Many large employers have ethics programs of various types. Large organizations frequently establish ethics committees to help ensure ethical and socially responsible behavior. Top-level leadership participation in these formal mechanisms gives them more clout. Committee members include a top-management representative, plus other managers throughout the organization.

The committee establishes policies for ethics and social responsibility and may conduct an ethical audit of the firm’s activities. In addition, committee members might review complaints about ethical problems. Company ethics teams often establish an ethics hotline that enables workers who have questions about ethical behavior or want to report an ethics violation speak with a company official. Hotlines of this nature are more likely to be used when employees through-out the organization do not fear retaliation for reporting an ethical violation.