...“Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibility” by Sissela Bok Whistleblowers "sound an alarm from within the very organization in which they work, aiming to spotlight neglect or abuses that threaten the public interest” , according to Sissela Bok. In my opinion, “whistleblowing” can save an organization from operating unethical activities, however, it can be prejudicial to future employment of the whistleblower. I believe that under certain circumstances, whistle blowing is necessary for the company’s welfare, but when the whistleblower’s own career is at risk, is it worth it? Furthermore, in most circumstances when a person's career is not at risk, I believe that there is still no ethical obligation to blow the whistle. Simply put, per Sissela’s point of view, people have a moral obligation to prevent serious harm to others if they can do it with little cost to themselves. In most cases, the issue is to have the assurance that there is little cost to the denouncer, which is not necessarily true. Personally, there would be very few situations where I would blow the whistle because of the uncertainty of maintaining my employment. Summarizing, whistle blowing is seldom done successfully, however, when an employee is brave enough to speak out against unethical practices of the business in which they work, often, they are regarded as heroes and can save a company from losing everything and prevent harm for many of its customers and other employees. Whistle blowing...
Words: 334 - Pages: 2
... Since that time Whistleblowing, or the deliberate non-obligatory act of disclosure, which gets onto public record and is made by a person who has or had privileged access to data or information of an organization, about non-trivial illegality or other wrongdoing whether actual, suspected or anticipated which implicates and is under control of that organization, to an external entity having potential to rectify the wrongdoing.1 Both federal and state statutes and regulations have been created to protect these individuals from various forms of retaliation. Even without a statute, numerous decisions encourage and protect whistleblowing on grounds of public policy. While many of us can see the criminal and political ramifications of whistleblowing there is still one area that can often be seen as a more personal one…that of the ethical debate. As stated in Lars Lindblom’s article Dissolving the Moral Dilemma of Whistleblowing, “The ethical debate on whistleblowing concerns centrally the conflict between the right to political free speech and the duty of loyalty to the organization where one works.”2 The political philosophy of John Rawls that can be applied to this dilemma, show that the requirement of loyalty, in the sense that is needed to create the moral dilemma of whistleblowing, is inconsistent with that theory. In this sense, there is no moral dilemma of whistleblowing. This position has been labeled extreme in that it says that whistleblowing is always morally...
Words: 1156 - Pages: 5
...Applying Ethical Theories to Whistleblowing Didi G. Wright Stevenson University Every day as professionals, we are faced with challenging ethical dilemmas to report perceived wrongdoings or some breach of trust by our coworkers. As individuals, each of us has set of values and beliefs that we adhere to and used as guides or moral compasses when making difficult decisions. Cynthia Cooper like many of us was faced with a similar conflict which she was hesitant to speak out because of the many people involved and the consequences of her action. If I were in the place of Cooper, I believe I would have spoken out and tell the truth after all other alternatives to resolve the issue had been considered or rejected. Bok cautioned us to weigh our responsiblity to serve the public interest against our responsibility to institution and colleagues. Similarly, I believe duty and loyalty lie with both the public that I serve and my colleagues with whom I serve to tell the truth. As a public health professional, my actions or inactions can have dire consequences. Therefore I am required to uphold the public trust. Many organizations like mine have a code of ethics that require its employees to expose inappropriate behaviors whenever and wherever they are uncovered. Additionally, employees are required to abide by these rules of ethical behaviors and always do the right. Aristotle’s theory deemphasizes rules, consequences and particular acts and places the focus...
Words: 1069 - Pages: 5
...Below is a free essay on "Whistleblowing" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Whistleblowing is a highly controversial and widely discussed topic in today’s society due to many high profile cases including the circumstances surrounding the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion and what was documented in the movie The Insider about the tobacco industry. Ethically, the decision for someone to whistleblow is a tremendous one. The person needs to weigh many factors and take many things into consideration before making that step. This paper will use the movie The Insider, Ethical Theory and Business and material collected from the internet to (1) discuss definitions and conditions of whistleblowing; what motivates whistleblowers; ethical and other considerations including risks and typical results of whistleblowing cases. Definitions and conditions of whistleblowing “A whistleblower is an individual that believes that his or her organization is engaged in or willingly permits unethical, unlawful or otherwise reprehensible activities. Whistleblowers bring attention to the objectionable activity and attempt to effect change. Whistleblowers generally report these actions internally and may ultimately resort to reporting these activities to external authorities or interested parties.” (http:cosign.scu. edu505set01003WhistleblowerProfile.htm) In the essay “Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibility” published in Ethical Theory and...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...CHAPTER 8 WHISTLEBLOWING AND EMPLOYEE LOYALTY* Three Mile Island. In early 1983, almost four years after the near meltdown at Unit 2, two officials in the Site Operations Office of General Public Utilities reported a reckless company effort to clean up the contaminated reactor. Under threat of physical retaliation from superiors, the GPU insiders released evidence alleging that the company had rushed the TMI cleanup without testing key maintenance systems. Since then, the Three Mile Island mop-up has been stalled pending a review of GPU’s management.1 The releasing of evidence of the rushed cleanup at Three Mile Island is an example of whistleblowing. Norman Bowie defines whistleblowing as “the act by an employee of informing the public on the immoral or illegal behavior of an employer or supervisor.”2 Ever since Daniel Elsberg’s release of the Pentagon Papers, the question of whether an employee should blow the whistle on his company or organization has become a hotly contested issue. Was Elsberg right? Is it right to report the shady or suspect practices of the organization one works for? Is one a stool pigeon or a dedicated citizen? Does a person have an obligation to the public that overrides his obligation to his employer or does he simply betray a loyalty and become a traitor if he reports his company? There are proponents on both sides of the issue––those who praise whistle-blowers as civic heroes and those who condemn them as “finks.” Glen and Shearer who wrote...
Words: 5589 - Pages: 23
...Loyalty in Business? Author(s): John Corvino Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 41, No. 1/2, The Role of the Business Person in the Fabric of Society (Nov. - Dec., 2002), pp. 179-185 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25074914 Accessed: 27/11/2010 11:40 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=springer. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Business...
Words: 5097 - Pages: 21
...The movie “John Q” is filled with ethical and moral dilemmas throughout its course. It gives us a clear notion of the duties of public servants, and private administrators with regards to ethical decision they face in the daily execution of duties in communities they represent. In this analysis, I will explore the ethical and moral values of the main characters in the movie in performing their various official capacities. I will also elaborate on health insurance coverage by defining and reviewing the difference and similarities of PPO and HMO. Below is an ethical analysis of the characters in the movie “John Q.”: First of all let me explain what the movie is about before touching on the moral and ethical dilemmas of the characters. The director of this movie Nick Cassavetes reveals a social issue in the health care industry. He explains the ordeals of John Archibald, whose son has a serious cardiac condition that requires urgent surgery. John did not have an appropriate health insurance policy to cover the cost of the operation; the hospital chooses not to take the Good Samaritan route, and refuse to proceed with the operation. Therefore, John Q is confronted with a moral dilemma to accept fate and prepare for his son’s funeral as the Hope Memorial Hospital administrator, Rebecca Payne have suggested, or raise funds for the cardiac operation, which is a daunting task considering the time and emergency nature of the situation his son is in. John decided to take the...
Words: 2607 - Pages: 11
...Whistleblowing: Necessary Evil or Good Thing Maureen Haley University of North Carolina – Asheville April 16, 2014 This paper was prepared for Management 484-001, taught by Professor Donald D. Lisnerski Whistleblowing: Necessary Evil or Good Thing Is whistleblowing a necessary evil or good thing? Can whistleblowing be avoided? Can the whistleblower be protected? “A whistleblower is an employee who discovers corporate misconduct and chooses to bring it to the attention of others.”(Ghillyer, 2014) Whistleblowers can be viewed as providing a praiseworthy act or be severely labeled as informers who have breached the loyalty of their co-workers and company. Whistleblowing can be a service to the community and public. Whistleblowing can be ethical or unethical, and the whistleblower discovering corporate misconduct has the options to be an internal or an external whistleblower. Whistleblowing can save people’s lives. Dr. Jeffrey Wigand made the decision to go public with information that his employer Brown & Williamson (B&W) was manipulating the nicotine content, suppressed efforts to develop safer cigarettes, and lied about the addictive properties of nicotine. According to Sissela Bok, in the book Taking Sides: Clashing views in Business Ethics and Society, “not only is loyalty violated in whistleblowing, hierarchy as well is often opposed, since the whistleblower is not only a colleague but a subordinate. Though aware of the risks inherent in such disobedience...
Words: 3746 - Pages: 15
...WHISTLE- BLOWING Introduction: Whistle-blowing is an attempt by a present or former member of an organisation to disclose the wrong acts in an organisation. First it was made by the government employees who made complaints of corruption or mismanagement in government offices. Later on it is used in corporatesector. Features of whistle-blowing: Whistle-blowing is the release of information by a member of the organisation regarding the illegal or corrupt conduct in the organisation. It has the following salient features: ✓ First of all. whistle-blowing can be done only by a member of an organisation. It is not like a witness of a crime but by an employee within the organisation. When the employees who become aware of illegal or immoral conduct in their own organisation resort to whistle-blowing. ✓ Secondly. there must be information in whistle-blowing. It should involve the release of non-public information. There is a distinction between blowing the whistle and sounding the alarm. The whistle blowers have to reveal new facts. ✓ Thirdly. the information should be of some significant kind of misconduct on the part of an organisation. Whistle-blowing is reserved for matters of substantial importance. For example, companies paying heavy funding for political parties is known to outsiders only from people who are associated with the companies. ✓ Fourthly. the information through whistle-blowing must be released outside the normal channels of communication...
Words: 1584 - Pages: 7