Ethics and Business Practice
The Ethics and Business Practice domain tests judgment in competitive bidding, subcontracting, change orders, payment, and recordkeeping. Questions often present a pressured situation and ask for the response that preserves fairness, contract integrity, and the reputation of the masonry contractor.
Core standards
- Submit bids that reflect your own scope and pricing. Do not use a competitor's confidential price to leverage or shop another firm.
- Protect proprietary information received during preconstruction, including design details, unit prices, and subcontractor quotations.
- Disclose conflicts of interest. A relationship with a supplier, owner representative, or competing firm must not secretly influence award or administration.
- Price change orders from contract rates, documented quantities, and actual cost. Do not inflate claims or conceal savings that belong to the owner under the contract.
- Comply with antitrust rules: no price fixing, bid rigging, or market allocation.
- Keep contemporaneous records of directives, delays, inspections, and oral conversations confirmed in writing.
Worked example
A general contractor calls and says, "The other masonry bid is lower; beat it and you have the job." The ethical response is to decline to price against another firm's confidential number. You can restate your scope, offer value engineering that you can document, or ask for a written scope comparison. If the request persists, document it and consider not bidding. The reasoning: using a competitor's disclosed price is bid shopping, which undermines fair competition and may expose both firms to liability. Your own scope-based price remains defensible.
Traps that cost marks
Treating a common industry practice as ethical; relying on oral agreements; failing to disclose a relationship; submitting a claim without records; and assuming that a low bid excuses substitution of inferior materials.
Key points
- Price your own scope; do not bid shop or use a competitor's confidential number.
- Disclose conflicts of interest and protect proprietary preconstruction information.
- Change orders should follow contract rates, measured quantities, and documented cost.
- Confirm oral directives and events in writing promptly.
- Antitrust compliance prohibits price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation.