A code of ethics is a set of principles of conduct within an organization that guide decision making and behavior.The purpose of the code is to provide members and other interested persons with guidelines for making ethical choices in the conduct of their work. code of ethics issued by a business is a particular kind of policy statement. A properly framed code is, in effect, a form of legislation within the company binding on its employees, with specific sanctions for violation of the code. If such sanctions are absent, the code is just a list of pieties.