CONSEQUENCES OF WHISTLEBLOWING
Whistleblowers often face an unsettling situation regarding the outcome of their act of whistleblowing. The response to an act of whistleblowing usually varies from situation to situation. The possible responses could be correcting the situation or the wrongdoing, possible retaliation against the whistleblower and the response of the whistleblower against the reprisal of the organization towards him.
The whistleblower's power and the power of his adversaries who are a part of the more dominant coalition would determine the consequences of his whistleblowing. The climate prevailing in the organization in relation to a proper and constructive handling of disputes also will affect the consequence of whistleblowing.
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Organizations that are more established and prosperous will have a more favorable way of looking at acts of whistleblowing and will have more resources at its disposal to devote to investigate the claims of the whistleblowers. On the other hand those firms which are less prosperous may see acts of whistleblowing as a threat to their existence and, have a hostile climate in general towards whistleblowing. The acts of whistleblowing may be perceived differently by different people in the organization. The superiors and the supervisors of the whistleblower may see such an act as questioning their ability, integrity and conduct. The fellow employees and colleagues may perceive the whistleblower as being disloyal to the company and the owners and the top management may see it as an effort on the part of the whistleblower to destroy the organizational image and threaten its stability. It is thus difficult to predict the outcomes across organizations in case of whistleblowing. A number of factors determine the outcome but these factors and the outcome itself vary from organization to organization and from individual to individual (Paul and Townsend,
Corruption is a persistent problem that plagues the world and it knows no boundaries. Transparency International defines it as the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain” (2013). For the purposes of this thread, ‘corruption’ is defined as any individual, collective, or structural act or process that permits the use of public authority or position for private gain. This definition captures the broad and many ways individuals and institutions abuse power and the public trust. In regard to whistleblowing, much conflict stems from the context in which the whistleblower is viewed.
The popular sitcom that is now one of today’s pop culture`s favorites, is based on the original British sitcom The Office and later began to air on NBC. With characters that are relatable to any office environment, The Office does cause many to question the violation of ethics in this sitcom. The show features Michael Scott the manager at Dunder Mifflin, who is the center of many questionable actions. Because every show needs a good love story; Pam and Jim are introduced as the office lovers who win the award for “relationship goals”. Besides the main characters, the cast consists of unmotivated employees.
With the economy beginning to rebound, many companies are looking for every way possible to save money and/or maximize profits. One of the biggest costs incurred by any business is labor. Consequently, employers sometimes attempt to minimize this expense by utilizing independent contractors instead of employees. There are potential risks for employers who mischaracterize an employee as an independent contractor, because, while it may save payroll taxes and other benefit costs in the short term, it may lead to penalties on such taxes as well as other inadvertent violations of worker’s compensation laws, FMLA, etc, which each hold separate penalties for violation.
The article’s purpose is to clarify the thin line between patriotism and treason in a whistleblowing action. Depending on the information available for the public to digest, many people could have different opinions on the whistleblower (s) and their intentions. The author discusses a case of Tim Priest, who disagreed with his management’s new policies and the way they were applied in practice, thus publicly announcing the hidden truths about the department. Priest worked for the police department as a detective sergeant. Questions of his intentions about disclosing the authority’s dishonest actions were raised amidst the investigation.
Bouville (2008) describes whistleblowing as an act for an employee of revealing what he believes to be unethical or described as an illegal behaviour to a higher management (internal whistleblowing) or to an external authority or the public (external whistleblowing). Whistle-blowers are often seen as traitors to an organisation as they are considered to have violated the loyalty terms of that organisation while some are described as heroes that defend the values and ethics of humanity rather than loyalty to their company. In the medical community, it is the duty of a practitioner aware of patient care being threatened to make it known to those in charge and for those in charge to address the issues and act on it. The General Medical Council (GMC) stipulated this act of raising concern as a doctor’s duty in its Good medical practice guide. This paper will be based on the analysis of the experience of whistle blowers, reasons why they chose or chose not to take such actions and personal opinions on whistleblowing in the medical community.
Whistle blowing is a controversial topic in the professional industry. Whistle blowing is the act of speaking out against a fellow colleague or even a friend that has done something non-ethical or illegal in the workplace. A whistleblower raises concerns about the wrongdoing inside of the workplace. Employees hesitate to become a whistleblower because of the idea of becoming a snitch on fellow employees and having a bad rep around the office. This concern was lowered in 1989 with a law called the Whistleblower Protection Act that protects federal government employees in the United States from retaliatory action for voluntarily disclosing information about dishonest or illegal activities occurring at a government organization (whistleblowers.gov).
In the same study “quantitative and qualitative analyses are conducted of 33 cases of internal and external whistleblowers wrongfully fired for reporting wrongdoing” found that “The choice of internal versus external channels may vary depending on the employee's level of education, training, or skills (Terry).” They found “highly skilled or educated employees likely rely on internal reporting channels, while less educated employees often select external channels (Miceli and Near, 1992, 1984) (Terry).” Also “highly educated or skilled employees often have greater knowledge of where to report wrongdoing, including possible alternative reporting channels within
With the emergence of unethical practices found in international corporations, whistleblowing has been more and more common. A whistleblower is a person who exposes any kind of information that is deemed illegal, immoral, or dishonest. In SNC-Lavalin, the whistleblower was justified. In this case, the senior executives were paying bribes and taking money from mega projects won under the Gadhafi regime (Wikipedia, 2015, n.p). There are several issues in this case.
I want to learn more about the whistleblowing in the country that I am studying, so I looked up the journey of whistleblowing in the America. U.S. has a long history on whistleblowing. The first whistleblower is Benjamin Franklin in 1773, which
Two tragic incidents, the Challenger Space Shuttle crash of 1986, and the Three Mile Island near meltdown of 1979, have greatly devastated our nation. Both these disasters involved failures of communication among ordinary professional people, working in largely bureaucratic companies. Two memos called the “Smoking Gun Memos,” authored by R. M. Boisjoly, of Morton Thiokol, and D. F. Hallman, of Babcook and Wilcox, will always be associated these two incidents. Unfortunately, neither of these memos were successful in preventing the accidents of the Challenger and the Three Mile Island near meltdown.
First I will be telling you about the pressure of being a “whistleblower”. In Fahrenheit 451 the pressure of being a “whistleblower” is so real, everyone is told to rat out everyone who has a book in their household, if they find out they have a book in the home it is burned to the ground. This is related to our society because we are pressured to do what is right, and part of my belief system is to do what is right and to point out what is wrong. For example if someone were to gossip behind their back I would try to stand up and tell them it is wrong and tell the person what the others said
“Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage” (Confucius Quotes, 2012). The person who does her duty, at great risk to her own interest, when most others would defy from fear is considered a hero (Schafer, 2004). Dr. Nancy Olivieri is a hero who blew the whistle on Apotex, University of Toronto (U of T) and the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC); and fought for her academic rights till the end. Whistle-blowing refers to actions of an employee that breach her loyalty to the organization but serves the public interest. When other constraints proved to be ineffective, whistle-blowing acts as a check on authority of the organization. Whistle-blowers expose severe forms of corruption, waste, and abuse of power within their organization and put the organization in a position where it is answerable to the public, thus enhancing its accountability (Cooper, 2006, pg. 198-205).
Although Hollate introduced a compliance program and code of conduct when it went public, the programs were put on “the back burner”. This outcome is not surprised for that the company does not pay attention to the programs. It is, therefore, important to “reinforce the values” and “employee a boundary system when actions are inconsistent with the code of conduct” for the purpose of early detection. Tyco provides a good example after its scandal, by initiating “mandatory annual compliance training for all its employees worldwide” and creating the Tyco Guide to Ethical Conduct to familiarize employees with company expectations and help them make ethical decisions. As tips is the most useful method for internal and external sources to detect frauds, the whistleblower hotline should be well communicated with encouragement on reporting any suspicious activity. In addition, to improve the effectiveness of the compliance program and code of conducts, Hollate should implement management monitoring and evaluation on a regular
The legal definition of the word steal is the wrongful or willful taking of money or property belonging to someone else with the intent to deprive the owner of its use or benefit either temporarily or permanently. Simple stated, to steal something means to take someone’s property without permission. Theft is the act of stealing and is defined by Ivancevich, Konopake and Matteson as the unauthorized taking, consuming or transfer of money or goods owned by an organization. The purpose of this paper is to explain and discuss employee theft in the workplace. The goal is to provide information concerning the motives, methods and effects of employee theft.
Whistle blowing is an attempt of an employee or former employee of a company to reveal what he or she believes to be a wrongdoing in or by a company or organization. Whistle blowing tries to make others aware of practices that are considered illegal or immoral. If the wrongdoing is reported to someone in the company it is said to be internal. Internal whistle blowing tends to do less damage to the company. There is also external whistle blowing. This is where the wrongdoing is reported to the media and brought to the attention of the public. This type of whistle blowing tends to affect the company in a negative way because of bad publicity. It is said that whistle blowing is personal if the wrongdoing affects the whistle blower alone (like sexual harassment), and said to be impersonal if the wrongdoing affects other people. Many people whistle blow for two main reasons: morality and revenge.