Ethics, Rules of Conduct and Professionalism (Level 3) Flashcards
Give me an example of when you have acted with integrity?
Honesty and Integrity
- Tendering for role of IC on Essex
- Colleague wanted to commence interviews before all tenders were received
- I advised that it would be unethical and compromise the integrity of the tender process
- Ensured that all interviews were scheduled after the receipt of all bids
Tell me about when you have provided a high standard of service
- When successfully submitting the minor works application on the University of Essex project
- Ensured that the application was successful, met the relevant timescales and managed the process effectively
- Fed into the overall success of the project
- The client was pleased with the service and the development delivered as demonstrated by their willingness to provide a positive testimony about the services delivered
Tell me about how you have promoted trust in the profession
- Disposal of retail unit in Birmingham
- Questioned on complex legal matters
- Informed the questioning parties these issues were outside my professional competence, passed them onto my colleagues in the legal team
Tell me about how you treat clients with respect
- Ensure that I always address clients in their preferred way, if I am unsure I ask
- Establish preferred method and frequency of communication
- I ensure that I always use appropriate language when communicating with them
- I issue summary emails of my actions to keep them up to date and for future reference/record
Tell me about how you treat other surveyors with respect
- Address them in their preferred way, if unsure ask
- Ensure that I am using appropriate language and acting in a professional manner
- If I witness any discrimination towards them check on their well-being and report it if necessary
Explain the key steps you would take if you decided to set up in practice as a sole trader after qualifying.
- Inform the RICS
- Appoint responsible principle
- Arrange PII cover
- Set out requirements for client money handling
- Set up a complaints handling procedure, complaints log and appoint a complaints handling officer (external 3rd party as a sole trader)
- Outline a business succession procedure
- Ensure there is a CPD logging procedure
- Submission of RICS annual return
If undertaking Red Book Valuations – apply to be a part of the RICS Valuer Registration Scheme
If a prospective purchaser offered you a financial incentive to accept their offer, explain how you dealt with this.
- I would reject the offer as it would breach the Bribery Act 2010
- Notify my superiors of the action
- I would then report them to the local authorities or relevant governing body
What would you do if you became suspicious that a client was involved in money laundering?
- Notify my superiors of the suspicion
- I would notify the authorities to investigate
What would you do if you became suspicious that a client was involved in terrorist activities?
- Notify my superiors of the suspicion
- I would notify the authorities to investigate
If you were to set up in practice on your own, tell me about the types of insurance you would need.
- PII in line with the RICS minimum requirements
- Public liability insurance - covers the cost of claims made by members of the public for incidents that occur in connection with your business activities
- Buildings insurance - provide financial protection if there’s damage to the structure of your home, such as the walls, roof and floors
- Employer liability cover - the cost of compensating employees who are injured at or become ill through work
Exeter – why was it unethical to invite one tenderer to interview before all bids were submitted?
- Not compliant with a fair tender process
- Influences judgement of all bids before they are submitted
- Process should be the same for each bidder to be equal
How did you run a fair bidding process?
- Ensured timings and process was the same for all bidders
- Provided the same brief to all bidders so they had exactly the same information at hand
- Did not start interviews until all bids were received
- Any clarifications raised were then shared with all parties
- Informed all bidders of the outcome of the bid process in writing at the same time
How did you analyse and select a successful tender party?
- Set up a scoring matrix analysing key components of the tender such as price, timings, scope of services provided, timings, relevant experience
What RICS guidance did you follow when running the tender?
RICS Guidance Note on Tendering Strategies (2015):
- Sets out what tendering is and how tendering is used to establish a contract price
- Different types of tendering and negotiation strategies and their advantages and disadvantages
- Practical issues of producing an invitation to tender and assessing tender returns
Birmingham – how did you deal with complex legal matters in an ethical way?
- Where necessary I advised that complex legal matters were outside the scope of my professional competence and passed the issue at hand onto our in house legal team
