Episode 2 of “As the Association Turns”: Ethics Awareness Month!

Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC

Author’s note: I serve on the ASAE Ethics Committee and as part of our work for Ethics Awareness Month in March, I created a five-part soap opera series for promotion of the Committee’s work. You can find the series in the ASAE Ethics Collaborate community. 

Episode 2: The Angry Board Member!

After recovering from his hangover the next day, Max Mayhem started scrolling through his email and texts. He was surprised that so many people asked how he was doing or feeling “after last night.” Although he couldn’t remember much, he did recall having fun and he thought everyone else did too. 

Max replied to the messages, “I’m fine. Why do you ask?” 

The message he received the most was, “Well, after that confrontation with Dougie, I thought I should check on you.” Confrontation with Dougie?, he mused. What confrontation . . . ? And then he started to recall the events of the previous evening. 

After Dougie arrived, he was only at the event for about 20 minutes when he came over to Max and encouraged him to go home. He even offered to call a taxi and accompany him to make sure that he got home safely. Max said he was fine and didn’t need to leave, but Dougie quietly pointed out that others at the event were uncomfortable with Max’s behavior and they had asked Dougie to “do something.”

Max started yelling “I’m on the SOAP Board of Directors. I don’t need anyone telling me how to behave or what to do.” Dougie had taken him by the arm and tried to steer him to a quieter part of the pub, but Max shook his hand off and said, “Don’t you dare touch me!!” Max then pushed Dougie away and almost knocked him down. 

Several attendees then grabbed Max by both arms and escorted him out of the pub. They called a taxi and made sure he got in it to go home. 

Embarrassed by what happened, Max became angry at Dougie for humiliating him in front of the other members. After all, Max was just trying to have a good time. So what if he had a few drinks? No one has a right to put their hands on him. Why, it must be against the code of conduct. 

Later that day, Max filed an ethics complaint against Dougie stating that Dougie violated the association’s code of conduct by touching him without permission and publicly humiliating him. 

Sarah Sincere is the staff liaison for the Ethics Compliance Committee and is the person who receives ethical complaints. She knows both Max and Dougie and realizes that Dougie was likely trying to help. Sarah does not feel comfortable submitting this complaint to the Committee, but if she doesn’t then she will violate the due process of ethics enforcement. 

Sarah is in an ethical dilemma. As the staff liaison for the Ethics Compliance Committee, it is her responsibility to handle all complaints equally, no matter who is involved. 

Will Max be successful with his smear campaign against Dougie? Will Sarah follow the process and report Dougie? Can Sarah sleep at night doubting the accusation? 

What would you do in Sarah’s place? 

Tune in next week for Episode 3: The Conflicted Chief Staff Executive