Codes have been developed by organizations and professional institutions and used in two main ways.

1. As guides to their members in the areas of ethical standards and standards of behaviour where they act as references in day-to-day decision-making.

2. They also act as statements of the organization's contract with society, setting out the ways that institutions and their members will behave in their everyday dealings with clients, employees, suppliers, communities and the general public.

The resulting codes have been refined and developed through use to become documents that aspire to enhance the ethics of all members of the organization and the organization itself. They actively focus the efforts of the organization in the selection and furtherance of their goals whilst recognizing their duties and responsibilities to the clients and communities they serve.

The codes therefore:

1. Define accepted standards of behaviour for the group.

2. Promote high standards of practice.

3. Provide benchmarks by which members can measure and develop their personal standards.

4. Define the ethical aspirations and identity of the group both internally and in relation to the public and communities around them.

5. Exhibit a level of maturity to the outside world.

Both the organization and the society benefit from the adoption of such codes. They develop an enhanced sense of community amongst the members and encourage a growth in the public approval and stature of organization for which they are written.