Final answer:
Employees and government agencies, along with suppliers and customers, share the responsibility of complying with government agency standards of conduct. Corporate governance plays a crucial role in ensuring ethical business practices and legal compliance. Accountability is central, with laws in place to protect rights and ensure fair practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Employees, government agencies, and other actors (such as suppliers and customers) are all responsible for complying with government agency standards of conduct. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an agency of the federal government responsible for ensuring water quality standards, which means that businesses operating in sectors that affect water quality must comply with EPA regulations.
Additionally, corporate governance structures like the board of directors, auditing firms and outside investors play a vital role in ensuring that companies behave ethically and follow the law as seen in the case of Lehman Brothers where the failure of corporate governance led to the provision of inaccurate financial information to investors. Overall accountability is a key principle; with laws designed to be clear, publicized, stable, and evenly applied to protect rights and property.