CHES Leadership and Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CHES professional chairs a health coalition with members who have unequal power. Which governance approach best ensures equitable decision-making?
- Allow the largest funder to make final decisions
- Use consensus-based decision making with clear ground rules (Correct answer)
- Default to majority voting on all issues without discussion
- Limit decision-making to the executive committee only
Correct answer: Use consensus-based decision making with clear ground rules
Consensus-based decision making with transparent ground rules encourages full participation and shared ownership among coalition members with varying power levels.
Question 2: Which evaluation framework assesses program performance against pre-established standards and involves comparing actual outcomes to intended outcomes?
- Formative evaluation
- Summative evaluation (Correct answer)
- Process evaluation
- Needs assessment
Correct answer: Summative evaluation
Summative evaluation measures overall program effectiveness at the end of a program cycle by comparing achieved outcomes to intended goals.
Question 3: A health education manager is creating a job description for a new program coordinator role. Which element is legally essential to include to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act?
- Salary range and benefits information
- A list of essential job functions (Correct answer)
- The supervisor's name and contact information
- A physical description of the office environment
Correct answer: A list of essential job functions
The ADA requires employers to identify essential job functions so they can determine appropriate reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.
Question 4: When a health organization undergoes rapid expansion, which management challenge commonly emerges related to maintaining consistent program quality?
- Decreased community awareness of the program
- Loss of fidelity to the original program model (Correct answer)
- Reduction in the number of program participants
- Increased availability of qualified health educators
Correct answer: Loss of fidelity to the original program model
Rapid expansion often leads to implementation drift, where the program deviates from its original evidence-based model, compromising fidelity and effectiveness.
Question 5: A health educator is facilitating a strategic planning session using a SWOT analysis. Which category includes external factors that could positively benefit the organization?
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities (Correct answer)
- Threats
Correct answer: Opportunities
Opportunities in a SWOT analysis refer to favorable external conditions the organization can leverage to advance its mission.
Question 6: Which principle of effective delegation ensures that an employee given responsibility for a task also has the authority needed to carry it out?
- Unity of command
- Parity principle (Correct answer)
- Span of control
- Chain of command
Correct answer: Parity principle
The parity principle states that authority and responsibility must be equal — you cannot hold someone accountable for results without giving them the power to act.
Question 7: A community health organization is assessing its internal and external environment before launching a new program. Which planning tool combines environmental scanning with strategy formulation by matching internal capabilities to external opportunities?
- Balanced scorecard
- TOWS matrix (Correct answer)
- Program evaluation review technique (PERT)
- Cost-benefit analysis
Correct answer: TOWS matrix
The TOWS matrix extends SWOT by systematically pairing internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats to generate strategic options.
CHES Leadership and Management 5
A CHES professional chairs a health coalition with members who have unequal power.
Which governance approach best ensures equitable decision-making?