Free PECB Certified ISO 26000 Lead Manager Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the PECB Certified ISO 26000 Lead Manager practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A manufacturer asks whether an independent audit can certify its management system against ISO 26000 itself. Which response accurately describes the standard?

   1. A.It specifies certifiable requirements for an organization’s social responsibility management system.
   2. B.It gives guidance for integrating social responsibility without certifiable management-system requirements.Correct answer: B
   3. C.It establishes a certification scheme limited to an organization’s environmental performance.
   4. D.It establishes an accreditation scheme for bodies certifying an organization’s social responsibility.

   Explanation: ISO states, “ISO 26000 is not a management system standard.” B describes guidance without certifiable management-system requirements. A converts guidance into certifiable requirements; C substitutes an environmental certification scheme; D substitutes accreditation of certification bodies.

   Reference: Discovering ISO 26000 — printed p. 8, Not for certification

2. 2Which ISO 26000 principle includes accepting responsibility for unintended negative impacts, remedying wrongdoing and preventing recurrence?

   1. A.Transparency
   2. B.Respect for stakeholder interests
   3. C.AccountabilityCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Respect for international norms of behaviour

   Explanation: The accountability discussion includes “taking the appropriate measures to remedy the wrongdoing and taking action to prevent it from being repeated”. C names that principle. Transparency concerns openness; stakeholder interests concerns affected interests; international norms concerns recognized behavioural expectations. Those do not name this corrective-responsibility principle.

   Reference: ISO 26000 and OECD Guidelines: Practical overview of the linkages — printed p. 15, comparison discussion, accountability paragraph

3. 3Which description best captures organizational governance under ISO 26000?

   1. A.The system for making and implementing decisions in pursuit of organizational objectivesCorrect answer: A
   2. B.The system for recording financial transactions rather than other organizational decisions
   3. C.The system of external government regulation rather than the organization’s own decisions
   4. D.The system for resolving employee grievances rather than pursuing other organizational objectives

   Explanation: ISO defines governance as the “system by which an organization makes and implements decisions in pursuit of its objectives.” A matches that system. B reduces it to accounting; C substitutes external government; D reduces it to grievance handling.

   Reference: ISO 26000 and OECD Guidelines: Practical overview of the linkages — printed p. 37, Annex II, §6.2

4. 4A manager is preparing a context review before integrating social responsibility. Which information is most directly useful for relating the organization’s characteristics to its responsibilities?

   1. A.Its type, operations, workforce and operating locationsCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Only the issues highlighted in the latest press coverage
   3. C.Only the practices of its largest commercial customer
   4. D.A standard list of priorities copied unchanged from a larger firm

   Explanation: The ISO publication recommends determining “how its key characteristics relate to social responsibility” and identifies “the organization’s type, purpose, nature of operations and size”. A context review therefore examines the actual organization. Press coverage, one customer’s interests, or another firm’s unchanged priorities each substitutes an external filter for that review.

   Reference: GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000:2010: How to use the GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000 in conjunction — p. 11, General Standard Disclosures; ISO 26000 clause 7.2

5. 5A draft social responsibility report describes successful projects but omits missed objectives. Which revision follows ISO 26000’s reporting guidance?

   1. A.Remove objectives and retain only descriptions of activities
   2. B.Move every shortfall to an unpublished management document
   3. C.Include achievements, shortfalls and how the shortfalls will be addressedCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Limit reporting to projects selected by the communications team

   Explanation: ISO calls for a fair, complete picture “including achievements and shortfalls”. C also supplies the required response to shortfalls. A removes performance context, B withholds the shortfalls from the report, and D permits selective success reporting.

   Reference: GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000:2010: How to use the GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000 in conjunction — p. 7, extract from ISO 26000 clause 7.5.3, Box 15

6. 6A publicly funded hospital and a small nonprofit want to use ISO 26000. Which eligibility interpretation follows its intended scope?

   1. A.Only the hospital qualifies because public funding establishes applicability.
   2. B.Only the nonprofit qualifies because commercial operations are excluded.
   3. C.Both can use the guidance regardless of their ownership or size.Correct answer: C
   4. D.Neither qualifies because only multinational private companies are covered.

   Explanation: ISO states that the guidance is “applicable to all types of organizations and not only to industry or private companies.” C follows that scope. A and B introduce unsupported ownership exclusions; D imports a multinational-enterprise limitation.

   Reference: ISO 26000 and OECD Guidelines: Practical overview of the linkages — printed p. 9, §2.2, applicability

7. 7A manager claims that ethical behaviour concerns only financial reporting. Which assessment matches ISO's description?

   1. A.It rests on honesty, equity and integrity, with broader concern for affected interests.Correct answer: A
   2. B.It rests on profitability, liquidity and solvency, with financial reporting as its entire scope.
   3. C.It rests on competitors’ established practices, with market custom as its decisive standard.
   4. D.It rests on owners’ personal preferences, with shareholder approval as its ethical standard.

   Explanation: ISO says behaviour should rest on “honesty, equity and integrity.” A identifies those values and their broader concern. B substitutes financial metrics; C substitutes prevailing competitor conduct; D substitutes owners’ preferences. None is the ethical-values basis described by ISO.

   Reference: ISO 26000 and OECD Guidelines: Practical overview of the linkages — printed p. 27, Annex I table, Ethical behaviour

8. 8A governance review checks financial controls but omits social-responsibility considerations. Which change follows ISO's description of effective governance?

   1. A.Consider financial controls in governance, leaving social responsibility only to separate reports.
   2. B.Consider social responsibility only in publicity, excluding it from the governance system’s decisions.
   3. C.Consider social-responsibility principles, practices, core subjects and issues in the governance system.Correct answer: C
   4. D.Consider social responsibility only when auditors select it, excluding it from the organization’s governance.

   Explanation: ISO calls for considering “the practices, the core subjects and the issues of social responsibility” in governance. C makes that integration. A confines governance to financial controls; B confines responsibility to publicity; D makes consideration depend on auditor selection rather than the organization’s governance system.

   Reference: ISO 26000 and OECD Guidelines: Practical overview of the linkages — printed p. 37, Annex II, §6.2.2

9. 9An organization already has effective decision-making and internal review arrangements. How should these be treated when putting ISO 26000 guidance into practice?

   1. A.Replace them with a separate system before taking any action
   2. B.Build on them where appropriate, adapting activities as neededCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Leave them untouched and confine social responsibility to donations
   4. D.Suspend them until a social responsibility certificate is issued

   Explanation: ISO explains that organizations “can build on existing systems, policies, structures and networks”. B uses established arrangements while allowing adaptation. A imposes unnecessary replacement, C excludes operational integration, and D invents a certification prerequisite for a non-certifiable guidance standard.

   Reference: ISO 26000 and OECD Guidelines: Practical overview of the linkages — p. 66, ISO 26000 clause 7.1

10. 10A report names stakeholders consulted but gives no account of their involvement in preparing the report. What further information does ISO 26000 specifically call for?

    1. A.How and when stakeholders were involved in reportingCorrect answer: A
    2. B.A ranking of stakeholders by the number of shares they own
    3. C.A statement that stakeholder involvement guarantees the report’s accuracy
    4. D.A declaration that consulted stakeholders approved every business decision

    Explanation: The extract says to describe “how and when stakeholders have been involved”. A fills that reporting gap. Ownership ranking is not the requested account; involvement does not guarantee accuracy or imply approval of all business decisions, so B, C and D cannot substitute for it.

    Reference: GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000:2010: How to use the GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000 in conjunction — printed p. 7, quoted extract headed Reporting on social responsibility, Box 15