CLL Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Lean Leader discovers a team member has been falsifying process data to meet improvement targets. What is the most ethical course of action?
- Ignore it to avoid damaging team morale
- Report it to management and address it through proper channels (Correct answer)
- Quietly correct the data without confronting anyone
- Warn the team member privately and take no further action
Correct answer: Report it to management and address it through proper channels
Ethical Lean leadership requires transparency and integrity, which means data falsification must be reported and addressed formally to maintain trust in the improvement system.
Question 2: Which principle best describes a Lean Leader's obligation to respect the dignity of all team members regardless of their role?
- Kaizen blitz
- Respect for people (Correct answer)
- Jidoka
- Value stream thinking
Correct answer: Respect for people
Respect for people is one of the two foundational pillars of the Toyota Production System and Lean philosophy, requiring leaders to treat all individuals with dignity.
Question 3: A Lean Leader is pressured by an executive to manipulate A3 findings to justify a predetermined solution. The ethical response is to:
- Comply to maintain the relationship with the executive
- Present the data accurately and explain the risks of the predetermined solution (Correct answer)
- Omit conflicting data to streamline the report
- Delegate the A3 to a junior team member
Correct answer: Present the data accurately and explain the risks of the predetermined solution
Professional integrity demands that Lean leaders present factual findings objectively, even under organizational pressure, to ensure sound decision-making.
Question 4: When a Lean Leader shares proprietary process improvement methods learned at a previous employer, this raises concerns about:
- Continuous improvement
- Intellectual property and confidentiality obligations (Correct answer)
- Standardized work compliance
- Value stream mapping accuracy
Correct answer: Intellectual property and confidentiality obligations
Professionals have ongoing confidentiality obligations to former employers regarding proprietary methods, tools, and trade secrets.
Question 5: In Lean ethics, gemba walks should be conducted with which primary attitude toward front-line workers?
- Surveillance and accountability
- Respect, curiosity, and learning (Correct answer)
- Authority and directive oversight
- Efficiency measurement and benchmarking
Correct answer: Respect, curiosity, and learning
Gemba walks should be conducted with respect and genuine curiosity to understand the actual work, not to surveil or judge workers.
Question 6: A Lean Leader notices that a proposed improvement will benefit the company financially but will likely result in layoffs. The ethical approach is to:
- Proceed without disclosing the workforce impact
- Transparently communicate the impact and work with leadership on transition plans (Correct answer)
- Abandon the improvement to protect all jobs
- Implement the change quickly before workers learn of it
Correct answer: Transparently communicate the impact and work with leadership on transition plans
Ethical Lean leadership requires honest communication about impacts on people and proactive planning to mitigate harm to workers.
Question 7: Which behavior violates the ethical standard of professional objectivity for a Lean Leader facilitating a value stream mapping session?
- Including all relevant stakeholders
- Advocating for a specific outcome before analysis is complete (Correct answer)
- Documenting the current state accurately
- Identifying waste collaboratively with the team
Correct answer: Advocating for a specific outcome before analysis is complete
Advocating for a specific outcome before completing the analysis undermines the objectivity and integrity that Lean problem-solving requires.
CLL Professional Standards & Ethics 2
A Lean Leader discovers a team member has been falsifying process data to meet improvement targets.
What is the most ethical course of action?