... 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...
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...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...
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...The Whistleblowing Case Studies There are various cases about whistleblowing, one of them is the case of Motorola CFO, Paul Liska.1 He has been fired after giving a presentation. In the presentation, Liska pointed out to Motorola directors that the cell phone unit, Mobile Devices, missed its sales projection for the preceding three months. Liska intended to attack Sanjay Jha, the head of Motorola’s cell phone division, by doing the presentation at the board meeting. The whistleblowing occurred because Liska and Jha did not get along well, and Liska tried to save the situation with an attack on Jha. Liska objected to Jha’s hiring, his compensation package and the co-CEO agreement. Liska’s behavior markedly deteriorated after Jha’s hiring, implying that he was unhappy to be outranked by the new co-CEO. The reason behind Liska’s inflammatory presentation is a matter of contention. Liska says he was trying to fulfill his duty to the company by raising a red flag about the cellphone unit’s projections. Motorola says Liska knew he was on his way out, and he tried to extort the company by setting himself up as a whistle-blower who was being fired for speaking out. Another famous whistleblowing case is the case of WikiLeaks.2 WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization which aims to publish online submissions of classified information, news leaks 3 from anonymous news sources and whistleblowers.4 It unleashed the wrath of the U.S. government and a wave of recrimination and...
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...The Need for Whistleblowing Legislation in Canada: A Critical Defence Jonathan Carson Research Officer The Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario 1 Dundas Street West Suite 2310, Box 72 Toronto, ON M5G 1Z3 carson@amapceo.on.ca Paper presented to the Canadian Political Science Association Conference, June 2006 The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AMAPCEO Working Paper – Please do not cite without permission from the author Introduction This paper is about the need for whistleblowing legislation in Canada, at both the federal and provincial levels. The focus of the paper is squarely on the public service. Although certain jurisdictions (for example, the United Kingdom1) have a single disclosure regime covering both the private and public sectors, then general trend throughout the world is for distinct legislation for the two sectors. In Canada, there are already numerous statutory avenues for individuals in both the public and private sectors to blow the whistle; however, the grounds for disclosure are generally quite circumscribed, with the statutes tending to deal only with specific concerns, e.g. occupational health and safety or the environment.2 At present whistleblowing legislation is coming into vogue across Canada, at both levels of government. This paper argues that such legislation should have the modest goal of protecting good faith whistleblowers. This...
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...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...
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...Whistleblowing and Ethical Motivations Marie Whitehead Soc. 120 Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility Prof: Christopher Messer March 31, 2014 The term whistleblower was first used in England and referred to the practice of British police officers blowing a whistle when a crime was being committed. This would then raise the alarm to other law enforcement officers to alert them that something was endangering the public (Princeton, n.d.). Today, however, the term shares a much broader meaning and is met with a variety of ethical motivations. When we hear the term, “whistleblower”, we know that someone has raised a concern regarding a possible wrongdoing in either a government agency or a private company, and they want to make others aware. The status of the whistleblower is often debated: as Rothschild and Miethe (1999) note, “some see whistleblowers as traitorous violators of organizational loyalty norms; other see whistleblowers as heroic defenders of values considered more important than company loyalty”. In addition, whistleblowing is a “new form of worker resistance” relevant to the “unending battle between labor and management to control the workplace” (Rothschild, et.al, 1999). But with the right motives in place, whistleblowing is good for an organization or agency because it protects that organization and agency from fraud, misconduct, and in most cases, failure. And, when affective communication is in place, the organization’s goals are kept in...
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...Assignment 1 – Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley Tialia Booth LEG 500 – Law, Ethics, & Corporate Governance Strayer University Professor Lateefah A. Muhammad July 20, 2015 Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley Peter Buxtun. Linda Almonte. John Kopchinski. Edward Snowden. Everett Stern. J. Kirk McGill. The commonality in each of the individuals listed is that they have been identified as a whistleblower. This paper will review the key characteristics of a whistleblower, examine an example of whistleblowing from recent history, provide an opinion on whether or not such whistleblowing was justified by the individual, and finally review the current Sarbanes-Oxley Act to determine to what extent the individual was protected. A whistleblower can be most basically defined as an individual or persons who report and make known unethical and illegal actions taken by their employer. The employer could be a publicly traded or privately held company or a not-for-profit organization. The whistleblower may choose to release their findings and information uncovered within their own company or to outsiders such as the news media, law enforcement officials, or federal regulators. In every case of a whistleblower coming forward there is a shared desire to stop the unethical and possibly illegal behavior or acts being committed and to ensure those who have been affected are identified and hopefully compensated or righted in some way (Halbert, Ingulli, & Frey, 2015). In 2003...
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...Whistleblowing: The Right Choice Whistleblowing has become a contentious issue in both the public and private sectors. Whistleblowers are often regarded in derogatory terms. However, they should not be viewed in this manner. They are the average employee who does this out of loyalty. Many are retaliated against, and this forces the whistleblower to seek protections. Despite the negativity and retaliation, whistleblowing is the right decision because it exposes the wrongdoing of the employer. A whistleblower is a “person who reveals to a government agency or news media, confidential information of wrongdoing or conduct he or she regards as unethical”. They are referred to in derogatory terms such as “rat”, “stool-pigeon”, “snitch”, “fink”, and even called disloyal (Liuzzo, 2012, pg 28). But those terms do a disservice to the employee who wants to fix a problem or help the organization. Whistleblowers are none of those labels. Some are considered “citizen crime fighters” or “ethical resisters” who put their careers and lives in jeopardy for the safety of the public (Westman, 1991, pg vii) whose motivation stems from a deep ethical responsibility and loyalty. Any person who decides to speak out understands they have a responsibility not only to the public, but to the company, and to their co-workers. These must be considered in order to determine if whistleblowing is the right course of action. The whistleblower is motivated by whether the perceived...
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...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...
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...Assignment 1: Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley Act Michelle M. Webb Dr. Boneita Campbell LEG500 Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance April 20, 2015 . Week 3 Assignment 1: Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley Act Who are Whistleblowers and what do they do? Could you be a Whistleblower? There are several definitions for the term whistleblower. The most accurate and significant definitions to the subject of this paper are the definition given by the Black’s Law Dictionary and the one by the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). The Black’s Law Dictionary defines a whistleblower as a worker who declines to participate in and informs on the unlawful and/or unjust actions of his co-workers or his employer ("The Law Dictionary", n.d.). The WPA defines whistleblowing as the disclosure of facts an employee deems proof of unlawful acts of, blatant misconduct, exploitation of authority, and could jeopardize public safety (Molzen, 2002). Over the years many U.S. workers have observed unlawful transgressions within the workplace and have come forward to report these actions. The actions of these noble citizens (whistleblowers) have been instrumental in saving enormous amounts of money and countless lives over the years. However, these whistleblowers fail to receive the recognition and admirations they deserve for doing the right thing. More often than not they are badgered, bullied, demoted, and terminated from their jobs for their efforts. Therefore, the act of whistleblowing is a decision...
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...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...
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...Introduction Whistleblowing refers to disclosure of suspected wrongdoing at work by a worker. All workers have the right and the capability to report inappropriate actions such as illegal transactions and operations or neglect of duties among others. The Sarbanes-Oxley due is a policy that sets the standards for the United States public company offices especially the boards, management and public accounting organizations. The paper describes a whistleblower and provides an example of a whistleblower case. The paper also analyzes the whistleblowers actions according to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As stated earlier a whistleblower is the individual that tells of an inappropriate action or operation in the organization. Whistleblowers have the following characteristics. Whistleblowers are never interested in changing their behavior or characteristics (Near& Miceli, 1995). Whistleblowers are normally having an educational background and have professional positions in the workplace. The whistleblower is intelligent as such can think through situations clearly and make concise decisions (Near& Miceli, 1985). They are pragmatic and will deal with situations in realistic ways rather than theoretical considerations. They are self-conscious hence not easily carried away by other people’s beliefs and attitudes. Whistleblowers are morally obligated to help others in the best possible manner. They have a high sense of morality (Near& Miceli, 1985). A former Zillow employee Chris Crocker...
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...set of values and principles. As an adult, the adherence to these values has played a fundamental role in my own success as a business leader in my profession. EXPLANATION OF KEY TERM The general definition of ethics is ”the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Satterlee, 2009, p. 48). Every culture in the world will have some form of ethics and the society would have a set of values or moral duties and obligations. In some instances, these values may become law. Many of these moral values are based on a religion; for example, Christianity refers to the Ten Commandments, which forms a set of values. Some ethics are secular in nature. In business, ethics plays a major role on how companies act in relation to their core values. A world viewpoint would look at international business ethics as compared to domestic business ethics. The international business ethics would focus on the culture of that society along with their values and core beliefs. With our growing global economy, it is important to understand the ethical duties and obligations for businesses wishing to conduct business in the respective countries. The global business has a duty and obligation to conform to the values and ethics of that society; this is their social responsibility. One of the main aspects of social responsibility in a global market is to protect the organization from any type of corruption. Considering that corruption is considered bad practice...
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...Executive Summary Whistle blowing is when an employee raises a concern about wrongdoing or malpractice in the workplace that has a public interest aspect to it. Persons who act as whistle blowers are often subjected to retaliation by their employers. Therefore it became important to protect whistle blowers by introducing the Disclosure Protection Act (Act 26 of 2000). The purpose is to provide procedures and offer protection to employees against organisational detriment. Even though the Act intends to protect whistle blowers, the reporting rate has declined. Thus it is crucial to investigate the current procedures in order to provide recommendations to improve the Act, consequently curbing fraud and miscarriage of justice. Question 1 • How are informants being protected? As employers and employees consequently have to disclose criminal and unwanted conduct within the workplace, steps need to be instilled by employers to ensure that whistle blowers are protected from occupational detriment. This act attempt to prevent employers from treating disclosing employees with detriment such as disciplinary action, demotion, harassment, unwanted transfers, etc. • Who is being protected? Employees disclosing legitimate concerns about irregularities are being protected by the act. Those employees are to be protected from unwarranted conduct by their employers and cannot be discriminated against. They may not be victimised or penalised by their employer in any form for having made...
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...Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley Act Student Name College or University Name LEG500 – Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance Professor’s Title Date Whistleblowing and Sarbanes-Oxley The federal government passed and put into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) to primarily protect whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting corporate fraud and financial malfeasance to the government. The negligence became apparent in the 1990’s when corporations such as Enron, HealthSouth, Tyco and WorldCom were found to have grossly overstated their earnings. This cost billions of dollars in losses to shareholders and caused the near-collapse of the stock market (Prentice, 2010, p. 17). The companies were able to hide, scam or misrepresent their earnings due to the dot-com boom, soaring investments, and auditor fraud. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act contains many sections, sub-sections and creation of other agencies to enforce it. It was a sweeping change to standard reporting practices and was created to restore investor confidence, hold corporations and auditors financially and criminally accountable, and protect whistleblowers. Prior to the creation of SOX the whistleblower had no protection from retaliation by the organization. Whistleblowers had fears of criminal prosecution, bodily harm and job loss if they reported the misdeeds of their employer both publicly and privately. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 redefined the whistleblower. An examination of the characteristics of a whistleblower...
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