Final answer:
A code of ethics represents ethical rules that a company expects of its employees. It establishes professional standards and responsible conduct, reflecting norms from various approaches in normative moral theories, such as consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics.
Step-by-step explanation:
A code of ethics represents ethical rules and standards of what a company expects of its employees. These rules are not necessarily legal or mandatory in the sense that they are imposed by law, but they are vital for maintaining professional standards and responsible conduct within an organization. Codes of ethics are prominent in many professional fields, not just in business. For instance, fields like medicine, engineering, and technology have their respective ethical standards that professionals are expected to adhere to. The IEEE-CS's adoption of the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice is a prime example of a code that outlines the ethical obligations of software engineers.
In relation to normative moral theories, normative ethics plays a crucial role. It seeks to provide answers to what constitutes moral behavior, establishing criteria or principles for identifying norms and standards to guide correct behavior. There are different approaches to normative ethics, including consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethics, each distinguished by different criteria used for determining moral conduct.