Situational Judgement: Ethics Flashcards

A colleague shares their login credentials with you so you can help finish a task while they are away. What is the right action?

Answer: Decline to use another person's credentials and arrange a legitimate access solution instead

Using another person's credentials violates access control policies and obscures accountability; proper access must be requested through authorized channels.

You are part of a hiring panel and another panelist privately asks you to rank a favored candidate higher than your honest assessment to 'balance out' another panelist's low score. What should you do?

Answer: Refuse and submit your honest independent assessment as required by the process

Coordinating scores to manipulate a panel outcome undermines the integrity of the merit-based selection process.

A project you are leading is running significantly over budget due to planning errors on your part. You are tempted to reclassify some expenses to mask the overrun. What is the ethical course of action?

Answer: Report the budget overrun accurately and immediately, explaining the cause and proposing corrective action

Accurately reporting budget overruns, even when self-incriminating, is essential to organizational transparency and sound financial management.

You are asked to destroy records that are subject to a legal hold you were notified about last month. What must you do?

Answer: Refuse to destroy the records and notify legal or compliance that a destruction order conflicts with an active legal hold

Destroying records under a legal hold is obstruction of justice; you must refuse and immediately escalate the conflict to the legal or compliance office.

You are on a selection committee and realize midway through the process that you have a financial relationship with one of the applicant organizations. What should you do?

Answer: Immediately disclose the relationship to the committee chair and recuse yourself from further deliberations

Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed by recusal as soon as they are identified, not after a decision is reached.

You discover that a policy your team has been implementing is outdated and may actually violate a newer regulation. What is the appropriate first step?

Answer: Pause implementation where possible and immediately alert your supervisor and legal or compliance staff

A potential regulatory violation requires immediate escalation to supervisors and compliance staff; individual employees should not continue a potentially unlawful practice.

You are writing a performance review for a subordinate you personally dislike but who has objectively performed well. What is the ethical approach?

Answer: Write an honest, evidence-based review that accurately reflects the employee's strong performance

Performance reviews must reflect documented evidence of actual performance, not personal feelings toward the employee.