Limitations of Codes of Ethics

1. Codes are restricted to general and vague wording. They cannot be straightaway applied to all situations. It is impossible to foresee the full range of moral problems that can arise in a complex profession like engg.

2. It is easy for different clauses of codes to come into conflict with each other. Usually codes provide no guidance as to which clause should have priority in those cases, creating moral dilemmas.

3. They cannot serve as the final moral authority for professional conduct. If the code of a professional society is taken as the last word, it means that we are getting into a particular set of conventions i.e. ethical conventionalism.

4. Andrew Oldenquist and Edward Slowter pointed out how the existence of separate codes for different professional societies can give members the feeling that ethical conduct is more relative than it is and that it can convey to the public the view that none is ‘really right’. The current codes are by no means perfect but are definitely steps in the right direction.