Which piece of legislation has prompted many American companies to develop internal ethics policies and procedures? The Sarbanes-Oxley Act created new standards for business and corporate accountability and provides penalties for acts of misconduct. The law stipulates new financial reporting obligations, including compliance with internal controls and procedures that must certify the validity of their financial records. These accounting controls implemented were intended to reduce unethical/illegal actions within an organization (Mathis & Jackson, 2011, p. 16). What are the key concepts related to business ethics that should be considered in developing the ethics training program? Describe the elements you will include in your ethics training program (at least five). There are several concepts to consider when an organization creates an ethics training program. An ethics program will link employee behavior to the key ethical standards desired by the organization's leaders. Usually, there are surprising disparities between an organization's ideal values ​​and the values ​​that are primarily displayed by employee conduct (Complete Guide to Ethics Management: An Ethics Toolkit for Managers, n.d.). Ongoing awareness and communication regarding moral principles in the workplace will promote openness and integrity which are essential elements in the workplace and in team building. When employees form a vigorous coalition regarding their moral principles and the company's principles, an individual will tend to respond with powerful motivation and performance. The elements included in an ethics program are: A written code ...... middle of paper ... compliance program. Additionally, the Human Resources Director must be sure to include information in the program regarding the above items as well as comply with federal, state and local legal requirements regarding discrimination, processing errors, unionization and other questions. The human resources manager must keep abreast of any changes in laws (Mathis & Jackson, 2011, pp. 3,4). Additional responsibilities include ensuring policies are rewritten as needed, documentation and mandatory training are signed off by every employee from top to bottom.Works CitedComplete Guide to Ethics Management: An Ethics Toolkit for managers. (nd). Retrieved January 17, 2014 from the Free Management Guide: http://managementhelp.org/businessethics/ethics-guide.htmMathis, R. and Jackson, H. (2011). Human resources management (13 ed.). Mason, OH: Southwest, Cengage Learning.