Proudly Promote Your CMCA

You may have heard the old question: “If you don’t promote or believe in yourself, who will?” As a professional community manager, you should promote both your profession and yourself as a certified manager of community associations (CMCA). Here are a few ideas for you to consider:

• Put the registered CMCA mark after your name on your business cards, your e-mail signature, your Web site, your marketing materials, and any other professional correspondence (e.g. Jane Doe, CMCA®).
• Use one of the professional marketing pieces we have created for you to promote your CMCA. You may download these documents from our Web site at http://www.nbccam.org/program/employer.cfm. 
• Encourage your colleagues to obtain their CMCA. There is power in numbers; the more CMCAs are actively promoting themselves and managing communities around the country, the more our communities will recognize the importance of their professional community manager.

If you have additional ideas or ways in which you promote your profession and your CMCA, please share them with us and we will pass them along to your peers in an upcoming issue of Upward Directions.

CAI Launches Resource for Job Seekers and Employers

Community Associations Institute (CAI) has launched a new state-of-art, online resource for job seekers and employers in the community association industry. The comprehensive, user-friendly service is powered by one of the leading providers of career Web site technology.

Accessed via CAI’s online Career Center, Job Market is dedicated exclusively to the community association marketplace. It replaces CAI’s Job Bank, a job site with job listings and resumes, but with far less functionality.

For individuals, Job Market is a free, secure and convenient way to market themselves to management companies, associations, law and accounting firms and other professional service providers. Job seekers can post their profiles anonymously and apply for jobs for free. The profiles remain posted indefinitely, and employers can access all profiles at no charge. If a recruiter or employer is interested in a particular profile, the candidate’s resume is provided to the employer—but only if the job seeker grants permission. 

The fee ($35 for members, $60 for non-members) for each resume is paid by the employer. There is no cost to the job seeker. The site also provides an advanced job-alert system that notifies candidates of new opportunities matching their specific criteria.

More than 250 resumes were posted on Job Bank during the past six months. Employers posted more than 650 jobs. CAI expects Job Market to generate even more traffic, especially since job-seeker profiles can be anonymous. Visit www.caionline.org/jobmarket to learn more or post a job description or profile.
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Nine Tips for Office Celebrations

With the holiday season upon us, employers and supervisors have an opportunity to send a safe and sober message about workplace parties and drinking. In that spirit, the Labor Department's Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace program offers the following tips to help community association managers adopt a safe and responsible approach to their workplace celebrations.

1. Be honest with employees. Make sure your employees know your workplace substance abuse policy and that the policy addresses the use of alcoholic beverages in any work-related situation and office social function—even if held after hours.
2. Post the policy. Use every communication vehicle to make sure your employees know the policy. Prior to an office party, use break room bulletin boards, office e-mail and paycheck envelopes to communicate your policy and concerns.
3. Reinvent the office party concept. Why have the typical office party? Try something new like an indoor carnival, group outing to an amusement park or volunteer activity with a local charity. 
4. Make sure employees know when to say when. If you do serve alcohol at an office event, make sure all employees know that they are welcome to attend and have a good time, but that they are expected to act responsibly. 
5. Make it the office party of choice. Make sure there are plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available.
6. Eat...and be merry! Avoid serving lots of salty, greasy or sweet foods which tend to make people thirsty. Serve foods rich in starch and protein which stay in the stomach longer and slow the absorption of alcohol in the bloodstream. 
7. Designate party managers. Remind managers that even at the office party, they may need to implement the company's alcohol and substance abuse policy. 
8. Arrange alternative transportation. Anticipate the need for alternative transportation for all party goers and make special transportation arrangements in advance of the party. Encourage all employees to make use of the alternative transportation if they consume any alcohol.
9. Serve none for the road. Stop serving alcohol well before the party officially ends.
   

Work and Humor Do Mix

According to a new survey developed by Robert Half International, the workplace loves a leader who can laugh, and most bosses seem ready to deliver the punch line. Ninety-seven percent of professionals polled feel it is important for managers to have a sense of humor. Employers appear to have received the message: 87 percent of workers said their supervisors do indeed have a funny bone.   

The survey was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 492 full- or part-time workers 18 years of age or older and employed in office environments. Workers were asked, "How important do you think it is for managers to have a sense of humor?" Their responses:

• Very important—65 percent 
• Somewhat important—32 percent 
• Not important at all—3 percent

Workers also were asked, "Does your manager have a good sense of humor?"  Their responses:

• Yes—87 percent 
• No—10 percent 
• Don't know/no answer—3 percent

"Managers who can laugh at themselves or difficult situations are often seen as more approachable and in touch with the challenges their teams face," said Max Messmer, Chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. "Levity also can be used to build rapport among staff and ease stressful situations."

Messmer cautioned that while people enjoy working for someone who has a good sense of humor, too much clowning can have the opposite effect. "To be taken seriously, supervisors must balance their desire to keep the mood light with the need to accomplish business objectives, inspire great performance and maintain professionalism," he said. [ return to top ]

Eye on Ethics: A Historical Overview
By Gordon Ryan, CMCA, AMS, PCAM

There is a scene in My Fair Lady, the movie version, where Professor Higgins (Rex Harrison) tells his housekeeper to write to someone in America who has asked him to come and lecture. He advises them that he is unavailable, but that he knows of someone whom he considers “…the foremost moralist in England.” The poor chap is Alfred, a dustman and Eliza Doolittle’s father. The crusty fellow has displayed an unusual brand of cheekiness mingled with modesty in Higgins’ presence, launching a temporary speaking career as a result.

When NBC-CAM contacted me about writing an ethics column for this publication, I felt much the same. What qualifies me? I haven’t a clue, but, as an inveterate writer who owes much to this industry, I accepted. This first column is rather philosophical in nature. It will focus on the elected bodies within our Associations.

Future columns will be more practical, dealing with the appointed management side of the house. In some cases, I hope to respond to questions and comments involving ethical concerns. So, without much further adieu, let’s “get me to the church on time.”

Putting Ethics in Context 

The hierarchy of human action ranges from legal, to ethical to moral. Each increasing level of restriction on behavior imposes stricter regulations, usually reliant on personal acceptance. Simply stated, legal defines what must be done, while ethical defines what should be done. Hence an action may be quite legal . . . and quite unethical . . . at the same time. And this complexity is further exacerbated when you include a moral implication and question the religious or spiritual context. An action may be considered legal; it may even be accepted as ethical; but great deviation occurs when we try to define the morality of an action.

That may be a surprising or complex statement to open an article on the subject, but disagreement on ethics in governance is nothing new. We have found ways around it for centuries. The Code of Hammurabi was created in the eighteenth century B.C., long before the mass media decided to impose their own brand of ethical oversight. But let’s talk about democracy for a moment and put public ethics in context.

In the evolution of societal governance, the relatively new entrant onto the world scene, democracy, is particularly reliant on public confidence to maintain its legitimacy. The most basic tenet of democracy is voluntary compliance by its citizens. The most basic tenet of public confidence is recognition of ethical behavior. If people do not believe in their leaders, compliance is less likely. As a result, public trust in the integrity of public institutions and officials is essential to the success of democratic representation.

Much of the thought contained herein is directly applicable to local, state and national government structures. But if we analyze our actions, a case could be made that community associations, large and small, with elected boards of directors, fall in the same category. Indeed, the elected board, various committees, and appointed management are often viewed as if they were a local government body. I therefore submit that an application of ethical principles applies equally to both local government and community associations. And both are subject to the public determination of legal or ethical behavior. This concept is confirmed within our industry by the existence of the CMCA Code of Ethics (www.nbccam.org/program/standards.cfm) that holds us each accountable to a higher professional standard.

Demanding Ethical Accountability

Over the intervening centuries, politicians at all levels have, to some degree, discouraged a closer look at individual character in order to minimize the importance of personal and public behavior. Refusal to be held accountable is, at best, self-serving. Fortunately, throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century, public calls for more transparency in government have led the way for the development of ethical standards to which those who deign to lead us must subject themselves. The resultant “sunshine laws” have shed new light on an old problem.

Throughout western democracies, enforcement of ethical standards has relied on public disclosure and an informed electorate. Informing the electorate is not as easy as stated, however, since most associations do well to turn out 20-40 percent of their membership for a vote. It is, at best, an imperfect arrangement, fraught with legal loopholes and myriad variations of acceptable behavior. Most attempts to make ethics laws more definitive are resisted. There are even community associations where the board has refused to sign a Code of Conduct document.

The variable interpretations of the terms ethical, moral, and legal, indeed the often self-serving application of the overall concept, leave room for everyone to claim the moral high ground and to proclaim total integrity in actions enacted solely “for the betterment of the community.” It is, at best, a rationalization of the underlying principles.

The most effective codes are directed at prevention, providing general guidelines for ethical behavior and, as much as possible, eliminating opportunities for unethical practices. However, it should be noted that the most successful application of these values can only be accomplished when the persons involved practice their own ethical standards during their public service.

You could therefore postulate that the Judeo-Christian concept of control over self is the strongest component of ethical behavior. It is a concept the human race has yet to master, hence the need for established criteria by which the public may be confident of open government with a reasonable assurance of high integrity in their elected officials.

Perhaps this has been more than we need to know about the relationship between democracy and ethics, but I would submit that more than one of us has seen these exact situations in some of the communities we have managed. Next time, let’s hold management’s feet to the fire.

Gordon Ryan has served as City Manager in Alaska and Washington, in municipal executive staff positions in California and Utah, and as Ombudsman (Investigations Commissioner) for the City Council in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he wrote the Code of Conduct for the Council. He has held three appointments as a large-scale General Manager. He is also a former Marine who served in Vietnam and a published novelist, with seven books on the shelves.

If you have a good question about ethical issues, he might have the answer. Send questions c/o Upward Directions Editor Terry White, who will maintain your confidentiality.

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Immigrant Work Eligibility Verification Form Revised

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and M-274, Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9. USCIS forms and information on immigration laws, regulations, and procedures are available by calling the National Customer Service.

All U.S. employers are responsible for completion and retention of Form 1-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States, including citizens and non-citizens. On the form, the employer must verify the employment eligibility and identity documents presented by the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9.

The Form I-9 must be kept by the employer either for three years after the date of hire or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. The form must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. Government officials (e.g., ICE, Department of Labor).

Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:  

• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561) 
• Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)  
• Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)  
• Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)  
• Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)
  

One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents: Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766). All the Employment Authorization Documents with photographs that are in circulation are now included as one item on List A: I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766.

Instructions regarding Section 1 of Form I-9 now indicate that employees are not obliged to provide the Social Security Number in Section 1 of Form I-9, unless they are employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify. The section on Photocopying and Retaining Form I-9 now includes information about electronically signing and retaining I-9 forms. The new Form I-9 can be accessed at www.uscis.gov/i-9. The Revised M-274 can be found at www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf. [ return to top ]

NBC-CAM Welcomes New Board-certified Managers

Over the past several months, NBC-CAM recognized professionals who completed the requirements to become Certified Managers of Community Associations. The CMCA credential demonstrates that these managers have passed NBC-CAM’s national exam and met requirements for managing condominium, cooperative, and homeowner associations. Congratulations to our newest CMCAs!  [ return to top ]