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As chapter president, you lead the association and must set a good example for others to follow. This includes practicing good ethical behavior. GCSAA’s code of ethics was established to promote and maintain the highest professional standards of service and conduct among the membership of GCSAA. Your association may wish to develop and adopt a code of ethics similar to this.
GCSAA receives calls regarding potential ethics violations. Many complaints are actually examples of unprofessional business practices and do not constitute a violation of the Code of Ethics.
What is the difference between a violation of the Code of Ethics and unprofessional courtesy or business practices? The primary difference is how GCSAA or any other association can discipline its members for violating the code of ethics. There are legal constraints associated with restraints of trade and freedom of speech that may not allow GCSAA to discipline members for merely seeking an employment opportunity even though they may have acted in a manner that is not consistent with good business practices.
This section covers the following areas to help clarify some of the differences between ethics violations and unprofessional conduct:
- The ethics process
- Examples of unprofessional conduct
- Examples of ethics violations
- Distinction between unprofessional conduct and ethics violations
If a member feels that a fellow member has violated one of the 16 sections of GCSAA’s Code of Ethics, the following procedure will be initiated.
- The first step in the process is for the member to file a formal complaint against the member by stating the facts and complaint in a letter addressed to the president of GCSAA.
- The president then directs GCSAA’s director of member/chapter services and GCSAA’s legal counsel to conduct an initial evaluation/investigation to determine if the complaint as alleged constitutes a violation of GCSAA’s Code of Ethics.
- The GCSAA legal counsel and director of member/chapter services present the results of the initial evaluation/investigation to the president. The president determines if the complaint should be assigned to the Standards/Bylaws Committee for further investigation.
- Once the complaint is forwarded to the Standards/Bylaws Committee, the committee coordinates any further investigation and evaluation with GCSAA legal counsel and the director of member/chapter services.
- GCSAA’s legal counsel prepares a report of the investigation to the Standards/Bylaws Committee and the committee evaluates the evidence and makes a recommendation to the GCSAA Board of Directors if a violation has occurred and determines what discipline, if any, should be administered.
- The GCSAA Board of Directors considers the committee’s recommendation and makes its own determination.
- If a member is disciplined, that member has the right to a due process hearing with the GCSAA Board of Directors. After the due process hearing, the member may appeal to the membership before the discipline is administered.
- The disciplinary action can range from a private censure (written warning) to a suspension of membership for a given period of time, including indefinite suspension.
What kind of conduct is unprofessional, yet does not constitute a violation of the Code of Ethics?
- A member sends a job application and résumé to a course where a superintendent is already employed. If the applicant does not slander, provide false or misleading information, say or write defamatory statements about a fellow superintendent, including false statements about qualifications, experience or performance, then it is not a violation of GCSAA’s Code of Ethics.
However, this kind of conduct is certainly unprofessional in its nature and is a clear act in opposition to one of GCSAA’s professional tenets, supporting your fellow superintendent. Most would agree that trying to take the job of a fellow superintendent without knowledge of the present employment situation at that course is discourteous and unprofessional, but the right to free trade limits the association’s ability to discipline a member for such conduct. In these instances, GCSAA will recommend to the superintendent who sent the job application to the course that they refrain from such unprofessional conduct. In each of these instances GCSAA will investigate the conduct to ensure the superintendent has not violated the Code of Ethics in the manner in which the superintendent sought the employment.
- A superintendent, acting as a consultant, visits a course, as instructed by a golf course official, without first notifying the superintendent. If the superintendent consultant does not slander, provide false or misleading information, say or write defamatory comments about a fellow superintendent, including false statements about the fellow superintendent’s qualifications, experience or performance, then this act alone is not a violation of the Code of Ethics. Opinions concerning the course conditions, if supported by facts, are not a violation of the Code of Ethics.
Is appearing at the course without notifying the course superintendent in advance of the visit a violation of professional courtesy? As professional courtesy, a consultant should inquire of the course official if the superintendent is aware of their impending visit and if not, advise the course official that the consultant will be contacting the current superintendent to inform them of the course visit. However, if the course official instructs the consultant not to contact the current superintendent, then the consultant would not be acting unprofessionally by following the instructions of the course official.
- A superintendent arrives at a course and requests a free round of golf without first notifying the course superintendent. Again, this is not a violation of the GCSAA Code of Ethics, but another example of discourteous and unprofessional conduct. You should, as a courtesy, contact the superintendent and inform him/her of your plans to be on the course.
Code of Ethics Violations:
- A superintendent makes a false or an intentionally misleading statement about a fellow superintendent in any public forum (i.e. chapter meetings).
- A superintendent misrepresents his or her qualifications, membership classification or status on an application for employment.
- A superintendent undermines a fellow superintendent by improperly influencing that superintendent’s staff.
- A superintendent encourages or accepts considerations of value to improperly influence the superintendent’s business decision about a product or service. For example: a financial rebate to the superintendent on the purchase of equipment by the course. (This conduct is not only a violation of the Code of Ethics, but can result in criminal prosecution).
All of the above statements are Code of Ethics violations and may result in discipline if the complaints are supported by evidence garnered in the investigation.
Crossing the Line Between Courtesy and Ethics
The primary threshold between unprofessional business conduct and a violation of the Code of Ethics typically involves employment situations addressed in paragraph 12 (a) – (f) of the Code of Ethics.
If a member seeking employment:
a) provides false or misleading information to a prospective employer;
b) makes slanderous or defamatory statements concerning a fellow superintendent;
c) attempts to undermine or improperly influence the staff of a fellow superintendent;
d) attempts to deceive, mislead or misinform a fellow superintendent’s employer, supervisor, or fellow employees;
e) makes misleading, deceptive or false statements or claims about his/her professional qualifications, experience or performance; or
f) makes misleading, deceptive or false statements or claims about a member superintendent’s professional qualifications, experience or performance.
If the complaint involves conduct that is described above, an investigation will be undertaken and disciplinary action may result if a violation has occurred.
Get to know GCSAA’s Code of Ethics and encourage your fellow superintendents to practice good professional business conduct and comply with the GCSAA Code of Ethics.
Do’s and Don’ts of Superintendent Position Job Hunting
- Do use GCSAA’s and your chapter’s job referral service to apply for open positions.
- Do not send a résumé and job application to a course with a current superintendent if you are unsure of the employment circumstances regarding the superintendent at the course.
- Do contact the current superintendent if you hear that the position is open but are unsure of the circumstances.
- Do not send out résumés to multiple courses if you do not know the job status of the current superintendents for all of the courses for which you intend to send applications.
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