CCM Professional Practice and Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CM suspects that a project inspector they hired is accepting gratuities from a contractor in exchange for passing non-conforming work. The CM should:
- Issue a formal warning to the inspector and monitor more closely
- Immediately remove the inspector, investigate, notify the owner, and correct any passed deficient work (Correct answer)
- Transfer the inspector to a different project to remove them from temptation
- Conduct an informal inquiry before taking any formal action
Correct answer: Immediately remove the inspector, investigate, notify the owner, and correct any passed deficient work
Inspector corruption requires immediate removal, formal investigation, owner notification, and remediation of any deficient work that was improperly passed.
Question 2: Which CMAA ethical tenet requires a CM to advance the profession through mentoring and knowledge sharing?
- Fidelity
- Competence
- Professional Responsibility to the Profession (Correct answer)
- Avoidance of Conflict of Interest
Correct answer: Professional Responsibility to the Profession
Professional Responsibility to the Profession encompasses advancing the field through education, mentoring, and sharing knowledge.
Question 3: When a CM firm partners with another firm on a joint venture project, which ethical obligation applies specifically to the partnership arrangement?
- Each partner is independently liable; no shared ethical duties arise
- Each partner firm must ensure the joint venture adheres to the same ethical standards they would apply independently (Correct answer)
- The lead firm assumes all ethical responsibility, relieving the junior partner
- Ethics standards apply only to the individuals named in the CM contract, not the JV entity
Correct answer: Each partner firm must ensure the joint venture adheres to the same ethical standards they would apply independently
All firms in a joint venture are collectively responsible for maintaining professional ethical standards throughout the engagement.
Question 4: A CM is preparing a project completion report and is tempted to omit mention of two significant cost overruns caused by CM errors. Ethically, the CM should:
- Omit the overruns because the project was ultimately delivered successfully
- Include the overruns with an honest explanation of their causes and the corrective actions taken (Correct answer)
- Mention the overruns only in an appendix to minimize their visibility
- Wait until the client asks before disclosing the overruns
Correct answer: Include the overruns with an honest explanation of their causes and the corrective actions taken
Honest reporting requires transparent disclosure of cost overruns and their root causes to support owner decision-making and lessons-learned.
Question 5: Under professional ethics principles, a CM who is also a licensed contractor in the same state as their CM project should:
- Bid on construction work packages because dual expertise benefits the project
- Recuse from the contractor role or disclose the dual capacity and obtain owner consent before any bidding activity (Correct answer)
- Use contractor licensure only for emergency direct-hire situations
- Keep both roles separate without disclosure because they are legally distinct
Correct answer: Recuse from the contractor role or disclose the dual capacity and obtain owner consent before any bidding activity
A CM bidding as a contractor on their own managed project is a clear conflict of interest requiring full disclosure and owner consent or abstention.
Question 6: Which of the following situations requires a CM to make a mandatory report to a licensing board or regulatory authority regardless of client wishes?
- A contractor submits a slightly late schedule update
- A CM employee witnesses deliberate falsification of structural test records (Correct answer)
- An owner requests value engineering to reduce project cost
- A subcontractor disputes a contract interpretation with the general contractor
Correct answer: A CM employee witnesses deliberate falsification of structural test records
Deliberate falsification of structural safety records is a public safety matter that overrides client confidentiality and mandates regulatory reporting.
Question 7: A CM discovers that a project change creates an opportunity for the CM firm to earn a significantly higher fee due to ambiguous contract language. The ethical approach is to:
- Exploit the ambiguity to maximize the firm's fee entitlement
- Interpret the contract in a manner consistent with its evident intent and disclose the ambiguity to the owner (Correct answer)
- Remain silent and let the owner raise the issue if they notice it
- Submit a change proposal at the higher fee without explanation
Correct answer: Interpret the contract in a manner consistent with its evident intent and disclose the ambiguity to the owner
Exploiting contract ambiguity for personal gain conflicts with the duty of loyalty and honest dealing owed to the client.
CCM Professional Practice and Ethics 5
A CM suspects that a project inspector they hired is accepting gratuities from a contractor in exchange for passing non-conforming work.
The CM should: