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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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1. You have reviewed the schedule and have discovered that the project is going to be completed later than originally communicated. Your boss has asked you not to tell this to your customer even though he agrees that there is no way to shorten the schedule. You have an upcoming status meeting with the customer later on that same day. What should you do?
A. Cancel the status meeting with the customer B. Call the customer and explain your dilemma to them in confidence C. Explain to your boss that it is unethical to knowingly report an incorrect status to anyone on the project D. Ask your boss to put his request to you in writing |
C
You are supposed to provide accurate and truthful information. You cannot ethically lie to a customer, management, your boss, or your team, even if ordered to do so. |
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2. You are in a PMP study group when a co-worker, who is also a friend, tells you that she has acquired the questions from the actual exam. What would be the MOST appropriate course of action?
A. Study from the questions, compare them to the questions on the PMP exam and determine if any further action is warranted B. Ask your friend to surrender the questions and turn them over to your boss C. Decline the offer and change to a different study group D. Contact PMI and explain the situation to them |
D
You are obliged to report violations of the code of conduct to PMI. |
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3. You have started managing a project in a country that observes nearly double the amount of holidays that your home country takes.
Additionally, each team member from this country receives three more weeks of vacation each year than you do. What is your MOST appropriate course of action? A. Authorize the same amount of vacation time for your team in order to preserve team equality B. Use the other country's vacation time and holidays as schedule constraints C. Allow the extra vacation for that country's team, but request that they produce the same or better results as your team D. Try to get this part of the project relocated to a different country with a stronger work ethic |
B
Professional responsibility questions tend to have a strong multicultural slant. This is because respect for other cultures is highly valued. Any answer other than 'B' does not reflect this value. |
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4. Your customer instructs you that they would like to bypass creating a work breakdown structure in favor of creating a more detailed activity definition list. You have expressed disagreement with the customer on this approach, but they remain insistent. What is the BEST way to handle this situation?
A. Document your disagreement with the customer and do it their way B. Follow the customer's wishes, but create the activity list so that it is as close as possible to a work breakdown structure C. Have your project sponsor explain the necessity of the work breakdown structure to the customer D. Have PMI call your customer |
C
Here is a great example of where the customer is not always right. Did you remember that PMI considers it unethical to deviate from the stated process? Skipping something as foundational as the work breakdown structure would not further the project, your reputation, or the customer's interests. This may make sense, but why should the sponsor explain this to the customer? Because the sponsor can act as a liaison to the customer in difficult circumstances like this. |
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5. You are working in a foreign country, trying to procure a piece of expensive industrial machinery. As you evaluate the bids, one of the potential sellers calls you and mentions that he could probably get 25% of the price knocked off his bid, making his by far the most attractive price.
In return, he asks you to pay him one fifth of that amount as a show of your appreciation. What should you do? A. Do what is necessary to secure the lowest bid for your customer B. Ignore the offer and evaluate the bids as if this had not happened C. Eliminate this seller's bid, and notify the organization D. Ask the seller if he could reduce the price by even more and assure him he will be well rewarded for his efforts |
C
This seller wants you to bribe him with a 25% kickback. You cannot ethically do this, even though it may save your customer or your project money. In this case, the best thing to do is avoid the situation and disclose it. |
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6. A project manager has confided in you that he is struggling with the whole concept of project management. He is constantly being handed down unreasonable demands by the customer and is trying to balance that with unreasonable and often opposing demands from senior management and stakeholders. He is worried that the two projects he is
managing may fail and asks you for help. What is the BEST thing you can do in this case ? A. Provide your friend with a copy of the PMBOK Guide B. Encourage your friend to get project management training C. Tell your friend that he should not be managing projects D. Have a private talk with your friend's boss about the problem |
B
The best answer here is to encourage your friend to get training in project management. Answer 'A' would not help because the PMBOK Guide would not help your friend be successful. 'C' is not a good answer at all. Just because someone struggles does not mean that they should not be doing the job of managing projects. 'D' is a bad choice because you should confront the problem directly (with your friend). |
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7. You have just taken over a project that is executing the work packages. As you review the status of the project, you become aware that the previous project manager reported milestones as being hit that have not been reached. Additionally, the CPI is 0.88 and the SPI is 0.81. Management is unaware of all of these facts. What should you do?
A. Crash the schedule to try to get things back in line B. Explain the revised status to management C. Refuse to take on this project assignment D. Ask the key stakeholders for direction |
B
Based on these numbers, you know that the schedule and costs are slipping. Any time a status changes you should alert stakeholders (in this case, management). Before any other action, you should report the status. 'A' is incorrect because crashing would only make the cost situation worse. 'C' is incorrect because there is no reason to refuse the project simply because it is not tracking well. A good project manager is exactly what is needed here. 'D' is incorrect because you should be evaluating and giving direction to the project instead of asking the stakeholders to do this. |
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8. Two of your co-workers ask if they can confide in you. They tell you that they have been using the chemical lab that is apart of your project's construction to manufacture illegal drugs. The drugs have made them quite a lot of money, and they want to know if you would like to participate in this venture with them. What should you do in this situation?
A. Take the opportunity to mentor these resources B. Investigate the situation and determine whether or not it is really illegal C. Report the situation to the authorities D. Insist that they seek help, but do not report them since this was shared in confidence |
C
You have a responsibility to report any illegal activity to the authorities. |
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9. Two stakeholders have begun fighting over functionality on your project. Who should resolve this conflict?
A. Senior management B. The sponsor C. The customer D. The project manager |
D
It is the project manager's responsibility to balance stakeholder interests. The project manager should attempt to resolve this conflict. |
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10. You discover that a new pipeline project you are managing poses a previously undiscovered threat to the environment. What is the MOST appropriate course of action?
A. Seek guidance from government officials B. Seek guidance from the media C. Seek guidance from an attorney D. Resign the project |
A
Because you have a socio-economic-environmental responsibility, you should alert the government officials and seek guidance. They have a vested interest in helping resolve this quickly, and this would deal with the root of the problem. Answers 'B', 'C', and 'D' do not deal directly with the problem. |
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11. Your project team has begun execution of the work packages when you discover that two of the team members do not have all of the skills needed to finish the project. The team members will need to undergo some training in order to complete their tasks. What is the BEST thing you can do?
A. Help them get the necessary training B. Contact human resources to find out why they did not have necessary training C. Let them learn by doing the work D. Ask the customer to invest in training the resources |
A
You have a responsibility to mentor and help your team get training. Remember that the cost of training is typically borne by the performing organization's budget and not by your project's budget, and not by the customer. |
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12. A colleague confesses thar he has been posing as a PMP. He says that the prestige is wonderful, but pursuing the certification has never interested him. What should you do in this situation?
A. Contact the police B. Contact PMI and alert them to the situation C. Ask your colleague to pursue the real PMP certification D. Report this to your colleague's human resourees department |
B
The code of conduct requires you to report violations to PMI. |
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13. You are working on a project to construct an office building in another country when you discover that you must obtain a second building permit from the local authority, When you inquire about this, you find out that the local permit will take 6 to 8 weeks to be issued; however, an official mentions that you can speed this up by paying a $500 "rush fee." The fee is within the project's budget, and the need is urgent. What is the BEST thing to do?
A. Pay the $500 B. Do not pay the $500 and wait the 6 to 8 weeks C. Ask the official if he would accept less than $500 D. Ask someone on your team to pay the fee for you |
A
This does not constitute a bribe. You should pay the fee. If the official wanted you to slip the money under the table, that would be different, but in this case the fee has a legitimate purpose. |
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14. You are employing a subcontractor to complete a critical piece of work when the project manager for that subcontractor asks you out on a date, making it clear that this is a personal engagement and will not affect business. What would be the BEST course of action?
A. Accept the invitation if you are so inclined B. Politely refuse the invitation C. Ask your manager for permission to go on the date D. Consult your human resouree department for guidance |
B
This would be a conflict of interest, and it is the project manager's duty to avoid all conflicts of interest. Consulting the human resources department or your manager would not avoid a conflict of interest. |
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15. You have been assigned to a project for a new software product that you do not believe will succeed. You have made these feelings clear to your company, but they wish you to work on the project anyway. What would be the BEST course of action in this case?
A. Excuse yourself from the project B. Escalate the situation to the customer C. Manage the project D. Resign from the company |
C
This is a difficult scenario, but you cannot always pick and choose projects that appeal to you. The best thing is to manage the project and follow the project management processes. If the project will not be successful, it should become apparent sooner rather than later. |
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16. As project manager, you have met with the stakeholders and certain high profile stakeholders have provided you with a series of change requests that fundamentally alter the project and raise the risk to an unacceptably high level. The stakeholders have heard your explanation of this, but they remain insistent that the new functionality is needed. Which option below would be MOST appropriate?
A. Explain to the stakeholders that their request cannot be fulfilled B. Stall the stakeholders until the request becomes irrelevant C. Remove these stakeholders from your list of stakeholders and exclude them from further project correspondence D. Call a meeting with the project team to help resolve the problem |
A
It is the project manager's job to balance competing stakeholder interests. It may be tempting to try to accommodate everyone's requests, but some simply must be refused. In this case, you must explain to the stakeholders that their requests cannot be fulfilled. |
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17. As project manager, you have been asked to serve on a product selection committee. When you join, you find out that one of the products that the company is evaluating is manufactured by the company where your wife works as a sales director. What is the BEST way to handle this situation?
A. Disclose the situation to the product selection committee B. Quietly excuse yourself from the committee C. Remain completely impartial throughout the product selection D. Vote against the product in the interest of fairness |
A
The code of conduct states that conflicts of interest should be clearly disclosed. None of the other choices really satisfies that rule. 'B' might be a tempting choice, but it is not the best choice, since you should be upfront and open about such situations. |
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18. You and your project team work for a large and well-known consulting company and are compensated based on how many hours you bill. In the make-or-buy analysis you performed, you find that you can save the project nearly $300,000 if you procure a software module rather than
have your consulting team write it. What is the MOST appropriate way to resolve this conflict? A. Resolve the conflict in favor of you and your team if you are within budget B. Resolve the conflict in favor of your employer C. Let the team vote on how to resolve the conflict D. Resolve the conflict in favor of the customer |
D
As a general rule, conflicts should be resolved in favor of the customer. In this case, that is particularly true. |
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19. The project you are currently managing is highly similar to one you worked on for a different customer six months ago. On the previous project, you performed a detailed feasibility study that would save two calendar months if you could use it on this project. You signed a nondisclosure agreement with the previous customer. What is the BEST course of action in this situation?
A. Disregard the previous feasibility study and perform a new feasibility study for your current customer B. Ask your previous customer for permission to use the feasibility study C. Use the feasibility study from the first project, since such non-disclosure agreements are not legally enforceable D. Ask your project office for guidance |
B
You should ask permission from the previous customer. 'A' is incorrect because you are not working in the best interest of your current customer if you do this. It may become necessary to do the work over again, but you should try to negotiate with your previous customer first rather than rushing to "reinvent the wheel." 'C' is incorrect because even if the non-disclosure agreement was not legally enforceable, it is still an agreement between you and your previous customer, and you are ethically bound to comply with it. The code of conduct gives specific guidance against improper use of proprietary information. 'D' is incorrect because more guidance is not what is needed here, as the issues are clear. Your project office's approval to use the previous material would not make it acceptable. |
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20. A conflict of interesr should be:
A. Resolved quietly B. Disclosed openly C. Monitored carefully D. Ignored deliberately |
B
The code of conduct states that project managers avoid and disclose any conflicts of interest. |
