CPM Personal & Organizational Integrity 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A public manager discovers that a subordinate has been falsifying timesheets. The best first action is to:
- Ignore it if the amounts are small
- Document the findings and report through proper channels (Correct answer)
- Confront the employee publicly to deter others
- Transfer the employee to another department
Correct answer: Document the findings and report through proper channels
Documenting and reporting through proper channels ensures due process and organizational accountability.
Question 2: Organizational integrity is BEST described as:
- Following every rule regardless of context
- Alignment between stated values and actual organizational behavior (Correct answer)
- Achieving performance targets by any means necessary
- Loyalty to supervisors above all else
Correct answer: Alignment between stated values and actual organizational behavior
Organizational integrity means the organization consistently acts in accordance with its declared values and ethical commitments.
Question 3: A manager is pressured by a political appointee to hire an unqualified candidate. The most ethical response is to:
- Comply to avoid conflict
- Hire the candidate provisionally
- Explain the merit-based requirements and decline to proceed improperly (Correct answer)
- Ask a subordinate to handle the hiring decision
Correct answer: Explain the merit-based requirements and decline to proceed improperly
Public managers must uphold merit-based hiring principles even under political pressure.
Question 4: Which behavior BEST demonstrates personal integrity in public service?
- Prioritizing agency image over transparency
- Admitting a mistake and taking corrective action promptly (Correct answer)
- Avoiding controversial decisions to protect one's career
- Delegating ethical dilemmas to legal counsel
Correct answer: Admitting a mistake and taking corrective action promptly
Acknowledging errors and correcting them reflects the accountability central to personal integrity.
Question 5: An employee reports that a supervisor is retaliating against a whistleblower. Under integrity principles, the manager should:
- Side with the supervisor to maintain chain of command
- Dismiss the claim as a personnel dispute
- Investigate the retaliation claim independently and protect the reporter (Correct answer)
- Reassign the whistleblower to reduce conflict
Correct answer: Investigate the retaliation claim independently and protect the reporter
Retaliation against whistleblowers undermines organizational integrity and is prohibited in most public sector frameworks.
Question 6: The concept of 'tone at the top' in public organizations refers to:
- The formal mission statement approved by the governing board
- Senior leadership modeling ethical behavior that sets cultural expectations (Correct answer)
- Volume of communication from executives to staff
- Hierarchical authority in decision-making
Correct answer: Senior leadership modeling ethical behavior that sets cultural expectations
Tone at the top means leaders' visible conduct shapes the ethical culture throughout the organization.
Question 7: A public manager receives a gift from a contractor whose bid is under review. The manager should:
- Accept it if the value is below the reporting threshold
- Decline the gift and disclose the offer to ethics officials (Correct answer)
- Accept it but recuse from the final decision
- Return it only if the contractor wins the bid
Correct answer: Decline the gift and disclose the offer to ethics officials
Declining and disclosing protects the integrity of the procurement process and the manager's impartiality.
CPM Personal & Organizational Integrity 2
A public manager discovers that a subordinate has been falsifying timesheets.
The best first action is to: