What signals a giant step toward improving ethical performance throughout the company?

• A. Senior-level managers signal to employees that they believe ethics is a high priority.
• B. Employees volunteer to participate in ethics training.
• C. A formal code of ethics is published with executive endorsement.
• D. The company sets annual performance bonuses based on ethics metrics.

Answer: (A)

Signals from senior management that ethics are a high priority set the tone at the top and ripple throughout the organization. When leaders publicly emphasize ethical standards, back them with resources, and model the expected behavior themselves, employees perceive that ethics truly matters and align their actions accordingly. While a published code, ethics training, or tying bonuses to ethics metrics are valuable, they carry less impact if the leadership doesn’t demonstrate and reinforce the priority. So the most impactful step is leaders signaling that ethics is a strategic priority.