Precision Professional Standards and Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ethical obligation requires professionals to keep their knowledge and skills current?
- Competence (Correct answer)
- Confidentiality
- Non-maleficence
- Veracity
Correct answer: Competence
The duty of competence requires professionals to maintain and update their skills to serve clients effectively and safely.
Question 2: A coworker asks you to falsify data in a report to make the results look better. You should:
- Comply if your coworker outranks you
- Refuse and report the request to a supervisor or ethics officer (Correct answer)
- Comply but note your objection privately in a diary
- Alter the data slightly so it is not technically falsified
Correct answer: Refuse and report the request to a supervisor or ethics officer
Falsifying data is fraud; refusing and reporting protects professional integrity and public trust.
Question 3: The concept of 'non-maleficence' in professional ethics means:
- Always tell the truth to clients
- Do not harm clients through actions or negligence (Correct answer)
- Treat all clients equally regardless of background
- Keep client information private
Correct answer: Do not harm clients through actions or negligence
Non-maleficence is the duty to avoid causing harm, whether through direct action or failure to act appropriately.
Question 4: When two clients have competing interests and you serve both, this situation is best described as a:
- Dual relationship
- Conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Boundary violation
- Ethical dilemma only when money is involved
Correct answer: Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest exists when professional obligations to one party may compromise duties to another.
Question 5: Which action best demonstrates accountability in professional practice?
- Blaming external factors for all project failures
- Accepting responsibility for your decisions and their outcomes (Correct answer)
- Documenting errors only when required by law
- Delegating all difficult decisions to supervisors
Correct answer: Accepting responsibility for your decisions and their outcomes
Accountability means owning the consequences of your professional decisions, both successes and failures.
Question 6: A professional learns that a colleague is engaging in conduct that harms clients. Remaining silent makes the silent professional:
- Professionally immune because they did not commit the act
- Potentially complicit in ongoing harm and an ethical violator (Correct answer)
- Responsible only if they witnessed it directly
- Free of liability as long as they document their knowledge
Correct answer: Potentially complicit in ongoing harm and an ethical violator
Silence in the face of known client harm can constitute ethical misconduct through complicity and failure to protect vulnerable parties.
Question 7: Professional codes of ethics primarily exist to:
- Protect professionals from legal liability in all cases
- Guide behavior, build public trust, and set minimum conduct standards (Correct answer)
- Replace personal moral judgment with rules
- Ensure professionals earn higher salaries
Correct answer: Guide behavior, build public trust, and set minimum conduct standards
Codes of ethics provide behavioral guidance, establish public trust, and define minimum acceptable standards for a profession.
Precision Professional Standards and Ethics 3
Which ethical obligation requires professionals to keep their knowledge and skills current?