What type of organizations draft codes of ethics?

• A. Government agencies.
• B. Individual consumers.
• C. Membership organizations such as professional societies, civic organizations, and trade associations.
• D. Financial institutions.

Answer: (C)

Codes of ethics are formal standards created to guide how people within a group should behave. They’re most typically drafted by membership organizations—professional societies, civic organizations, and trade associations—because these groups bring together practitioners who share a field and need clear rules to maintain integrity, public trust, and professional conduct. While government agencies may publish ethics guidelines for their employees or for regulated activities, the familiar idea of a code of ethics that governs a member community comes from these associations. Individual consumers don’t draft such codes, and although financial institutions may have internal ethical policies, the defining source of a code of ethics for a member group is membership organizations like professional societies, civic groups, and trade associations.