Ethics Scenario #40: Women's Education Network of North Dakota

40. Jennifer is the executive director of the Women’s Education Network of North Dakota, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt organization. She is attending her annual professional conference at the Hope Springs Retreat and Conference Center in Palm Springs, California. She looks forward to her conference every year, and thinks of it as a paid vacation. While there are a few actual working sessions where her colleagues discuss issues that affect their professional tasks for their respective organizations, the culture has evolved more to escaping the day-to-day rigors of being in a high-pressure environment and simply relaxing, with conference organizers taking great pains to make the conference as enjoyable as possible for attendees. Golf outings, luaus, shopping tours, whale watches, and tennis tournaments, and evening shows far outnumber these working sessions. Jennifer spends some time at the beach, escaping the often frigid temperatures of her home base in Fargo, ND. This morning, after a sumptuous breakfast that is included in the conference registration, she decides to make an appointment for a massage and pedicure, and charges it to her room rather than using the organization’s credit card. One of the perks of being an executive director of a nonprofit where my salary is much lower than what I could earn in the private sector is taking advantage of this week of relaxation, she muses.

a. Is Jennifer being ethical?

b. Are those who organize this “conference” being ethical?