How can a business improve its own culture of ethical and responsible conduct? There are steps that businesses can take to make sure employees get off to an ethical start:

• Managers can make sure a strict code of ethics and a meaningful and current mission statement are in place and that both are clearly communicated to employees when they start working at an organization. The code of ethics and mission statement should be posted throughout the workplace.

• A company can offer orientation programs to new employees to inform them of the ethical standards in place and the conduct expected of them from the beginning of their careers at a company.

Companies should set the right tone at the beginning—show how serious they are about ethics and act with the highest regard to ethical behavior.

How can a business maintain its policy of ethical conduct in the workplace? When employees are faced with unethical situations on a daily basis, adhering to a company’s code of ethics can be difficult. Business leaders must take steps to make sure that all employees are making ethical decisions. This becomes even more of a challenge during tough economic times.

Companies often report trying many things to promote ethical conduct within their organizations. These efforts include having managers talk regularly with employees about acceptable and unacceptable business practices and check to determine that the code of ethics is being followed. Good managers focus on ethics themselves, setting clear examples for the behavior expected at all levels of the organization. Often, companies create a hotline for employees to anonymously report violations of the ethics code and make sure the allegations are followed up.

Companies also employ ongoing ethics training programs designed to boost the awareness of their employees about ethics issues. Such training occurs at all levels of the organization. From top management that makes strategic and far-reaching decisions, to frontline managers who use their decision-making skills to put out fires, to salespeople who work with vendors and must navigate ethics questions, to lower-level employees who make decisions regarding whether to follow the advice of their leaders, all levels of employees are involved in ethics training.

Of course, private-sector businesses are not alone in wanting ethics training programs for their employees. State and government organizations face similar challenges. Many law enforcement agencies—including local police, state police, and the FBI—have ethics training programs to help officers deal with cases in which there may be no clear ethical response.39 For example, when an officer responds to a domestic disturbance call but decides no crime has been committed, does he or she have a responsibility to try to prevent a potential escalation into a future criminal incident? By discussing, role-playing, and writing about these scenarios, the officers are more prepared for the ethical dilemmas facing them on the job.