Ethics Flashcards
What are the RICS Rules of Conduct?
- Act with integrity and honesty and avoid conflicts of interest.
- Always provide a quality and diligent service.
- Maintain professional competence.
- Treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion.
- Act in the public interest and take responsibility for their actions, and act to prevent harm.
What is a bribe?
An offer or acceptance of an advantage as an inducement for an action that is illegal, unethical, or a breach of trust.
Can you give me an example of a bribe?
A contractor offering to do work on your own home for free if you suggest to the client that they use them on their project.
What is Money Laundering?
Hiding illegally obtained funds behind a legitimate business.
Why did you say no to the cricket match tickets from the contractor at Buckshaw Link?
Timing - it was offered during the tender period.
If timing wasn’t an issue, would you have accepted the invitation to the cricket?
Yes, however I would inform my office manager and log it in the gift log prior to accepting.
Is there a financial limit on gifts you can accept?
This would usually be discussed internally in my company, with gifts never being accepted in private.
The amount accepted is usually viewed as proportional.
Give me an example of a conflict of interest.
I just bought a house overlooking fields. My client wants advise on whether they can build on this area of greenbelt.
What are the 3 types of conflict of interest?
Personal, Party, Conflict of Confidential Information
What is a Party Conflict?
Where your duty to act professionally to one client contradicts your duty to another client in the same or relation professional assignment.
What is a Personal Conflict?
Example of greenbelt land and doing a feasibility study.
What is a Conflict of Confidential Information?
A conflict between the duty to keep one client’s information confidential, and the duty to provide the same information to another client.
What would you do if there was a Party Conflict?
Obtain informed consent.
What would you do if you wanted to set up your own business?
Register with the RICS.
Ensure a complaints handling procedure is in place.
Obtain Professional Indemnity Insurance.
When is a firm required to register for regulation with the RICS?
If 50% of the principle is providing surveying services.
If 25% of the Directors are providing surveying services.
What information do firms have to send to the RICS annually?
Insurance details - PI and PL.
Complaints procedure, details and log.
Why is Professional Indemnity needed?
To protect the client against professional negligence.
What are the minimum indemnity levels?
This is based on annual return:
£100k or less - £250k cover
£100,001k - £200k - £500k cover
Over £200k - £1m cover
What do you do if there is a conflict that is internal to the office?
Different offices - can’t see each other’s information.
Create Information Barriers - electronic or physical separation.
You are on site and someone looks scruffy - what concerns do you have?
Dynamic risk assessment - concern for my safety if they are unknown.
Concern for their health.
If they are known and working, this could be modern slavery. Do not raise with the site manager. Continue to assess and do some unannounced site visits. If concerned still, call Modern Slavery Helpline and/ the Home Office.
What is Whistle Blowing?
You are a worker and you report certain types of wrongdoing to external firms or the public or the RICS.
It’s good to have a formal WB policy in place within your firm where you can report concerns.
What are your main take-aways from the countering bribery and money laundering guidance?
How to undertake general due giligence checks:
Enhanced
Standard
Are you aware of what the Red Flag Indicators are?
Client being dismissive on providing information.
Multiple bank accounts.
Some off-shore accounts.
How do you apply rule 1 of the Codes of Conduct to your daily work practices?
I have always been clear and honest with a client when I have made a mistake.
How did you measure the risk of injunction at The Unicorn development?
Risk assessment - who would it harm, and what the likelihood and severity was.
Works being halted would hard the BO. Severity was high, but the likelihood was very low.
Was the SE at Wardsley Barn appointed by yourself or directly by the client?
Directly by the client.
What would have been needed if your firm instructed the SE on the client’e behalf?
A sub-consultant agreement. This creates a contractual link between them and the client, and covers the following:
Scope of service
Fee
Insurances
Termination
Dispute resolution
What is included within your firm’s T’s and C’s?
Complaints handling procedure.
Data protection.
Payment procedures.
Termination agreements.
How would you go about calculating a fee for the client? What considerations do you have?
Time spent on the instruction.
Travel.
Clear client brief.
A client has asked you to take responsibility for making interim payments to the contractor. They say they will provide you with the cash to make the payments. What is your response?
My firm has a no cash policy.
If my firm did accept cash, I’d set up a client account. This needs to be separate and clearly identifiable with the client named on the account. The client must have constant access to it and it mustn’t go over drawn.
Are you aware of what the cash limit is?
€10,000.00 or the equivalent.
It its more than this, you need to register with the government as a ‘high-value dealer’.
This is to prevent money laundering.
What rule of conduct were you acting in accordance with when you kept confidentiality at Preston Technology Centre?
1 - Maintaining the integrity of and to the client.
How are you aware of your limitations? Why do you not exceed them?
When the potential instruction is outside of my competence I am honest about it, and provide guidance on who can deliver this.
How might AI positively impact the Built Environment?
Energy Efficiency can be regulated through sensors and systems that analyse the data of use. Can then optimise the allocation of materials and labour for cost-effective scheduling.
How might AI negatively impact the Built Environment?
Could lower the quality of reports and advice if it is relied on to heavily or broadly.
Unable to use it effectively with specific site considerations and intricate details.
What is unconscious bias?
It’s an existing belief or stereotype against a person or social group that is not a conscious belief of the person.
How can you limit or reduce unconscious bias?
Acknowledge your biases and be honest about them.
Admit mistakes and take responsibility.
