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Whistleblowing ethical essay
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Whistle-blowing in the Workplace: An Ethical Responsibility?
Working in any environment, some people are subject to see things that may be illegal or unethical. In any situation like this, how do you determine the best decision, whether to keep quiet or speak out? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a whistle-blower is one who reveals something, converts or informs against another person’s transgression in the workplace. In 1989, the United States passed the Whistleblower Protection Act. This act protects federal employees in the workplace if they report any misconduct or wrongdoing. Whistle-blowing is becoming more universal, however is it really worth the whistle-blowers risk and integrity? I will attempt to analyze key facts regarding
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In my opinion blowing the whistle is always a good decision because it makes people aware and knowledgeable about practices or activities in question. Also, I believe the decision to blow the whistle can ultimately bring forth the truth, save careers, funds, and the reputation of the company. Jeffrey Wigand actually blew the whistle on his employer at the time, Brown and Williamson, a cigarette company. Wigand made it known that the company was adding harmful addictives, such as ammonia, to cigarettes to get cigarette smokers hooked (Leung). After blowing the whistle, Jeffery Wigand received death threats and was constantly harassed, however he did not change or regret his allegation at all. He knew he was doing it for the right reasons. CBS News team actually conducted an interview with Jeffrey Wigand, CBS …show more content…
Whether it is right or wrong? When is the best time to say something? Should I say anything at all? I am in favor of whistle-blowing in the workplace because it ties into ethics morally and socially. Universally, it is becoming more relevant. The government has many laws protecting whistle-blowers rights and speech against retaliation against employers and others. These laws are becoming more enforceable as ethical responsibility increases. For example, the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 was passed after the Enron scandal. This act is another that protects the rights and civility of whistleblowers. Many companies have strengthened their
However, it may not be the best solution to be used first when dealing with unethical corporate practices. From more of a Utilitarian approach one should seek to do the greatest good. An approach that gives the company a chance to change its unethical behavior internally would follow this idea. Having the ability to change practices internally before outside intervention can have many positive effects. The company is able to make the changes, reestablish its integrity, maintain business, and retain employees. The whistleblowing option brings in outside forces that could lead to repercussions for the company which may include restitution or even being closed down. If the business is closed it effects more than just the corporate entity, all of the employees are also negatively impacted by this as well when they would lose their jobs. Sometimes however, when the company is unwilling to change its practices and do business in a more ethical manner people are left with little choice but to report to outside sources what is occurring within the business. Many see whistleblowing as law-breaking when employees are contractually obligated to
First I will be telling you about the pressure of being a “whistleblower”. In Fahrenheit 451 the pressure of being a “whistleblower” is so real, everyone is told to rat out everyone who has a book in their household, if they find out they have a book in the home it is burned to the ground. This is related to our society because we are pressured to do what is right, and part of my belief system is to do what is right and to point out what is wrong. For example if someone were to gossip behind their back I would try to stand up and tell them it is wrong and tell the person what the others said
Throughout your life, you’ll face tough decisions where you'll have to decide possibly against your ethical beliefs. Ethics don’t necessarily always have to involve law abiding. It’s rather about trusting your moral path and doing the right thing. Dori Meinert is the author of “Creating an Ethical Workplace” she explains the thought behind the never black or white decision making when it comes to businesses. Can businesses truly trust those individuals hired to steer their companies? It was mentioned that last year 41 percent of U.S. workers said they observed unethical or illegal misconduct on the job, according to the Ethics Resource Center's 2013 National Business Ethics Survey. Meinert’s article was not only eye-opening but very truthful since we’ve all been faced or witnessed unethical decision making. Once employees see individuals breaking the rules and regulations others will then think it's okay, which could result in employees leaving or major hoops for companies to jump through. When we tolerate misconduct we lower productivity and diminish the reputation of a company. Meinert mentioned that if
The popular sitcom that is now one of today’s pop culture`s favorites, is based on the original British sitcom The Office and later began to air on NBC. With characters that are relatable to any office environment, The Office does cause many to question the violation of ethics in this sitcom. The show features Michael Scott the manager at Dunder Mifflin, who is the center of many questionable actions. Because every show needs a good love story; Pam and Jim are introduced as the office lovers who win the award for “relationship goals”. Besides the main characters, the cast consists of unmotivated employees.
For this essay, I will evaluate the Employee Loyalty Argument derived from ‘Whistleblowing and Employee Loyalty’ by Ronald Duska. I will argue that this Employee Loyalty Argument is deductively valid but is not deductively sound because premise 2 is false. I will justify my claims that premise 2 is false by arguing about how it is rational for employees to expect their companies to recognize and fulfill a duty of loyalty to their employees if the employees also have a duty of loyalty to the companies that employ them.
Bouville (2008) describes whistleblowing as an act for an employee of revealing what he believes to be unethical or described as an illegal behaviour to a higher management (internal whistleblowing) or to an external authority or the public (external whistleblowing). Whistle-blowers are often seen as traitors to an organisation as they are considered to have violated the loyalty terms of that organisation while some are described as heroes that defend the values and ethics of humanity rather than loyalty to their company. In the medical community, it is the duty of a practitioner aware of patient care being threatened to make it known to those in charge and for those in charge to address the issues and act on it. The General Medical Council (GMC) stipulated this act of raising concern as a doctor’s duty in its Good medical practice guide. This paper will be based on the analysis of the experience of whistle blowers, reasons why they chose or chose not to take such actions and personal opinions on whistleblowing in the medical community.
Whistle blowing is a controversial topic in the professional industry. Whistle blowing is the act of speaking out against a fellow colleague or even a friend that has done something non-ethical or illegal in the workplace. A whistleblower raises concerns about the wrongdoing inside of the workplace. Employees hesitate to become a whistleblower because of the idea of becoming a snitch on fellow employees and having a bad rep around the office. This concern was lowered in 1989 with a law called the Whistleblower Protection Act that protects federal government employees in the United States from retaliatory action for voluntarily disclosing information about dishonest or illegal activities occurring at a government organization (whistleblowers.gov).
The term Whistleblower means “An employee who discloses information that s/he reasonably believes is evidence of illegality, gross waste or fraud, mismanagement, abuse of power, general wrongdoing, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. When information is classified or otherwise restricted by Congress or Executive Order, disclosures only are protected as whistleblowing if made through designated, secure channels. (What is a Whistleblower?)” The idea behind whistleblowers is that they believe trying to inform the public of illegal acts within their businesses has the potential to protect the public from wrongdoing. The following studies analyze scholar’s findings on different factors related to whistle blowing as
...y. Congress has passed laws to protect whistleblowers because they protect the accountability of the government and private companies by sharing the truth of their actions. Although there have been laws to protect whistle blowers many still are receiving punishment from corporations today.
Many other businesses may not want to do business as the company was involved with immoral behavior. The unethical business practices of the company will also gain exposure in the media and to the public (Nicol, 2015, n.p). Employees no longer keep unethical activities of the company to themselves. As a whistleblower, they may be perceived as a traitor, but in this case the senior executives are being traitors. They are taking money from immoral behavior and tarnishing the name of the company (Nicol, 2015, n.p).
On November 29th, Mary Inman gave us a talk on the topic whistleblowing, which let me know more about the whistleblower activities and the whistleblower protection. According to the definition given by the website whistleblowers international, whistleblowing is someone who reveal the unethical or illegal activities within the company. The person can be current or past employee, or an outside individual who is familiar with the unethical activity. This whistleblower does not need to be U.S. citizen.
I can remember coming home one night to gun shots, just like every other night but this night was different; it struck a nerve with me, I began to look around and noticed the state of my neighborhood. I was thinking to myself, there has to be something that can be done, there has to be some way to take care of our neighborhood. Thinking of different ideas and doing research of different communities, I came with some ideas of how this can be done. Most neighborhoods stick together during terrible situations, have community meetings, and volunteer to clean up the neighborhood. The term “don’t snitch” is the reason violence in my neighborhood is the way it is; letting go of not being a “snitch” and standing up to the people who are committing
Moving out. This chapter is about the wisdom of the father versus the wisdom of the person himself. This person wanted to do something because it would be more “fun,” however the wiser dad new that it was a bad idea. He tried to tell him but the son would not listen. I need to recognize that my parents have the best interest for me and if something like this happens in my future then I should obey my parents right away.
For drug crimes there are financial incentives for informants, yet proper incentives for whistleblowers in money laundering cases with major financial institutions don’t seem to exist. Martin Woods was the director of the Wachovia anti-money laundering unit in London when he discovered the money laundering that was occurring at his bank. He said that after he reported that information to Wachovia executives, he was treated like a “business prevention officer.” The executives ignored his pleas even though Woods’s instincts were exactly right. They also told him to back off, served Woods a discipline letter, and scheduled a hearing for professional misconduct. Woods ended up quitting his job in frustration a year later. He sued for harassment
Morality is the biggest and best reason for this act because people generally want to do the good moral thing. If a person should have to blow the whistle on a company they should know that for every action there is a reaction, and the reaction of whistle blowing might lead to getting fired. One of the most controversial types of whistle blowing is that of impersonal. If a company is making products that are unsafe because they are trying to save a few dollars, an employee could see this as immoral and tell the public about it. The whistle blower would do this based on Kant's theory. It would be following the moral law to do so. If a company is cutting corners and hurting others, it would be morally unacceptable not to blow the whistle on this company. To knowingly let innocent people get hurt because of something that you could have stopped is morally wrong. A lot of people would blow the whistle on a company that is making unsafe products, but not all. A number of people would not inform the public of the company's wrongdoings. They would not do it out of fear that they might loose there job or even be blacklisted from the industry altogether. If they are not fired they will most likely be outcasts at their job and looked over at promotion time.