We rarely hear much about high ethical standards. That suggests that most people are doing the right thing most of the time.

It’s the breakdown in these standards that make big headlines, prompt criminal trials, reform legislation and cause personal introspection.

Ethical actions in business matter for a simple reason: They breed success.

“A strong code of morality in any business is the first step toward its success,” Kenneth Blanchard, the One-Minute Manager guru, wrote in The Power of Ethical Management (William Morrow Publishing, 1988) co-authored with Norman Vincent Peal, the advocate of the power of positive thinking.

Civilization depends on proper ethics. Consider what happens when scandal—unethical behavior—hits one of society’s major institutions:

• Government scandals, such as widespread obstruction of justice charges during the Nixon administration, cause people to question the validity of government in general and their leaders’ authority.

• Church scandals, such as the Catholic Church sexual allegations against priests, lead people to question their faith and their leaders and even abandon the institutions most closely identified with teachings that undergird society’s moral standards.

• Corporate scandals, such as Enron’s financial dishonesty, cause investors to pull their money out of the stock market, which undermines the nation’s economy. It hurts all companies that are trying to access capital markets, which can reduce economic and job growth. It makes it difficult for all companies to attract and keep top-quality suppliers and employees.

“Once trust is lost, it is not easily or quickly regained,” says Linnea McCord, associate professor of business law at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. “It is not possible to have a successful stock market and economy for long unless everyone lives up to their ethical responsibilities.”

It is often innocent bystanders who suffer when a major institution of society is unethical. Employees uninvolved in the wrongful activity lose their jobs. Companies that strive to do the right thing are tarred with the same brush as the Enrons and Adelphias of the world.

Still, companies that demonstrate that they are squeaky clean, benefit in the long run. Their ethics becomes what differentiates them in the marketplace. Customers, skilled workers and vendors will choose them over unethical rivals.