This week Ethisphere announced the 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies and Symantec made the list for the fourth year in a row. I was proud to represent Symantec at the awards event, and while there I reflected on what such an award really means to us. It is an endorsement that we are doing some things right; more importantly, however, it sets an expectation for our employees and other stakeholders that we will continue to strive to act with integrity and exercise good business judgment. 

Receiving this award is a reminder that ethics and compliance doesn’t just happen at a company; rather, it's an intentional act which requires participation by employees at all levels of the organization. This collective action happens because a company devotes resources and energy to building a strong ethical corporate culture. We must continually assess our programs and evaluate what we can and should be doing better. Transparency is also central to our effort as it requires us to share our successes and challenges with our stakeholders. 

Future awards are never guaranteed - but Symantec will continuously work on building a culture of ethics and integrity and improving our policies and processes. This award is as much a base for future goals as it is an achievement.