Compare the ethics issues of companies to those of public organizations such as government entities and police

Answer 1

The biggest differences stem from the difference in priorities.

A corporation has an obligation to profit the shareholders, or, failing that, mitigate their losses. They are in business, for business. They want to make money. NOTHING else matters, no matter what they tell you. For example, it might be the right thing for a corporation to use recycled paper. But if the company isn't making money, using recycled paper could actually be a huge scandal as the company might have made some money using non-recycled paper. Their bottom line is always in dollars and cents.

A public entity receives income from the public (be it federal, state, local) and has a specific set of goals, all of which in some way or another boils down to serving the public. A police department, for example, isn't a revenue source for a city, or a profitable business (with perhaps, the exception of some rural town on a interstate that generates revenue from speeding tickets).

Answer 2

Unlike in private companies, the officers and employees do not declare their assets and liabilities. For those in the public sector, the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is a United States federal law passed in the wake of the Watergate Scandal that sets financial disclosure requirements for public officials and restrictions on former government employees' lobbying activities.