Guidance for Writing a Code of Ethics Guidance for Writing a Code of Ethics by Chris MacDonald, Ph.D. Draft These guidelines are in no particular order. Different kinds of documents serve different purposes. A code of ethics should be tailored to the needs and values of your organization.
Many ethics codes have two components.
First, an aspirational section, often in the preamble, that outlines what the organization aspires to, or the ideals it hopes to live up to. Second, an ethics code will typically list some rules or principles , which members of the organization will be expected to adhere to. Often the principles or values listed in an ethics document will be listed in rough order of importance to the organization. The ordering need not be strict, but generally the value or principle listed first will have a natural prominence. Think carefully about the process by which you create your new code.