CSL Ethical Leadership & Decision Making 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student leader learns that a popular event fundraiser may have violated campus financial policies. Ethical integrity requires them to:
- Quietly correct the records without reporting it
- Report the violation to the appropriate administrator (Correct answer)
- Proceed with future events the same way since no one was harmed
- Blame the treasurer to deflect responsibility
Correct answer: Report the violation to the appropriate administrator
Ethical integrity means reporting policy violations through proper channels even when it involves popular or well-intentioned events.
Question 2: Which leadership behavior most strongly signals an ethical organizational culture to members?
- Claiming credit for team successes
- Consistently modeling the values the leader espouses (Correct answer)
- Enforcing rules only when violations are public
- Prioritizing efficiency over transparency
Correct answer: Consistently modeling the values the leader espouses
Leaders who model their stated values signal that ethics are genuine expectations, not just rhetoric.
Question 3: The concept of 'moral courage' in leadership specifically refers to:
- Taking physical risks for team members
- Acting on ethical convictions despite social or personal costs (Correct answer)
- Avoiding all morally ambiguous situations
- Following the majority view in ethical decisions
Correct answer: Acting on ethical convictions despite social or personal costs
Moral courage means doing what is ethically right even when it is unpopular or personally costly.
Question 4: A leader notices club members are excluded from key decisions because of their minority viewpoints. This most directly violates:
- Efficiency
- Inclusive decision-making and justice (Correct answer)
- Organizational hierarchy
- Group cohesion
Correct answer: Inclusive decision-making and justice
Excluding members based on viewpoint violates inclusive decision-making and the ethical principle of justice.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of 'rationalization' that undermines ethical decision-making?
- Consulting a mentor before making a hard choice
- Telling yourself 'everyone does it' to justify a rule violation (Correct answer)
- Disclosing a conflict of interest to supervisors
- Asking for more time to gather information
Correct answer: Telling yourself 'everyone does it' to justify a rule violation
Rationalization uses flawed reasoning to justify unethical behavior, undermining accountability and honest self-assessment.
Question 6: A student government president pressures members to vote a certain way by threatening to withhold resources. This is an example of:
- Transformational leadership
- Ethical persuasion
- Coercive power misuse (Correct answer)
- Democratic consensus-building
Correct answer: Coercive power misuse
Using resource control to compel votes is coercive power misuse, which violates ethical leadership standards.
Question 7: The 'newspaper front page test' is an informal ethical check that asks:
- Whether the decision saves money
- Whether you would be comfortable if your decision were reported publicly (Correct answer)
- Whether the decision is supported by a majority
- Whether the decision follows the fastest path to results
Correct answer: Whether you would be comfortable if your decision were reported publicly
The newspaper front page test prompts leaders to consider whether a decision could withstand public scrutiny and media coverage.
CSL Ethical Leadership & Decision Making 3
A student leader learns that a popular event fundraiser may have violated campus financial policies.
Ethical integrity requires them to: