Most company statements cover situations that closely pertain to that company and its industry. They cover areas such as compliance with the law, standards of conduct, insider trading, procedures to report fraud, illegal drugs and alcohol, and how to treat others. These are necessary and very valuable, but clearly not enough. Ethics are a series of personal decisions. No matter how many guidelines exist, there will always be those who push, break, or circumvent them.
Ethics are about trust and a sense of fair play.
It's knowing how to treat people the right way. My parents did not teach me about business, but they did teach me how to make good choices. My father had only an eighth-grade education and didn't study ethics in school, but he ran his gasoline service station with the highest of standards. I still remember clearly the high ethical standards he lived by and instilled in others. Wash. My father's Union Service Station was located next to a busy intersection, across the street from a grocery supermarket.