CALA Leadership & Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An administrator is pressured by ownership to reduce staffing ratios below recommended levels to cut costs. The ethical response is to:
- Comply immediately to maintain employment
- Implement the cuts and monitor for problems
- Document concerns in writing, communicate resident safety risks to ownership, and escalate if ignored (Correct answer)
- Secretly maintain staffing levels without informing ownership
Correct answer: Document concerns in writing, communicate resident safety risks to ownership, and escalate if ignored
Administrators have a professional duty to advocate for safe staffing and document dissent when directed toward unsafe practices.
Question 2: Which ethical framework focuses on following rules and duties regardless of outcomes?
- Utilitarianism
- Virtue ethics
- Deontology (Correct answer)
- Relativism
Correct answer: Deontology
Deontological ethics holds that certain duties — like honesty and respecting rights — must be upheld regardless of consequences.
Question 3: A resident with mild cognitive impairment wants to make a financial decision the family considers unwise. The administrator's role is to:
- Override the resident's choice to protect financial assets
- Support the resident's right to self-determination while ensuring they have adequate information (Correct answer)
- Defer entirely to the family as legal decision-makers
- Contact adult protective services immediately
Correct answer: Support the resident's right to self-determination while ensuring they have adequate information
Mild cognitive impairment does not eliminate decision-making capacity; residents retain autonomy unless legally adjudicated otherwise.
Question 4: Effective conflict resolution among interdisciplinary care teams MOST often requires the administrator to:
- Choose sides based on clinical expertise
- Impose a top-down solution quickly
- Facilitate open dialogue, identify common ground, and focus on resident-centered outcomes (Correct answer)
- Remove conflicting team members from the case
Correct answer: Facilitate open dialogue, identify common ground, and focus on resident-centered outcomes
Facilitative conflict resolution preserves team relationships while keeping the focus on resident welfare.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a conflict of interest an administrator must disclose?
- Hiring a qualified applicant who was previously unknown to the administrator
- Awarding a supply contract to a company in which the administrator holds a financial stake (Correct answer)
- Promoting a staff member based solely on performance metrics
- Selecting a vendor after a competitive bid process
Correct answer: Awarding a supply contract to a company in which the administrator holds a financial stake
A financial interest in a vendor creates a conflict of interest that must be disclosed and typically requires recusal from the decision.
Question 6: Whistleblower protections in assisted living are designed to:
- Protect administrators from staff grievances
- Prevent staff from reporting concerns to outside agencies
- Protect staff who report suspected abuse, neglect, or regulatory violations from retaliation (Correct answer)
- Shield the facility from liability during investigations
Correct answer: Protect staff who report suspected abuse, neglect, or regulatory violations from retaliation
Federal and state laws protect employees who report care violations from termination, demotion, or harassment.
Question 7: An administrator who consistently models ethical behavior, admits mistakes openly, and treats all staff equitably is demonstrating:
- Paternalistic leadership
- Ethical role modeling and integrity (Correct answer)
- Risk-averse management
- Passive leadership
Correct answer: Ethical role modeling and integrity
Consistent ethical role modeling by the administrator sets the moral tone and standards for the entire organization.
CALA Leadership & Ethics 3
An administrator is pressured by ownership to reduce staffing ratios below recommended levels to cut costs.
The ethical response is to: