Introduction Whistleblowing has always been an important and controversial issue that employers and employees need to understand and stay up to date with. They need to make sure that they know what it means, what it involves, and what consequences are associated with whistleblowing. Whistleblowing is defined as, “…an employee of a company or government agency makes a protected disclosure to the public or authority regarding concerns for wrongdoing” (What is a Whistleblower?, n.d.). In short, a whistleblower is defined as a person who is concerned and discloses and divulges misbehavior in the workplace. This paper will focus on the pros and cons of being a whistleblower, the ethics behind it, the details of s specific whistleblowing situation, and reflect on my personal experience regarding whistleblowing.
Pros of being a whistleblower
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In an article written by Gerald Hanks titled, “Advantages & Disadvantages of Whistle-Blowing,” he states that these people who are labeled as whistleblowers are brave individuals who are willing to speak up when they recognized wrongdoing (2018). These people are willing to jeopardize their reputation and their careers to correct these unethical misconducts. Another positive benefit that comes with being a whistleblower is that if the claims are to be proven, they will receive a settlement/recovery. In the article, “Pros and Cons of becoming a Whistleblower,” it states that the whistleblowers are granted an annuity of the recoveries that come from their lawsuit (n.d). These settlements are a way to encourage people to come forward and report any misconduct they might witness or know about in their workplace. The fact that there are benefits involved with whistleblowing and an ethical piece of mind makes these “insiders” go through the motions of opening a can of worms and accuse the
In today’s society, there are many things that make it hard for white collar crimes to be exposed. One of the main problem portrayed within this movie was how easily the media was able to manipulate exactly what people were allowed to see. Secondly, white collar crimes can be hard to prove because many times major corporations will hire external help to go out and find information that could ruin the whistleblowers reputation. By doing this the whistleblowers credibility can be jeopardized making it easier for the corporation to continue to be seen as a reputable organization (The Insider).
You are protected under the law if you reveal to those in positions of authority, or 'blow the whistle on' suspected malpractice at work. It is in the public interest that the law protects whistleblowers so that they can speak out if they find malpractice in an organisation. Blowing the whistle is more formally known as 'making a disclosure in the public interest' so it is important you can do so knowing that you are protected from losing your job or being victimised as a result of what you have uncovered and made public.safe.
Review “Just pucker and blow: An analysis of corporate whistleblowers” in Chapter 2. Please respond to the following:
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
For many whistleblowers, fear of persecution and retaliation has prevented them from speaking out against improper behaviors at their institutions. Because of the dangers that whistleblowers are exposed to, many companies have become proactive in promoting and protecting whistleblowing. As a case and point, we need to look no further than the banking giant, Barclays.
Whistle blowing does take courage. There is the risk of being bullied or harassed as a result, but anyone who whistle blows has the right to protection from the person they have raised concerns about. If you suffer as a result of a whistle blowing incident the UK Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 offers legal protection.
Unfortunately, as an employee of an organization several years ago I was involved in a whistle blowing the case. I can personally vouch for the fact it is unpleasant at best and quit a headache. My “employer” was violating multiple OSHA and PEOSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) codes and requirements for training and personal protection. My colleague and I brought these issues to management in a written form on more than one occasion, and we both were promptly removed from the personnel roster without cause. The next several months were meetings, interviews, letters and legal correspondence to prove our case which was ultimately decided in our favor, reinstating us and led to a hefty fine for the agency. This was a volunteer
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.
You’re right Timothy. But sometimes it takes more courage for the employees to speak up about unethical conduct of their superiors. Probably because they’re afraid of being retaliated like getting fired from work or demoted. Nevertheless there are laws like Sarbanes-Oxley of 2002 and Dodd-Frank (Section 922) that would protect whistleblowers from the retaliation of their employers and even reward if the whistleblowers can provide the original information to the SEC .
The various forms of retribution that whistle-blowers endure at the hands of employers both financially and psychologically for attempting to correct mismanagement, fraud, and dishonesty are often too much for the whistle-blower to bear. Careers are in jeopardy because individuals with strong ethics decide to pursue law suits against their employers. One example is where the US Forest Service employees found their careers ruined by either demotions or loss of jobs when caught speaking out in favor of the environment or sound science, or when
Jackson and Raftos (1997) referred to whistle blowing as an avenue of last resort. Employees find themselves in these situations when the authorities at their organisations have failed to take actions on reported issues affecting that organisation. Wimot (2000) likened whistleblowing to a spectrum. At one end of this spectrum whistleblowing would only cause minimal pain and scars on the stakeholders and organisation while on the other end is the worst scenario where the whistleblowing effects are turbulent and often experienced to be negative to all those involved (ibid).
In every setting there should be a policy and procedures on whistle blowing. The whistle blowing Policy is put into place to provide protection against the person in the work place against victimisation or any form of punishment (physical or verbal) when concerns are genuine. If you suffer any victimisation or punishment due to whistleblowing you may be able to take your case to an Employment Tribunal. If you have any concerns about misconduct or malpractice that is occurring in your work setting you should report it to your manager/supervisor. All information given is confidential. The whistleblower is a person that discloses wrongdoing that threatens others, rather than a complaint about their own treatment.
A whistleblower is a person who raises a concern about a wrongdoing in their workplace or within the NHS or social care setting. If a person wishes to raise their concerns they should obtain a
Whistleblowers perform in many careers and are found at all levels of an organization: scientists and secretaries, lawyers and paralegals, managers and staff, security personnel and computer specialists, etc. They are as varied in age, ethnic background, education, profession, sex, and income as the population at large.
When the words “Wikileaks” and “Whistleblowers” are said out loud, all heads in the room will surely turn around. Secret organizations have for long been an interest to many people and a fatal threat to others. Whistleblowers are those who secretly speak of underlying mysteries and secrets of colossal organizations and important people. The ambiguity surrounding the true identity of those whistleblowers and the people operating Wikileaks succeeds in grasping the curiosity of people all over the world. Of course it can be completely understood and comprehended why some people will defend whistleblowers with every way possible. Nevertheless, we should never underestimate or overlook the disadvantages and the danger of leaving whistleblowers