30 D
EFINING
M
OMENTS
Many thoughtful executives have tried to address the vagueness
issue—60 percent of American companies now have detailed codes
of conduct, designed to translate basic company values into specific
terms. One-third of American firms have ethics training programs
or ethics officers.
4
Many are now working with law firms and public
accounting firms to make these programs as effective as possible.
But even these comprehensive ethics programs are of little help with
right-versus-right issues.
The problem is not vagueness, but the fact that these initiatives
focus overwhelmingly on problems of misconduct and wrongdo-
ing—stealing, taking bribes, sexual harassment, falsifying documents,
and the like. In fact, many recent efforts are responses to