Situational Judgement: Ethics Flashcards

You discover a colleague has been inflating expense reports by small amounts over several months. The colleague is well-liked and nearing retirement. What is the most appropriate action?

Answer: Report the behavior to your supervisor or ethics office regardless of the colleague's circumstances

Expense fraud must be reported through proper channels regardless of the amount or the perpetrator's personal circumstances.

Your supervisor instructs you to backdate a document to make a missed deadline appear met. What should you do?

Answer: Refuse and explain that falsifying records violates organizational integrity standards

Falsifying official records is unethical and potentially illegal; you must refuse even when directed by a supervisor.

A vendor offers your team free tickets to a sporting event as a 'thank you' after your organization awarded them a contract. What is the best course of action?

Answer: Decline the gift and report the offer to your ethics or compliance office

Post-award gifts from vendors can still create conflicts of interest and must be declined and reported per standard gift policies.

You overhear two colleagues sharing confidential personnel information about a third employee in a public area. What should you do?

Answer: Remind the colleagues that personnel information is confidential and should not be discussed in public

You have a responsibility to uphold confidentiality norms by reminding colleagues of proper information-handling practices.

You are reviewing applications and notice the top candidate shares the same alma mater as you. You feel a slight preference for them. What is the ethical approach?

Answer: Acknowledge the potential bias, set it aside, and evaluate all candidates solely on merit-based criteria

Recognizing and actively counteracting personal bias while continuing to evaluate candidates on objective criteria is the appropriate ethical response.

A colleague asks you to sign off on work you did not review, saying 'it's just a formality.' What should you do?

Answer: Decline to sign until you have personally reviewed the work as your signature implies accountability

Your signature certifies your personal review and accountability; signing without reviewing is dishonest.

You learn that your organization is about to publish data you believe contains a significant error that could mislead decision-makers. What is the right course of action?

Answer: Raise your concern immediately with the responsible team or supervisor before publication

Integrity requires raising data accuracy concerns before publication so errors can be corrected through proper channels.