Legal Ethics (LGLS445)
Krish Kothari
A.Boggio
05/10/15
Edward Snowden Case It is with no doubt that the issue surrounding whether or not Edward Snowden is a traitor or a patriot raises a heated debate. His whistleblowing afforded him both foes and friends with opponents of his action blaming him by labeling him a traitor, as he went against the employment contract when he spied on his employer and aired the dirty linen of the company in the public. That is open to debate whether there is any justification for the employees to keep to themselves any information that they find questionable about the activities of the employer. On the contrary, the proponents of Snowden’s actions are adamant, in that it was a bold
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Well, according to Miceli, Nearand and Dworkin (2008), whistleblowing is an act of revealing wrongdoings in an organization by the former or current employees of the very organization. As such, a whistleblower is an individual who reveals wrongdoings within an organization to the public or the senior management. The key characteristics of a whistleblower include, but are not limited to, dissent, accusation, breach of loyalty, altruism, sportsmanship courtesy, conscientiousness and civic culture (Miceli, Near & Dworkin, 2008). A whistleblower is considered altruistic in the sense that he or she is concerned with the welfare of others, that is, work or the public. The whistleblower sacrifices his job or reputation for the sake of the public to benefit, by revealing the wrongdoings that are being encouraged or witnessed in an organization (Miceli, Near & Dworkin, 2008). The second feature; sportsmanship implies that the whistleblower is playing by the rules of ethics and corporate governance in a polite and courteous manner. The person shows a positive attitude by not being compromised to receive a favor in order to go away with wrongdoings in governance. It is a show of good manners on the part of the whistleblower by siding or respecting the public who will be most affected as a result of the wrongdoings (Miceli, Near & Dworkin, 2008). Another essential feature of a whistleblower is conscientiousness. The person revealing
Duska argues that whistleblowing is always justified. He claims that employees do “not have an obligation of loyalty to a company, even a prima facie one, because companies are not the kind of things that are properly objects of loyalty” (Duska, pg. 424). Duska denies one of Bok’s key conditions to blow the whistle, loyalty. This is because Duska sees the purpose of business is to produce goods and services and to make a profit. Duska’s view of a business’s purpose prevents the company, or in Case C the university, from becoming an object deserving of loyalty.
In addition, whistleblowers should be portrayed as being good in order for society to begin seeing them in a positive way. Furthermore, the government should make this type of crimes a public matter. Allowing the public to be able to see all charges and outcome regarding these cases could bring out other wrongdoings in other organizations. The government should also impose greater punishment such as jail time for these types of crimes rather than imposing fines that they are able to
During the G20 summit in Seoul 2010, the whistleblower protection law was evaluated across the countries and Australia was one of the highly rated countries with US and Canada in the public sector (Wolfe. 2014, p. 4). On the contrary, the level of whistleblower protection in the private sector is found weaker than the public sector (Wolfe. 2014, p. 4). This report critically examines the current protection regime in both public and private sectors and depicts the lives of whistleblowers after disclosing the wrongdoings of the organisation to our society. Despite the legislative requirement to establish stronger whistleblower protection law in Australia, it is not applied
1. Describe the key characteristics of a whistleblower, and briefly summarize one (1) researched instance of whistleblowing in one (1) publicly traded company within the last 12 months. Include the details of the issue that the whistleblower reported and the effect of the whistleblower’s actions on both the whistleblower himself and the company.
According to Harvard Law School’s article, approximately two-thirds of companies in the U.S. are affected by fraud. However, whistleblower Hotline can be as defense against management overrides. The article noted that whistleblower could be more effective if it become as apart of the corporate compliance programs and a reward of any monetary sanctions collected to motivate the employees Also, the article mention that the employees
"Seuss..!!. Seuss...!!" I heard the familiar voice calling my name. I squirmed my eyes and again my name yelled "Seuss..!! Dinner is ready!!"
Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.
While reporting fraud on the government can be personally rewarding from a moral, ethical and financial standpoint, it can also be very difficult in terms of the stress and anxiety associated with standing up to powerful corporate interests. The decision to become a whistleblower can be a life-altering experience that was about to overtake General Motors. This could potentially have an adverse effect on the whistleblower’s employment, social activities, and other aspects of his or her life (McEldrew Young, 2016).
The article I found by Thompson discusses risk and rewards of whistle blowing, the example used was from 1994 and the CEOs of the seven major American tobacco companies tested before Congress that nicotine was not addictive Shortly afterwards, Jeffrey Wigand, then head of research and development at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., gave the lie to that, rest in a deposition in a lawsuit brought by the State of Mississippi and then in an interview on 60 Minutes. This resulted in the tobacco companies reaching a $246 billion multistate settlement in 1998. Wigand underwent a smear campaign and said that he and his family received death threats. Whistle blowing ended his marriage. The maverick doesn’t consider himself a hero. He has said, “People were dying. I was loyal to a higher order of ethical responsibility.” The 1999 movie The Insider depicts some of this saga and Wigand now lectures worldwide, offers expertise on tobacco issues, and runs the nonprofit Smoke-Free Kids, Inc.
No one likes seeing large imposing buildings with high brick walls and barbed wire topping them And behind those thick walls is another imposing building with small slivers crossed with large grates to let light in and men and women clothed in orange roaming the highly watched yard. They are imposing and daunting buildings, ones that would take away from a community’s attractiveness. But worse than seeing a new building like this one being built in one’s community, is seeing an already imposing building expanding into one’s neighborhood. These imposing buildings remind society that the world is not as safe as one would like to believe, that there are more than a few less than savory citizens in our midst. Expanding our nation’s
In the Enron case, Sherron Watkins attempted to fix the out of control financial situation by talking to the CEO, Ken Lay, but she was unfortunately silenced and demoted. She took responsibility in to her own hands and tried to handle the situation like a professional. Instead of talking to the press, she discussed the issue and tried to resolve it in house. Once she was silenced and demoted, she testified before Congress about Enron’s partnerships and resigned. Sherron Watkins could be called a whistle-blower in some circles, but I see her as a person who could not stand back and go along with something she felt was wrong. Whistle-blowing is “exposing an employer’s wrongdoing to outsiders, such as the media or government regulatory agencies”
The point can be made that “whistleblowing” within a firm, large or small can be encouraged by putting in place policies and a process within a firm that will protect the employee’s and benefit the organisation by:
In the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe the most important conflict is between Rodrick Usher, the protagionist, and fear. The conflict increases throughout the story and is eventaully resolved. In the beginning of the story the tension starts when the narrator describes the house he is approaching. He uses words like "dull","dark", and "soundless" to set the mood of the story and then goes on to give the imagery of an eerie, evil house that is starting to fall apart. Upon arriving the narrator seeks his childhood friend Rodrick who is ill.
If the CEO received a report of his misconduct, the business would surely fall as the boss was the key person who kept the business running steadily. Most often, this event can cause massive damage to employee’s salaries, and affect the economic values as well. Furthermore, one may argue that whistleblowing may violate individual rights as employee’s signed a contract abiding by company’s standard. In an article called “Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibilities” by Sissela Bok, she emphasizes “employees have a loyalty oath of confidentiality and secrecy” (Bok 178) which may violate human rights as well. Individuals often view that they often have the right to privacy. However, whistleblowing to the company can create a breach in loyalty. Similar to a friend posting every secret about the person, employers contain information to avoid mass media and future damages to the community. Therefore, whistleblowing may create further chaos and future problems. While whistleblowing has its flaws regarding the standards placed on the employee, moral and ethical rights are higher than what an employer can offer for their
A person who informs on a person or organization engaged in an illicit activity, who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal.