DBIA Code of Professional Conduct 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the DBIA Code of Professional Conduct, which statement best describes a member's duty regarding sustainability and environmental responsibility?
- Members must exceed all federal environmental regulations on every project
- Members should consider environmental impacts and promote sustainable practices (Correct answer)
- Environmental responsibilities apply only when the client specifically requests it
- Members are exempt from environmental duties if local codes are met
Correct answer: Members should consider environmental impacts and promote sustainable practices
DBIA's Code encourages members to proactively consider environmental impacts and promote sustainable design-build practices.
Question 2: A design-build firm's principal learns that a key team member falsified their professional credentials during the proposal phase. The Code of Professional Conduct requires the firm to:
- Remove the team member quietly to avoid reputational damage
- Disclose the falsification to the owner and correct the record (Correct answer)
- Seek legal advice before disclosing anything
- Assess whether the falsification materially affected the project
Correct answer: Disclose the falsification to the owner and correct the record
Honesty obligations under the DBIA Code require disclosure of material misrepresentations, including credential falsification.
Question 3: When two DBIA members have a professional dispute, the Code of Professional Conduct encourages them to:
- Resolve disputes through litigation as a first resort
- Seek mediation or other alternative dispute resolution methods first (Correct answer)
- Escalate immediately to DBIA's Board of Directors
- Avoid direct communication and use only written correspondence
Correct answer: Seek mediation or other alternative dispute resolution methods first
DBIA's Code promotes resolution of professional disputes through ADR methods before resorting to litigation.
Question 4: A DBIA member serving on a project review panel receives a proposal from a firm with whom the member has a financial relationship. The Code requires the member to:
- Score the proposal objectively because all proposals must be treated equally
- Recuse themselves from evaluating that proposal (Correct answer)
- Disclose the relationship but continue participating in the evaluation
- Request that the firm withdraw its proposal
Correct answer: Recuse themselves from evaluating that proposal
Financial relationships that create conflicts of interest require recusal from related evaluation or decision-making roles.
Question 5: How does the DBIA Code address a member's obligation to report suspected violations of the Code by other DBIA members?
- Reporting is entirely voluntary and at the member's discretion
- Members are encouraged to report credible violations through appropriate DBIA channels (Correct answer)
- Members must report all violations directly to state licensing boards
- Reporting violations is prohibited to protect member privacy
Correct answer: Members are encouraged to report credible violations through appropriate DBIA channels
DBIA's Code encourages members to report credible Code violations through appropriate channels to uphold professional standards.
Question 6: Under the DBIA Code of Professional Conduct, a member's fee arrangements with a client must be:
- Fixed price to eliminate any appearance of impropriety
- Fair, transparent, and disclosed in writing (Correct answer)
- Approved by DBIA before contract execution
- Based solely on industry-standard rate tables
Correct answer: Fair, transparent, and disclosed in writing
The Code requires that fee arrangements be fair, transparent, and clearly documented to maintain trust and prevent exploitation.
Question 7: A DBIA member is offered a gift by a subcontractor seeking to be included on future projects. Under the Code of Professional Conduct, the member should:
- Accept gifts up to a $100 value as industry courtesy
- Decline gifts that could influence or appear to influence professional decisions (Correct answer)
- Report the offer to the subcontractor's licensing board
- Accept the gift but disclose it to the project owner
Correct answer: Decline gifts that could influence or appear to influence professional decisions
DBIA's Code prohibits accepting gifts that could influence or reasonably appear to influence professional judgment.
DBIA Code of Professional Conduct 3
Under the DBIA Code of Professional Conduct, which statement best describes a member's duty regarding sustainability and environmental responsibility?