Whistleblowing Essay

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Recommended: Role of whistleblowing in healthcare organizations

Introduction “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). The three things required for whistle blowing to take place are- wrong-doer (who commits the wrong-doing), whistle-blower (who observes and reports the wrong-doing) and recipient (who receives the report of wrong-doing) (Near & Miceli, 1996). Often whistle-blowers face retaliation for their actions which, according to a research by Near & Miceli (1996), correlates to ‘situational characteristics’ and occurs more often when the whistle-blower uses external rather than internal sources of reporting. There is a large literature dedicated wholly to Nancy Olivieri. The several hundred pages of reports were written-“Naimark Report” commissioned by the HSC, “Thompson report” commissioned by CAUT and “Report of inquiry committee” of CPSO (Schafer, 2004). It took some time and before the charges were proved to be baseless, Dr. Olivieri sp... ... middle of paper ... ...vate sponsor as a partner in order to receive equal funds from government. This has set a trend of ‘public-private partnerships’ which put objectivity and research integrity at risk (Whistleblowers: Defending Academic Freedom, 2013). The duty of universities, to seek truth, is entirely different from duty of pharmaceutical companies; which is to make money for their shareholders (Lewis et al., 2001, pg. 783). The dynamic pursuit of self- interest by private economic entities has become one of the greatest causes of moral problems in the public sphere (Willbern, 1984, pg.104). Research institutions being reliant on private funds feel hopeless while tailoring the research results according to corporate wishes (Whistleblowers: Defending Academic Freedom, 2013). Lord Acton said, “Power Corrupts” (Willbern, 1984, pg. 105). Apotex was in powerful position as its funds wer

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