SC QUALITY GUILDEthics and compliance decision guide
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Work through an ethical or compliance question step by step: who is affected, which obligations apply, how each option fares against the standard tests, and how the decision is escalated and recorded.
ON THE EXAM · CMQ/OE I.D.1, I.D.2, I.D.3 · FREE · NOTHING YOU TYPE LEAVES YOUR BROWSER
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Ethics and compliance are not the same
Compliance is meeting the rules: laws, regulations, contracts and company policy. Ethics is doing what is right when the rules are silent, unclear or in tension. An action can be legal and still wrong, and compliance programs work only when people bring ethical judgment to the gaps.
What a professional code asks of you
Professional codes, including the ASQ Code of Ethics, are built around a small set of principles. In paraphrase: act with integrity and honesty; be fair and objective; put the health and safety of the public first; avoid conflicts of interest or disclose them; protect confidential and proprietary information; and represent your work, data and qualifications truthfully. This page does not reproduce any code's wording. Read the current ASQ Code of Ethics at asq.org and your employer's code of conduct.
Common compliance areas
- Conflict of interest: a personal interest that could influence, or appear to influence, a business judgment. Disclose it.
- Confidentiality and intellectual property: customer drawings, specifications, processes and data belong to their owner. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) sets who may see them and for what purpose.
- Bribery and anti-corruption: laws such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act prohibit improper payments; gifts and hospitality policies set the line inside an organization.
- Quality and change-notification agreements: many customer contracts require notice and approval before a supplier changes a process, material or site. Shipping a changed product without it is a breach, and in regulated industries can affect product safety.
- ESG: environmental, social and governance commitments, and honest reporting on them.
Testing the options and reporting concerns
Write down every realistic option, then test each: is it legal, is it consistent with the code and policy, and would you be comfortable if it were reported publicly (the newspaper test)? Ask who is harmed. An option that fails the legal test is removed. Raise suspected wrongdoing through the proper channels first: manager, legal or compliance, an ethics hotline, and regulators where the law provides for it, on legal advice. Legal protections for whistleblowers often depend on how and where a report is made. Record the decision and the rationale. This guide is not legal advice; consult your legal or compliance function.
On the CMQ/OE exam
Expect scenarios that ask for the best first action in an ethical dilemma, often disclosure or escalation through proper channels, and questions that separate compliance from ethics.