JUNE 2014 SUNRAYS | 7
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Let’s Communicate!
Jim Romine, Executive Director
E
thics in Corporate America have experienced a setback
in recent years. Enron, WorldCom, and Martha Stewart
are examples of highly-publicized cases where there was
a failure of the corporation to maintain an ethical environment.
Whether large or small, profit or not-for-profit, corporations have
a responsibility to act ethically. When speaking of community
associations, the standard of ethics applies equally to the man-
agement team, the Board of Directors, committee members,
club officers and neighborhood representatives. Implementing
ethical standards, an ethical code, and a code of conduct for
all who participate in the governance of our association can
circumvent impropriety.
Ethics is defined as a system of moral principles and the rules of
conduct with respect to a particular group or organization. There
is a difference between a code of ethics and a code of conduct.
The
code of conduct
describes precautions on how one must
behave. The
ethical code
describes statements of core values
that indicate how one should behave. A person who is ethical acts
with fairness, equity and impartiality and respects the rights
of other people. Someone who is unethical chooses personal or
professional gain at the expense of others.
In order to understand how ethical standards can be applied,
there needs to be an understanding of conflicts of interest.
Con-
flicts of interest
can best be described as situations where one’s
own benefit or gain takes precedence over one’s duty to another.
There are two types of conflicts: potential and actual. A
poten-
tial conflict
of interest exists when there is a possibility that a
decision might be influenced by one’s personal circumstances.
For instance, a director who has a relative in the landscape
business might potentially alter a decision in order to help the
relative get the contract. Potential conflicts of interest can become
actual conflicts
when the decision-making process is subverted
by the conflict. Most observers believe that actual conflicts of
interest can be avoided by disclosure of the potential conflict.
The argument is that known potential conflicts of interest will
never manifest themselves as actual conflicts of interests as long
as everyone understands that the potential exists.
Ethics for community management professionals are defined
through the system of certification and designation. Manag-
ers strive to exhibit their standards of ethics by adhering to
a professional code of ethics. Professional ethics are standard
in professions such as those practiced by doctors, lawyers, ac-
countants, etc. Similarly, professional managers adhere to the
ethics in several formats. The Community Associations Institute
(CAI), through its system of designations and certification, re-
quires observance to a code of ethics. Whether the designation
is the CMCA, AMS or PCAM, CAI has an established ethical
standard for the profession. Please note that many of your CA
management team hold some of these designations.
According to the CAI, there is a strong need in the industry for
ethical standards and codes of conduct. In order to create the
code of ethics and code of conduct, several steps need to be fol-
lowed. First, the Board needs to identify the core values of the
community, which normally include preserving and enhancing
property, safety, fairness and respect. Core values involve more
than just buildings, money and rules; they may also include pro-
tecting the environment and respecting diversity and individual
rights of the homeowners. Second, a community association/
Board needs to understand that corporate ethics do not exist
independently from social principles – they are, in fact, a reflec-
tion of basic human values. Sun City Texas does have a Code
of Conduct that all CA officials agree to abide by when serving
on behalf of the community.
At Sun City Texas, we are blessed to have staff and governance
volunteers who exhibit high standards of ethics and the desire to
follow our code of conduct. We will always strive to ensure that
our Association is managed to reflect our community’s positive
values and will act professionally in all we do for you.
CA NEWS
Ethics in Community Association Operations
