Training, monitoring, and correcting are just as important. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines emphasize that the effectiveness of an ethics program depends on the individual business. Creativity can go a long way toward making an ethics program effective. Large companies, such as BellSouth, maintain a confidential ethics hotline to give employees an opportunity to discuss sensitive ethical issues. Other companies, such as Hewlett Packard, hold regular discussions on hypothetical ethics problems.
Effectiveness depends, ultimately, on the commitment from management.
Reaching Above the Law Ethics programs that meet the minimum Federal Sentencing Guidelines only address minimum legal standards. Business people make ethical decisions about questions that the law does not answer. For example, U.S. privacy law gives little guidance as to what companies may do with the data they collect on individuals customers. By contrast, European law reflects a deep concern about the misuse of information about individuals. Business ethics policies can go beyond the minimum of the law, set expectations higher, and establish a corporate culture.