Professional Standards & Ethics Flashcards

An employee builds a training course during work hours as part of their job. Who usually owns the copyright?

Answer: The employer, as a work made for hire

Works created by employees within the scope of their employment are works made for hire owned by the employer.

An independent contractor develops custom courseware for your company, but there is no written IP assignment. Who likely holds the copyright?

Answer: The contractor

Without a written assignment or qualifying work-for-hire agreement, the contractor usually keeps the copyright.

You promised participants their evaluation survey would be anonymous. A senior leader asks which person wrote a critical comment. What should you do?

Answer: Keep the promise and decline to identify the respondent

Keeping promised anonymity protects trust and the integrity of future evaluation data.

A director pushes you to enroll a favored employee who doesn't meet the published selection criteria for a sponsored certification. What is the best approach?

Answer: Apply the criteria consistently and explain them to the director

Applying criteria consistently ensures fairness and reduces discrimination and favoritism risk.

Which practice best protects learner privacy in an LMS?

Answer: Collecting only needed data and limiting access by role

Data minimization and role-based access control are core practices for protecting learner information.

A trainer is asked to teach a detailed legal compliance course outside their expertise. What is the most ethical response?

Answer: Acknowledge the limits of their expertise and bring in a qualified subject matter expert

Professional standards call for practicing within your competence and bringing in qualified experts when needed.

In a typical ethical decision-making model, what is the first step?

Answer: Identify the ethical issue, relevant facts, and stakeholders

Ethical decision models start by defining the problem, gathering the facts, and identifying who is affected.