Module 10: Ethics of IT Organizations

Question 1

A employment situation in which two employers have actual or potential legal rights and duties with respect to the same employee or group of employees.

Answer 1

coemployment relationship

Question 2

A job situation in which an individual does not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment.

Answer 2

contingent work

Question 3

A business arrangement in which an organization (called the subscribing firm) transfers all or part of its workforce to another firm (called the leasing firm), which handles all human resource-related activities and costs, such as payroll, training, and the administration of employee benefits. The subscribing firm leases these workers to an organization, but they remain employees of the leasing firm.

Answer 3

employee leasing

Question 4

A system that enables purchasers to evaluate, compare, and select electronic products based on a total of 51 environmental criteria.

Answer 4

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)

Question 5

A law enacted during the U.S. Civil War to combat fraud by companies that sold supplies to the Union Army; also known as the Lincoln Law. See also qui tam.

Answer 5

False Claims Act

Question 6

A work environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.

Answer 6

gig economy

Question 7

Efforts directed toward the efficient design, manufacture, operation, and disposal of IT-related products, including personal computers, laptops, servers, printers, and printer supplies.

Answer 7

green computing

Question 8

A temporary work visa granted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USGIS) for people who work in specialty occupations—jobs that require a four-year bachelor’s degree in a specific field, or equivalent experience.

Answer 8

H-1B visa

Question 9

An individual who provides services to another individual or organization according to terms defined in a written contract or within a verbal agreement.

Answer 9

independent contractor

Question 10

Developed to provide an international assurance standard for allowing public accountants to issue a report for use by user organizations and their auditors (user auditors) on the controls at a service organization that are likely to impact or be a part of the user organization’s system of internal control over financial reporting. The international counterpart to SSAE No. 16. See also SSAE No. 16 audit report.

Answer 10

(ISAE) No. 3402

Question 11

A form of outsourcing in which services are provided by an organization whose employees are in a foreign country.

Answer 11

offshore outsourcing

Question 12

A long-term business arrangement in which a company contracts for services with an outside organization that has expertise in providing a specific function

Answer 12

outsourcing

Question 13

A business entity that coemploys the employees of its clients and typically assumes responsibility for all human resource management functions

Answer 13

professional employer organization (PEO)

Question 14

A provision of the False Claims Act that allows a private citizen to file a suit in the name of the U.S. government, charging fraud by government contractors and other entities who receive or use government funds. See also False Claim Act.

Answer 14

qui tam

Question 15

An auditing standard issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It demonstrates that an outsourcing firm has effective internal controls in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Answer 15

SSAE No. 16 audit report

Question 16

An effort by an employee to attract attention to a negligent, illegal, unethical, abusive, or dangerous act by a company that threatens the public interest.

Answer 16

whistle-blowing

Question 17

A _________ hires the employees of its clients and then assumes responsibility for all human resource functions. If this arrangement is terminated, the workers continue to be employed by the client company.

Answer 17

professional employer organization (PEO)

Question 18

___________ is one in which two employers have legal rights and duties with respect to the same employee or group of employees.

Answer 18

coemployment relationship

Question 19

The National Labor Relations Act, Civil Rights Act, Air Labor Standards, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act each all have a uniform, consistent definition of employee and the same way of distinguishing between employees and independent contractors. True or False?

Answer 19

False

Question 20

The top country of birth for H-1B workers in the United States in 2015 was

Answer 20

India

Question 21

Which group of foreign workers is not exempt from the annual cap on the number of H-1B visas granted?

Answer 21

Programmers and engineers hired to work at private technology companies.

Question 22

It appears that the current supply of U.S. computer and information science graduates exceeds the long-term BLS forecast of new job openings. True or False?

Answer 22

True

Question 23

Coemployment legal problems with offshore outsourcing are minimal because __________

Answer 23

the company that contracts for the services does not generally supervise or control the contractor’s employees

Question 24

Which of the following statements about whistle-blowing is true?

• Violators of the False Claim Act are liable for four times the dollar amount that the government is defrauded.
• From the moment an employee becomes known as a whistle-blower, a public battle may ensue, with negative publicity attacks on the individual’s personal integrity.
• Whistle-blowing is an effective approach to take in dealing with all work-related matters, from the serious to mundane.
• A whistle-blower must be an employee of the company that is the source of the problem.

Answer 24

From the moment an employee becomes known as a whistle-blower, a public battle may ensue, with negative publicity attacks on the individual’s personal integrity.

Question 25

Which of the following statements about the offshore outsourcing of a major IT project is not true?

• It advances the development of permanent IT workers in the United States.
• There are likely additional costs associated with selection of a vendor, communications, and travel.
• Managers must make trade-offs between using offshore outsourcing firms and devoting time and money to retain and develop their own staff.
• Cultural and language differences can cause misunderstandings.

Answer 25

It advances the development of permanent IT workers in the United States.

Question 26

No comprehensive federal law protects all whistle-blowers from retaliatory acts. True or False?

Answer 26

True

Question 27

Electronic devices consist of many different materials, including some that are known to be harmful to humans and the environment. Which of the following groups of people are at risk of unhealthy exposure to these raw materials?

• Electronic manufacturing employees and suppliers at all steps along the supply chain.
• Users of these products when they are poorly designed or improperly manufactured.
• Residents near recycling plants.
• The correct answer All of the above.

Answer 27

All of the above.

Question 28

Which of the following statements about the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive is not true?

• It requires manufacturers to use at least 65 percent reusable or recyclable components.
• It requires manufacturers to implement a plan to manage products at the end of their life cycle in an environmentally safe manner.
• It enables purchasers to evaluate, compare, and select electronic products based on a total of 51 environmental criteria.
• It requires manufacturers to reduce or eliminate toxic material in their packaging.

Answer 28

It enables purchasers to evaluate, compare, and select electronic products based on a total of 51 environmental criteria.