Lee MM (2003) ‘On codes of ethics: the individual and performance’ Performance Improvement Quarterly, 16, 2, 72-89 1 On codes of ethics, the individual and performance. Monica Lee Lancaster University Abstract In this paper I contend that, although codes of ethics are very good things and could potentially improve performance by acting as a normalising agent for a profession, they are not problem-free. In particular, they lend themselves to reification (making something abstract into something concrete and thus, reduce the potential for their full impact), they are time dependent (that is, they are relevant only to the time in which they were formulated), subject to different lenses (that is, they (that is, they are relevant only to the culture in which they were formulated), and emotionally challenged (that is, they are rarely formulated in a way that encompasses the emotions around the particular situation),. An individual’s role in a situation is hard to delineate via codes of ethics and, thus, these codes of ethics should be seen as a proposition, rather than as a solution for performance problems regarding ethical challenges. Introduction I am not suggesting that codes of ethics are necessarily bad. Much of the research says that codes of ethics are an important tool in improving ethical performance. Codes are a way for addressing ethical lapses uncovered by research and link the ethical climate of organizations to the presence of, and training in, codes of ethics. However, in the former case, the research doesn’t actually suggest the code of ethics, it merely offers it as a solution to a problem. In the latter case, the focus on ethics might raise the overall concern for ethical behaviour, not necessarily the actual adherence to the codes at the moment an ethical dilemma is encountered. But I am concerned that codes of ethics do not necessarily promote ethical behaviour, and they do not always provide the individual with appropriate guidance on the “ethical” thing to do when confronted with a real ethical situation. This article explores my concern. Specifically, I have concerns in four particular areas in which codes of ethics lapse: reification, time dependence, individual understanding of the nature of ethical codes, and the challenge of emotion. Before exploring them, however, I shall set the scene by looking at what is meant by codes of ethics and a related concept, the nature of authority within a performance environment. What are codes of ethics and why do organisations establish them? Many writers have questioned the way in which society appears to be progressing. Dalla Costa,(1998) says ‘When the government is focused on competitiveness, and society is fixated on budgets, growth assumes greater importance than quality of life’ (p. 59), and Korten (1995) argues for the ‘creation of life-centred societies in which the economy is but one of the instruments of good living – not the purpose of human