1 ETHICS 1.1 Definition of ethical behavior Ethics is a philosophical term derived from the Greek word "ethos" meaning character or custom (Sims, 1992). Ethical behavior is behavior that is morally accepted as good and right, as opposed to bad and wrong (Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz & Fitzgerald, 2006). An ethical dilemma requires a person to make a choice between competing sets of principles based on how morally good and right they are versus how bad and wrong they are (Wood et al., 2006). While striving to always do the right thing, – with this paradigm – sound ethical conduct will likely become second nature in today's world (Zazaian, 2006).1.2 Ethical Behavior in Today's Modern Organizations Philosopher and theologian Paul Tillich once said : subject, it is a life put to the test in a thousand daily moments” (Lagan, 2006, page 72). This wisdom is relevant to today's modern organizations that are challenged in every way to uphold the high ethical and moral standards required by the public for the betterment of society (Kranacher, 2006). Organizations have established codes of conduct to guide their employees regarding their ethical responsibilities, while seeking to minimize unethical behavior and resolve ethical dilemmas appropriately (Kranacher, 2006). Unethical behaviors such as lying to important customers and providing insufficient or inaccurate information to shareholders can lead to ill-informed strategic decisions and problems for organizations (Collins, 2006). Just look and reflect on the fate of the large companies HIH Insurance and One Tel, which both suffered collapses due to their unethical decisions (Wood et al., 2006).2 ETHICAL BEHAVIOR POLICIES AND PRACTICES2.1 Why ethical behavior. ..... middle of paper ...... The challenge of ethical behavior in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics 11 (7): 505.Verschoor, Curtis C. 2006. The value of an ethical corporate culture. Strategic Finance 88 (5): 21-3. Von der Embse, Thomas J. and Mayur S. Desai. 2004. Organizational Culture, Ethics, and Business Ethics. Information Management and Cyber ​​Security 12 (2-3): 146.Wood, Jack, Rachid Zeffane, Michele Fromholtz, and Anneke Fitzgerald. 2006. Organizational Behavior: Fundamental Concepts and Applications. Milton: Wiley.Zakak, Alexandra and Steve Douvas. 1999. Insurers need a comprehensive ethics policy. Business journal. New York: newspaper article. Zazaian, Michael. 2006. Contract Management and Business Ethics: A Perspective and Evaluation. Contract Management 46 (6): 24-31.(no author). 1994. The Managers' Guide. Singapore: World Publishing Printers Pte. Ltd.