CCM Professional Practice and Ethics 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CM observes a safety violation that the general contractor's superintendent refuses to correct. What is the ethically and legally appropriate response?
- Document the refusal and escalate to the owner and applicable regulatory authority (Correct answer)
- Overlook the violation to maintain the working relationship with the contractor
- Correct the hazard directly using CM staff and bill the contractor
- Report the violation only if it results in an injury
Correct answer: Document the refusal and escalate to the owner and applicable regulatory authority
Imminent safety hazards require escalation beyond the non-responsive superintendent to the owner and regulatory bodies such as OSHA.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes a CM's ethical obligation when a subcontractor submits a change order claim that appears inflated?
- Reject the claim without review to protect the owner's budget
- Conduct a thorough, impartial review and certify only the amount substantiated by evidence (Correct answer)
- Approve the claim in full to avoid construction delay disputes
- Pass the claim directly to the owner without CM evaluation
Correct answer: Conduct a thorough, impartial review and certify only the amount substantiated by evidence
The CM must evaluate change order claims impartially based on documented evidence of entitlement and quantum.
Question 3: When a CM's professional judgment conflicts with the owner's directive on a code compliance issue, the CM must:
- Defer entirely to the owner as the client with ultimate authority
- Comply with applicable codes regardless of owner preference and document the directive in writing (Correct answer)
- Withdraw from the project if the owner does not comply with CM advice
- Seek a waiver from the code authority on the owner's behalf
Correct answer: Comply with applicable codes regardless of owner preference and document the directive in writing
CMs are obligated to uphold applicable laws and codes; the owner's preferences cannot override legal compliance requirements.
Question 4: A CM receives a gift of significant monetary value from a material supplier whose product the CM specifies on projects. According to professional ethics, the CM should:
- Accept the gift as standard industry practice
- Decline the gift or disclose it fully to the client and recuse from specification decisions involving that supplier (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift but avoid specifying that supplier's products in the future
- Report the offer to the CM firm's marketing department
Correct answer: Decline the gift or disclose it fully to the client and recuse from specification decisions involving that supplier
Gifts of significant value from vendors create conflicts of interest that require disclosure, recusal, or refusal.
Question 5: Which element is most critical when a CM prepares an expert witness report in a construction dispute?
- Advocacy for the party that retained the CM
- Objective analysis based on facts, professional standards, and independent judgment (Correct answer)
- Alignment of findings with the anticipated legal strategy
- Minimizing critique of any licensed design professional involved
Correct answer: Objective analysis based on facts, professional standards, and independent judgment
Expert witnesses have a duty to the court and tribunal to provide objective, unbiased opinions regardless of who retained them.
Question 6: A CM discovers mid-project that their firm lacks sufficient qualified staff to adequately manage the project. The ethical course of action is to:
- Continue managing the project and hope staffing improves
- Disclose the staffing deficiency to the owner and propose remedies such as additional hires or subconsultants (Correct answer)
- Reassign junior staff and tell the owner deliverables will be slightly delayed
- Immediately terminate the contract without notice
Correct answer: Disclose the staffing deficiency to the owner and propose remedies such as additional hires or subconsultants
Transparency requires promptly informing the owner of resource deficiencies that could affect project outcomes and proposing corrective measures.
Question 7: The CMAA ethical principle of 'objectivity' is most relevant when the CM is:
- Preparing marketing materials for future projects
- Evaluating contractor performance and certifying milestone payments (Correct answer)
- Negotiating the CM's own fee increase with the owner
- Selecting the CM firm's internal project team composition
Correct answer: Evaluating contractor performance and certifying milestone payments
Objectivity is most critical during performance evaluations and payment certifications where the CM acts as a quasi-judicial agent.
CCM Professional Practice and Ethics 4
A CM observes a safety violation that the general contractor's superintendent refuses to correct.
What is the ethically and legally appropriate response?