Board Case Study Nonprofits make-up a large part of our economy and operate with the intent on improving our society. They are governed by a board of directors, as stated by Edwards and Yankey (2006, p. 347), "The governing board carries out a range of vital functions…entrusted by the community to act as fiduciaries and to guide their organizations with care, skill, and integrity." There are numerous nonprofits that operate across the country and every board of directors has a responsibility to create a sound structure to include policies and procedures that support good governance. There are several problems indicated with the operation of the Board Case Study. It appears that the board is inactive, there are no checks and balances or …show more content…
The code of ethics is a set of principles used to help make decisions, govern the behavior of board members, staff, and volunteers. In developing a code of ethics there are many things to consider such as the allocation of funding with the inclusion of an ethics audit. The ethics audit as stated by Webster 's College Dictionary (1991) "entails an official examination and verification of records and other organizational practices" (Reamer, 2002). Reamer (2002) also states, "A comprehensive ethics audit should assess the extent to which social workers and agencies have procedures in place to identify ethics-related risks and prevent ethics complaints and ethics-related litigation." This will look at the organization as a whole to include programming, personnel practices, confidentiality, resources used, conflicts of interest, and fundraising. A board 's primary goal is to ensure best practices are used, which translates to strengthening the community and working for the common good (National Council of Nonprofits, 2009). Due to the many responsibilities of the board, many form subcommittees to include "financial planning, nominating, evaluating the executive, fundraising, personnel, and services" (Edwards & Yankey, 2006, p. 348). This allows for checks and balances for proper …show more content…
If a CEO has taken, it upon him/her self to increase salaries without approval from the board, there should be a course of action outlined in the agency 's code of ethics to include a review by the ethical subcommittee. Having a CEO who knowingly misrepresents the information regarding the agency to the board, opens up the possibility of the mismanagement of funding received to provide services to the population served. Mismanagement of funds has the potential to ruin a nonprofit and hinder future funding. A nonprofits financial transparency is imperative for continued funding and prevents the media from questioning the agency 's ethics and obligation to the community to provide
The NASW (National Association of Social Workers) Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. This Code includes four sections. The first Section, "Preamble," summarizes the mission and core values of the social work profession. The second section, "Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics," provides an overview of the Code 's main functions and a brief guide for dealing with ethical issues or dilemmas in social work practice. The third section, "Ethical Principles," presents broad ethical principles, based on social work 's core values, that affect social work practice. The final section, "Ethical Standards," includes specific ethical standards
Worth, M. (2014). Nonprofit management: Principles and Practice. 3rd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
The nonprofit sector in America is a reflection some of the foundational values that brought our nation into existence. Fundamentals, such as the idea that people can govern themselves and the belief that people should have the opportunity to make a difference by joining a like-minded group, have made America and its nonprofit sector what it is today. The American "civil society" is one that has been produced through generations of experiments with government policy, nonprofit organizations, private partnerships, and individuals who have asserted ideas and values. The future of the nonprofit sector will continue to be experimental in many ways. However, the increase of professional studies in nonprofit management and the greater expectation of its role in society is causing executives to look to more scientific methods of management.
Social Work is a profession that is committed to the promotion, restoration, maintenance, and enhancement of social functioning. Its focus is to work with individuals, groups, and communities, in helping them use the resources within themselves and the environment to cope more effectively with their problems. At its most basic level, social work is about promoting the general welfare of society by representing those who are most vulnerable. Providing social services can sometimes be a difficult task, wrought with ethical uncertainties and challenges. The Social Work Code of Ethics helps social workers navigate these challenges throughout their careers and provides a framework for the principles and standards a social worker must uphold.
The Code of Ethics is an important part of a Social Workers career, by giving them basic guidelines, principles, standards, and values/morals for which they should follow. By following these guidelines a Social Worker can keep their work at a professional level and learn to keep work out of a personal level. This Code of Ethics has been set forth by the National Association of Social Workers, and is mandated in the field of practice (NASW, 2008).
Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality; that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice, and virtue. The NASW Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. This Code includes four sections. The first Section, "Preamble," summarizes the social work profession 's mission and core values. The second section, "Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics," provides an overview of the Code’s main functions and a brief guide for dealing with ethical issues or dilemmas in social work practice. The third section, "Ethical Principles," presents broad ethical principles, based on social work 's core values, which inform social work practice.
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (1998). The New NASW Code of Ethics Can Be Your Ally: Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=96
As a student new to social work, The Code of Ethics written by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is in the forefront of my mind whenever practicing my freshly learned skills. According to the Code, these rules were written as the “values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). Within my most-recent session, certain aspects of this code were relevant, including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, a commitment to the client, the dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity and competency of the worker, and social diversity.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington DC: Author.
O’Conner pinpointed ( as cited in Chenoweth& McAuliffe, p. 78) that the code of ethics is clearly linked to the process of professionalization which establishes guideline for professional behavior, assist in establishing a professional identity, provide self-regulation measures, protect clients from incompetent practitioners and protect worker from malpractice lawsuits. The primary responsibility of worker is to promote the well-being of clients. As a disability worker, Code of ethics is intended to assist all workers collectively and individually to act in ethically accountable ways. It helps to identify the ideals and purpose of the social work profession. In instances when clients are not receiving services, the worker should provide information about nature and extent of services.. In the same way, in the field of disability, the code of ethics is the core document which informs and guides the ethical practice of disability worker (AAAW, 2010). The human services professional protects the integrity, safety, and security of clients records, and the professional should be aware that
The six core values that are described in the Code of Ethics by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) are social justice, service, importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, integrity, and competence. According to the NASW (2016), these core values are the foundation for the purpose of the social work profession. It is essential for social work professionals to be able to put aside their personal values, and embody these core values when working with clients.
Along such time, the budget has grown over $2000,000, fact that paradoxically left Youth Haven with a deficit of$20,000. Marcel is in the process to upgrade her mindset of for-profit sector molded to the nonprofit sector environment. In addition, an executive director must consider some other factor, even when a nonprofit departs from the way any for-profit business is. In the textbook, Nonprofit Management Principles and Practices, Worth pointed out, “nonprofit managers are confronted with sorting through an array of options and selecting the measures and methods that meet both their own need for useful management information as well as the expectations of funders, watchdogs, and regulators.” (Wroth, P. 161). It is important to understand that administrators of non profits not only have to handle the management side of things but also to make sure that whatever service they are providing to the community is still running
Ethics consists of factors such as culture, religion, and these continuously affect a person’s beliefs and ethics. As individuals continue to develop and adapt to different values and ethics. This is through past experiences and the expectations as our life pattern changes. Core values in social work practice are the code of ethics, informing our understanding of the difference and diversity. The social work profession is evaluated by a whole set of guidelines, measures put in place by regulatory bodies, allowing the movement to put in place new governmental laws and guides within this field.
The NASW Code of Ethics was established to serve six purposes to establish the core values upon which the social work profession is based, create specific ethical standards that should guide social work practice and reflect the core values, help social workers navigate professional considerations and obligations when ethical uncertainties arise, to provide ethical standards to which the social work profession can be held accountable, to initiate new social workers to the profession’s mission values, and ethical principles and standards, and to create standards by which the social work profession can assess if a social worker has engaged in unethical conduct. Social workers who pledge to abide by this code must cooperate with its implementation and disciplinary rulings based upon
... “The Nonprofit Sector: For What and for Whom?” Working Papers of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, no. 37. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 2000