| Course | HA515 Leadership and Management in Health Care |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Ethical governance paper |
| Length | About 900 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | Master of Health Administration (MHA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HA515 Unit 8
A Range Where a Midpoint Belongs: An Ethical Governance Paper on a Composite Nonprofit Health System's Medical Office Building Lease, Paying Rent Above Appraisal to a Partnership Partly Owned by a Sitting Trustee, and What the Real Estate Director and the Board Each Owe
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HA515: Leadership and Management in Health Care
Unit 8 Ethical Governance Paper
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The system, the lease, the trustee and every figure are composite and bracketed; the legal discussion is simplified for a course and is not legal or tax advice.
The Lease
The system leases [42,000] square feet in a medical office building for primary care and imaging. The proposed renewal is for ten years at [$34] per square foot. An independent appraisal estimated market rent at [$27] to [$31], with a midpoint of [$29]. The building is owned by a partnership in which a trustee holds a [40] percent interest. The finance committee knows of the interest; the full board has not discussed it. The chief financial officer has asked the real estate director to present the appraisal as a range rather than a midpoint, so that [$34] looks closer to the top.
The Director's Duty
The director is not a trustee and owes no fiduciary duty to the board as a trustee does. But as an employee and the person presenting the facts, she owes the board accurate information. Presenting the appraisal as a range is not false, but it is chosen to mislead: the range makes an above-market rent look reasonable. Her duty is to present the midpoint, the range and the gap clearly, and to disclose the trustee's interest in the materials. A number can be accurate and still misleading, and the director's obligation is to the board's understanding, not to the format the CFO prefers.
The Board's Duties
Trustees of a nonprofit owe a duty of care, to make informed decisions, and a duty of loyalty, to serve the system rather than any personal stake. A trustee who stands to gain from a lease has a conflict and should not take part in the decision.
The Tax Law
Federal law imposes excise taxes on excess benefit transactions, in which a tax-exempt organization provides an economic benefit to a disqualified person, such as a trustee, that exceeds the value of what it receives (26 U.S.C. § 4958, 2024). Rent above fair market value paid to a partnership partly owned by a trustee could be such a transaction. The paper does not find a violation on composite facts; it identifies what would have to be true: rent above fair market value, paid to an entity in which a disqualified person holds a substantial interest. The regulations describe a process that creates a rebuttable presumption that a transaction is reasonable: approval by an authorized body whose members have no conflict, reliance on appropriate comparability data and concurrent documentation of the decision (26 C.F.R. § 53.4958-6, 2024). Following that process would protect both the trustees and the system.
Compliance and Integrity
Paine distinguished compliance-based approaches, which aim to prevent misconduct through rules and penalties, from integrity-based approaches, which aim to build shared values and responsibility (Paine, 1994). A compliance approach asks whether the lease can be defended. An integrity approach asks whether the system should pay a trustee's partnership more than the market rate at all. Satisfying the legal question does not settle the ethical one.
What the Director Should Do
1. Present the appraisal midpoint, the range and the rent gap, about [$210,000] a year, in plain terms.
2. Disclose the trustee's interest in the board materials.
3. Recommend that the board follow the rebuttable presumption process, with the interested trustee absent from discussion and vote.
4. If asked again to present only the range, raise the concern with the compliance officer or general counsel.
What the Board Should Do
Recuse the trustee; obtain a second appraisal if the first is disputed; negotiate the rent toward market; document the decision and the comparability data.
Why the CFO's Request Matters
The CFO may believe a range is simply a fuller picture. But the request was made because a range makes the rent look acceptable, and the director knows that. Complying would make her part of a framing designed to ease approval of a transaction that benefits a trustee. Declining, politely and with a reason, protects her, the CFO and the board. If the CFO insists, the system's compliance channel exists for exactly this situation.
How the Board Can Show Its Process Was Sound
Minutes should record the trustee's disclosure and absence, the appraisal and any second opinion, the negotiation steps and the reasons for the final rent. That record is what the rebuttable presumption relies on, and it is also what a reporter or regulator would ask to see.
Options for the Lease
Renew at market rent; renew at the proposed rent with documented justification, such as unique location value, if one exists; or relocate when the lease ends.
Limits
The analysis relies on composite facts; actual fair market value, the trustee's interest and state law would need legal review.
Conclusion
The director's duty is clarity, and the board's is loyalty and care. Following the protective process would meet the law; asking whether the system should pay above market to an insider at all would meet the ethical standard.
References
26 C.F.R. § 53.4958-6 (2024). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/section-53.4958-6
Paine, L. S. (1994). Managing for organizational integrity. Harvard Business Review, 72(2), 106-117.
26 U.S.C. § 4958 (2024). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/4958
Reading the HA 515 Unit 8 instructions
Unit 8 commonly sets a governance dilemma in a health system, such as a conflict of interest involving a board member or executive. Instructions usually require the facts, the duties of the people involved, relevant law, an ethical analysis beyond the law and recommendations for each party. Many instructors want students to keep legal and ethical questions separate. Expect to cite tax and governance rules and an ethics source in APA style, make clear the paper offers no legal advice, keep the organization and people composite and avoid declaring violations the facts do not establish. A paper that tells each party, staff and board, what it owes is more useful than one that only judges the transaction.
How the HA 515 Unit 8 example is put together
The sample sets out the lease, the appraisal and the trustee's interest, with a margin note on keeping law and ethics apart. The director's duty is discussed, and the highlighted sentence says a number can be accurate and still misleading. The board's duties of care and loyalty follow. The tax law section cites the excess benefit statute and the regulation describing a rebuttable presumption process, with a margin note on naming conditions rather than violations. Paine's compliance and integrity distinction is applied. Recommendations for the director and the board, with a third note, why the CFO's request matters, documentation, options for the lease, limits and a conclusion close it.
Where the points sit in the HA515 Unit 8 rubric
Ethical governance rubrics in HA 515 usually award points for stating facts, identifying duties, applying law accurately, analyzing ethics beyond the law, making recommendations for each party, citing sources and keeping the argument in order. For facts, graders want the transaction, the appraisal and the insider's stake stated plainly. Duty points go to distinguishing staff and board obligations. Law points reward accurate description without overreaching conclusions. Ethics points require a framework that asks more than legality. Recommendation points go to specific steps for each party. Source points need legal and ethics sources. Papers that address what an employee should do when asked to frame information misleadingly often earn top marks.
HA515 Unit 8 help from the desk
Governance ethics papers often lose points by declaring that a transaction is illegal without the facts needed to show it. Another gap is focusing only on the board and ignoring the staff member asked to present the information. Some papers stop at legal compliance. Others give vague advice to be transparent. State the facts, separate each party's duties, describe the legal test and the protective process, ask whether the transaction is right even if lawful and give each party concrete steps. Then explain how the board can document its process so its decision can be defended later, and what the staff member should do if pressured again.
Get an HA515 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
Summarize the governance situation your prompt poses, or a disguised one from your own organization, and attach the Unit 8 instructions and rubric. We send a first ethical governance paper free in 24-48h, separating what the law requires from what integrity asks and ending with a named person's decision. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HA515 Unit 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HA515 Unit 8 sample paper?
This page carries the full HA515 Unit 8 ethical governance paper on a composite nonprofit system's lease with a trustee-owned partnership, with three sources. Your own governance issue can be analyzed the same way.
What is an excess benefit transaction?
A transaction in which a tax-exempt organization gives a disqualified person, such as a trustee, an economic benefit worth more than what it receives.
What is the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness?
A process, approval by unconflicted members using comparability data and documenting the decision, that creates a presumption a transaction is reasonable.
What is the difference between compliance and integrity strategies?
Compliance strategies aim to prevent misconduct through rules; integrity strategies build shared values and responsibility.
How long is the HA515 Unit 8 paper?
About six pages, from the lease to duties, law, ethics and recommendations.