What is the proper response to an attempt to influence a decision through gifts?

• A. Decline or recuse, document the incident, and escalate to leadership.
• B. Accept and proceed.
• C. Decline without documentation.
• D. Escalate to leadership only if the gift is large.

Answer: (A)

An attempt to influence a decision with gifts signals a conflict of interest and the risk of biased outcomes. The best response is to decline or recuse yourself to preserve fairness, document the incident so there is a clear record, and escalate to leadership so the situation is reviewed under policy and appropriate actions can be taken. Documentation supports transparency and accountability, and leadership can determine whether guidelines were violated and what corrective steps are needed. Accepting the gift would undermine integrity and policy, while declining without documentation misses an opportunity to address systemic risk, and escalating only for large gifts ignores the broader issue that any such attempt should be handled promptly to deter improper influence.