral worth. Chapter 4 of the Pojman & Fieser text explains how moral things are uniquely assigned value differently than other things in life (i.e. artistic, economic, political or intellectual value). They explain it by introducing the concepts of intrinsic and instrumental goods. Select the statements that accurately reflect their ideas on this issue from the following list.Question 8 options:
Intrinsic goods are consumable products or services that benefit society as a whole whereas instrumental goods are products or services that people use to advance themselves to greater moral status in a society.
Something can either be an instrumental good or an intrinsic good. It cannot be both.
Instrumental goods are valuable as an effective means of attaining intrinsic goods.
Intrinsic goods are good simply because of their very nature and not from anything else. Their value from the goodness they have in and of themselves and for no further purpose.
In the dialogue with Socrates taken as an excerpt from Plato’s Republic, Glaucon believes that goods can be both intrinsic and instrumental.
Question 9
Identify from the list below, any factor mentioned in this class that influenced the structure of the newly created United States Government.Question 9 options:
Enlightenment Philosophy
English Common Law
Survival of the Fittest
Social Justice
Chinese proverbial wisdom
Christian Bible
Human Reason
Question 10
Virtue Theory posits that human beings were designed for a purpose. During a conversation with your roommates on this issue, one of them, Jill, objects that human beings are not designed for an ultimate purpose. Instead, she says, “We make our own purpose.” In fact, she goes as far to say there is “no difference between becoming the next Mother Theresa or the next Hitler. Not only are moral values subjective but so is our ultimate purpose.” Select the true statement(s) from the following list of responses to your roommate.Question 10 options:
Virtue ethicist Aristotle would dispute Jill’s contention that no moral difference exists between Mother Theresa and Hitler because we are all called to develop our moral character by living virtuously. So there is a difference in kind between them because they each demonstrated opposite virtues.
The egoist would reserve judgement because the tenets of that moral philosophy include universally condemning judgmentalism.
Immanuel Kant would disagree with Jill but for a different reason. For his system of deontological ethics claims that reason alone can guide us here. Human beings should be treated as a ends not as a means. This fact can be established through human reason regardless of whether we were designed for a purpose or not. It’s a brute fact that we start with the assumption that human beings are valuable.
Utilitarians would agree or disagree with Jill depending on how either actor impacts overall pleasure. They would only agree there is an objective human purpose in so far as that purpose is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain for the greatest number. For the utilitarian it’s the ends not the means that matters. Whether something is ethical or not is determined by what happens in the end but not along the way. Whether that’s by genocide or caring for orphans, all that matters is whether more or less pleasure and pain resulted in the end.
The emotivist would disagree that there is an objective purpose because the guiding principle for ethical reasoning is personal desire and feelings which varies by each individual.
A relativist would disagree with Jill because nobody can excuse the murder of millions of innocent people no matter how tolerant that position might be.
Question 11
Determine whether each of the following items is more closely related to the Spoils System of public administration or the Civil Service System.Question 11 options:12
Bureaucrats are hired based on required qualifications and not directly elected by the people or appointed by elected officials.
12
more representation of the public
12
Bureaucrats are directly elected or appointed by elected officials rather than by meeting objective criteria.
12
Andrew Jackson
12
Woodrow Wilson
12
more consistency over time
12
more expertise1.
Spoils System2.
Civil Service System
Question 12
Match the ethical system with its notable advocate:Question 12 options:1234
Thomas Hobbes
1234
Immanuel Kant
1234
Aristotle
1234
Jeremy Bentham1.
Virtue Ethics2.
Deontological Ethics3.
Social Contract Theory4.
Utilitarianism
Question 13
In the first lecture, I offered three arenas where public administrators demonstrate ethical behavior: 1) public policy, 2) administrative discretion, and 3) daily life. Match each of these arenas with the examples given below:Question 13 options:123
Supreme court precedents involving the reading of Miranda rights and rules against non-consensual warrantless searches.
123
The choice to give a warning, issue a ticket, or look for other possible crimes by a subject of a routine traffic stop.
123
Choosing which reports to investigate and which cases to prosecute.
123
Stay at home and mandatory mask orders issued by the politicians in charge of your agency.
123
Being the first to work, last to leave, and always willing to help a co-worker.
123
You hear a co-worker overly critical and demeaning to co-workers behind their backs and wonder what he says about you.
123
Private and public organizations that are subjected to criminal and civil penalties for violating civil rights of their employees or the public.1.
Public Policy2.
Administrative Discretion3.
Daily Life
Question 14
Which statement(s) from the following list of options accurately represent the “naturalistic (or Is – Ought) fallacy?”Question 14 options:
Observations in nature describing how something “is” allows us to prescribe how things “ought” to be. In other words, nature reveals morality.
Just because moral values came to be in a certain culture, it doesn’t follow that those values are to still be embraced today even if for different reasons.
This is when our moral beliefs about how things ought to be, turns out to be wrong and even contrary to our nature as rational human beings.
The study of nature reveals the way things are, but it does not prescribe how things ought to be morally. There is no ultimate purpose, value, or obligation if nothing exists beyond the natural world.
Question 15
Identify the true statements from this list of claims about the class on American Values:Question 15 options:
In the “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” speech we discussed, former slave and abolitionist activist Frederick Douglass denounced the founding fathers for being hypocrites when speaking about “equality” since many of them owned slaves.
In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. said that America has been systematically racist since it’s founding and that the on-going civil rights battle during his time were indicative of systemic racism being inextricably woven into the DNA of the nation. King may have had a “dream” to overcome racism, but didn’t believe it would ever happen.
The Declaration of Independence was an attempt to provide just cause for revolting against the government.
The U.S. Constitution and it’s amendment process provide insight into what the founders believed about the evolving future of American ethics.
From what you read in class, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr advocated for equity of outcomes due to all men regardless of their race, gender, age, physical ability, and life circumstances.
Question 16
Match the following ethical systems with its corresponding statement or illustration:Question 16 options:123456
Utilitarianism
123456
Relativism
123456
Virtue Ethics
123456
Egoism
123456
Deontological Ethics
123456
Social Contract Theory1.
U.S. military intelligence at the end of WWII predicted that Japan would fight to the last man and child in a US invasion. President Truman was faced with the prospect of thousands of US casualties and millions of dead Japanese. The two atomic bombs would go on to kill 90,000-150,000 people. This act is morally justified by this view because greater pain and death would have resulted otherwise.2.
According to this ethical system, pre-civil war slavery in the American south was not unethical at the time because this system tolerates behaviors in times or cultures other than our own. The only unethical acts were those raised in opposition to slavery because they showed intolerance for their own cultural norms.3.
The founders of our nation recognized the need for a government limited to protect life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness. They didn’t want the government to provide property, life, or happiness but only ensure enough order and mutual cooperation that the citizens could freely pursue those things without interference. This ethical system which depends upon a government to ensure the people enjoy their individual liberties in peace provides a large part of what the founders had in mind.4.
Using racially derogatory language both treats people as a means to an end and also cannot be endorsed universally, therefore it is morally impermissible. Since it is morally impermissible to use racially derogatory language, no one is permitted to use racially derogatory language no matter who says it. The reasoning here is most consistent with this kind of ethical system.5.
This ethical system says it’s morally permissible to prioritize your own self-interest beyond that of someone else. If someone states a falsehood about you, you are entitled to publicly correct them even if they suffer embarrassment or social isolation for it because your self-interest trumps theirs.6.
A city clerk is the first person to arrive and the last person to leave every day at the office. The clerk has a mid-level job with no desire to promote. When asked why she exerts such effort for no reward, she replied “I just enjoy being faithful because it’s my nature.” This clerk best demonstrates adherence to this ethical system.
Question 17
This is not a likely consequence of being a whistle-blower.Question 17 options:
social isolation
harassment
retaliation
a promotion (commonly to public information officer)
a personal apology from the elected official, agency head, or other delegated executive level manager
a sense of honor and duty
Question 18
Select from the following point(s) only those that was/were mentioned in the two articles assigned for week 15:Question 18 options:
Show your conversation partner that you care about the values they care about.
Use an appropriate amount of casual body contact but only when welcome. Brief physical contact (such as a tap on the arm or the back) can help build rapport, but too much (or unwelcome) touching can unhinge the conversation and remove any progress gained. At best, it can build trust. At worst, it can offend. Tread carefully with contact no matter how minor or well-intentioned.
Point out extremists on your side.
Examine the reason and evidence that leads to beliefs.
Facts don’t care about feelings.
Gently remind your conversation partner that we are all part of different identity groups with a diversity of beliefs which can all be equally true.
Social media is the place where we can have the biggest positive impact on discussing ethical issues in today’s culture.
Assume the most charitable interpretation of the other person’s view.
Conceding an opposing point is only wise if you don’t lose the respect of your conversation partner.
Question 19
The following statement(s) are accurate representations about objective and subjective systems of ethical reasoning:Question 19 options:
if the facts of the scenario actually happened, then the moral values involved are real and objective.
Moral laws are objective when they exist in the real world and are binding on everyone regardless of cultural norms or individual beliefs.
Subjective morality such as relativism or emotivism is a denial that moral values exist and apply equally to everyone.
Subjective ethics depend mostly on the topic one is studying.
If most people agree on a moral value, principle, or duty, then it is most likely objective.
Question 20
In providing an example for a skill-building plan, I described which of the following scenarios from my own work as a public administrator?Question 20 options:
a mail theft suspect overdosing on meth
a witness who gave false testimony in trial.
a subordinate accused of stealing evidence.
a judge involved in an affair with a prosecutor
Question 21
In my lecture on Organizational Culture, I shared with you about the 3 levels of analysis by anthropologists:
1) artifacts and creations – technology, art, and behaviors of a group
2) values – as evidenced by the social interaction
3) basic assumptions – underlying philosophical and worldview assumptions
Philosopher Mark Pastin argues that the only way to make real change to ethical conduct in an organization is through this/these level(s):Question 21 options:
1) artifacts and creations – technology, art, and behaviors of a group
2) values – as evidenced by the social interaction
3) basic assumptions – underlying philosophical and worldview assumptions
Question 22
If ethics are subjective, we are justified in condemning which of the following actions?Question 22 options:
murder
sexual assault
unjust oppression of minority people by white nationalists
intolerance (i.e. judging, shaming, aggressions)
it depends on the perceptions of the person judging the action
All of the above
Question 23
According to ethicist Dr. Scott Rae, not every dilemma is an ethical one. During this course, we examined ethical dilemmas and moral temptations. Select any statement below that accurately represents the relationship between a genuine moral dilemma and a moral temptation.Question 23 options:
In most cases, there is no difference.
A temptation can exist separately but related to a genuine moral dilemma. For instance, you might be in an ethical dilemma whether or not to tell your partner that you had an affair (honesty vs. harm) but morally tempted to act in a way that preserves your own pride, reputation, and enjoyment of both relationships.
A genuine moral dilemma presents a choice between two or more value-driven interests in conflict while a moral temptation can present itself as the violation of just one value-driven interest.
One way of avoiding the tangles of both a genuine moral dilemma and a moral temptation can be best exercised either 1) by inaction or 2) by basing ethical decision making from a position of moral neutrality.
Question 24
Match the worldview that best fits each claim.Question 24 options:123
Categories of knowledge and even truth itself is largely, if not completely, socially constructed.
123
There are no miracles, souls, divine persons, nor an afterlife. There is also no ultimate purpose for human beings other than what each person or group creates for themselves. Human beings are a byproduct of a purely natural process and will eventually go extinct having made no impact on the earth or in the universe for better or worse.
123
All human beings were created and designed for a purpose whether they believe it or not.
123
Knowledge is not primarily based on science because immaterial concepts like logic, self-awareness, language, sensual perceptions, memories, and ethics are all assumed prior to launching any scientific process. Additionally, science cannot reveal evidence of these things yet they are real and knowable.
123
The primary way of knowing things is through the scientific method.
123
Nothing exists beyond the natural realm.
123
Human value and moral authority are dependent more upon one’s membership in a group than one’s status as an individual. For example, people from perceived marginalized groups have greater value and moral authority than people from perceived oppressor groups.
123
All people are entitled to equal treatment under the law because they are endowed with equal moral worth by God. Everyone is NOT entitled to equal outcomes because that depends on ability and circumstances that are infinitely unique, complex, immeasurable, and uncontrolable.
123
Cultural power structures have created a power imbalance. To correct this, our language, categories, and traditions must be deconstructed.1.
Christianity2.
Naturalism3.
Applied Postmodernism
