Sherry Hunt Case Study

Advice from Sherry Hunt

Sherry Hunt's advice was directed towards the following two groups: (a) Upper Management; and, (b) Anyone considering "whistleblowing".

1. Upper Management: Sherry Hunt pointed out that while there are plenty of laws holding upper management accountable for their response to concerns brought to their attention, she recommends that they: (a) be comfortable with who they have working for them, and (b) not simply 'go through the motions' when confronted with concerns. She suggests that upper management listen attentively to their employees and be open minded in receiving the information that is being shared. 2. Prospective Whistleblowers: First and foremost, Sherry Hunt strongly recommends that anyone considering

She knew it was wrong to be selling mortgages to people who could not afford to pay them back. She also knew her company was offside in its failure to properly document the buying and selling of mortgages.

At the same time, she also knew she was an asset to her organization. She was a loyal and committed employee and co-worker, and she adhered to high standards of ethical practice in all that she did. It is evident that Sherry Hunt was a self-motivated employee, driven to help the people she serviced in the community by ensuring Citibank's mortgage options were available to those who needed

Even when significant concerns are properly reported through an employee's chain of command, if those concerns are not acted upon, it is typical that the reporting employee will avoid any further action, satisfied that he or she had met their ethical obligations. When nothing changed following Sherry's actions, she took it a further step, believing that her moral obligation extended beyond simply sharing her concerns. Rather, she felt the need to ensure that those concerns were, in fact, communicated higher into the organizational leadership of Citibank. While it was never Sherry's intention to 'go public', in her analysis, she was of the view that her moral and ethical obligations extended to this step so that she could ensure the unethical practices would