To the Point By Deborah Sexton

Doing the Right Things What do our readers have to say about meetings-industry ethics? B

usiness ethics is a hot topic everywhere these days, and the meetings industry is no excep-

tion. When Convene recently conducted an e-panel survey on ethics, we were overwhelmed by the number of responses (close to three times more than our last online survey). Clearly, readers had a lot to say about the topic.

The majority of respondents (61 percent) felt that meetings professionals generally operate in an ethical manner but that there is some room for improvement. Specific questions had to do with invitations to events and acceptance of gifts, especially as they relate to site visits.

I agree that the vast majority of meet- ings professionals conduct themselves with high levels of integrity and professionalism, even amid the increasing demands placed on them. But, as an industry, there’s always more we can do.

After all, this is a time when many meet- ing professionals are looking to gain seats at the executive table, and when we’re under more pressure to improve ROI and demon- strate the business necessity of face-to-face meetings. Each and every one of us must demonstrate the utmost professionalism and highest standards. Yes, this is a situation where the abuses of a single person reflect badly on everyone.

More than anything, I think this is a topic that needs more discussion. Too often, ethical dilemmas are like the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. Perhaps our anonymous survey made it easier for people to say things they might

10 pcma convene October 2010

never say in person to their colleagues. At PCMA, we’ve developed a code of ethics to set a high standard of profes- sional behavior for our members and help them evaluate their relationships with their organizations, suppliers, and colleagues. I encourage you to review these principles at www.pcma.org/documents/code_of_ethics .pdf. We’re also considering how we can continue the conversation in other outlets and venues. For now, a wonderful oppor- tunity if you can make it is an educational session on ethics sponsored by PCMA’s POWER chapter in Pittsburgh on Nov. 19. I also would encourage your organiza- tion to create more specific policies that are appropriate for the nature of your business, your industry, and your staff. One size does not necessarily fit all. Our survey found that many organizations’ ethical codes aren’t specific to the meetings business and don’t include specific limits on acceptable gifts. The more detailed these policies are, the less guessing people have to do on their own. Sometimes doing the right thing is easy. Sometimes it’s more complicated. And sometimes it’s just a little unclear. Let’s work together for more dialogue and more specific guidelines that can help our industry be the absolute best it can be. n

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BALANCE FORWARD: Helping reinforce the importance of doing the right things, the CMP exam now includes questions on ethics. For more on Convene’s e-panel on ethics, check out this month’s CMP Series article, “The Appear- ance of Impropriety” (p. 59). And for more on ethical dilem- mas, be sure to read Leading by Example (p. 67), which profiles Harry Markopolos, the Madoff whistle- blower.

Deborah Sexton President and CEO deborah.sexton@pcma.org

www.pcma.org