“Shareholders would expect a company like ours to invest in research, marketing and manufacturing. But there is another priority investment for Merck: its ethics, values and standards,” says Jacqueline Brevard, who has served as Merck's Chief Ethics Officer since 1995.     We operate in a dynamic business environment that is growing more complex and competitive with each passing year. Our industry is highly regulated–from product approvals to negotiating reimbursement rates–and faces increasing globalization and rapid advances in science and technology. Within this environment, we make decisions that affect not only the men and women of Merck, but also the people who rely on our medicines every day.     While our code of ethics is lengthy, it can be summed up succinctly: in every decision we make and every action we take, we strive to do the right thing. As Ms. Brevard points out, “You do not have a rigorous ethics culture just because you have a code of conduct. It starts with senior management championing ethical behavior and modeling it at every opportunity. It lives on with all Merck people embracing our ethics and applying them to their work, day-in and day-out.”     We believe our emphasis on ethics benefits our business. It motivates our people, and helps to inspire confidence and trust among doctors who prescribe our medicines as well as regulators who approve them.     We care deeply about the results we achieve–the drugs we discover, our financial performance and our employees’ satisfaction–but we also care about how we achieve those results, both inside and outside the walls of Merck. No matter how tough the business environment, our ethics and core values will continue to guide our success.