Case 4F: Lack Of Fairness

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Case 4F: Lack of Fairness (pillar #4) Volunteer boards must have the moral courage to stand on the core ethical values of justice and fairness. When justice and fairness are compromised, the organization loses its credibility, financial support declines, and board members resign. I experienced all of this during my final term on one volunteer board. The primary cause of the injustice was the concealment of a memo written by members of a regional consortium and addressed to our Executive Administrator with explicit instructions, “Please read to your board.” She did not. She didn’t want the board to see the resentment and disruption that the name change was causing with members of this regional consortium. We only learned of the existence of…show more content…
I believed that deliberately concealing information from board members was unjust, unfair, and downright dishonest. According to Josephson, “fairness implies adherence to a balanced standard of justice without reference to one’s own biases or interests.” When confronted with the lack of transparency, the Executive Administrator said that the current President had instructed her NOT to read the consortium’s memo to the board. Regrettably, the Executive Administrator had chosen to follow orders and act on her own interests, rather than demonstrate moral courage and do the ethical thing. As the truth unfolded at the board meeting, I finally asked the question, “Doesn’t anyone see a problem here?” The room was silent. Only two people had the moral courage to speak up: the Senior Vice President said he objected to having his email intercepted, and the Treasurer said he objected to the lack of transparency. The Treasurer then made a motion that the Executive Administrator “forward on Fridays any and all emails addressed to all board members for that week.” The motion passed unanimously. I believe that concealing information from your board is a sign of deeper, more intrinsic problems; your board isn’t committed to core ethical…show more content…
It held an annual sporting event, but after expenses, all proceeds went into the operating budget. As the newly elected President, I called upon the board to act on its mission, which stated: “This volunteer board is organized to advance the general welfare and prosperity of the region so that its citizens and its business community may prosper. All reasonable means to secure these ends may be exercised. Particular attention and emphasis shall be given to the business, social, civic, cultural, and educational interests of the region.” Question: Besides donating a small scholarship once a year, how could we demonstrate that we were giving “particular attention and emphasis to the business, social, civic, cultural, and educational interests of the

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