| Code of conduct | Code of ethics |
| It is specific and narrow in range. | It is general and broad in nature |
| It governs actions. | It governs decision making. |
| focused on compliance and rules etc | focused on values and principles. |
| generally addressed to and intended for employees alone. | publicly available and addressed to anyone with an interest in an institution’s activities. |
| generally require little judgment; One has to obey or incur a penalty, and the code provides a fairly clear set of expectations about which actions are required, acceptable or prohibited. | wide-ranging and non-specific, enable employees to make independent judgments about the most appropriate course of action. |