Code of Ethics
Yes, I think a code of ethics has the potential to shape an employee's behavior in a number of ways. First, for an employee with an inner desire to conform to ethical standards (perhaps a "J" type on the Myers-Briggs preference indicator, who has a preference for order and knowing/adhering to standards), a code of ethics would give an external marker on which to evaluate behavior. That type of employee would then know what was expected of him/her ethically, and would take steps to comply.
I can think of an example of this in my own business. We have a strongly stated ethics policy that teachers at our center do not date students. A teacher and a student became interested in each other, since the teacher knew about and cared about the policy, the two of them approached me as the center director to ask how to handle it. We created a "cooling off" period in which that student would stop being her particular student and would transfer to other classes, and in which the two of them would get to know each other without dating. Remarkably and maturely, they completely adhered to these guidelines out of respect for the code of ethics (and are now married!).
A code of ethics could also influence employees who are not internally motivated by ethical concerns by giving them guidelines of consequences. Even if the employee did not care about an ethical breech in and of itself, s/he might be motivated by the negative consequences stated in the policy that would follow the ethical deviation.
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