Why People Decide To Promote Whistleblowing

586 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The "Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

The article keeping whistleblowers quiet: addressing employer agreements to discourage whistleblowing by Kathryn Hastings will be discussed in this paper. This article went over the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act, and how the object was to stop extensive deception that had become the normal with Wall Street. The Act also provided large reward’s for whistleblowers that provided valuable evidence that led to stopping illegal or unethical acts. This Act believed in defending whistleblowers from retaliation from employers, and letting them know that they did not have to stay quiet (Hastings, 2015). There are many reasons that people decide to become whistleblowers on a company. A person may know laws are being broken, or that organizations are ignoring dangerous acts. Some whistleblowers are people that investigate organizations, and inform others of the unethical acts because others are afraid to speak out. Laws have been formed throughout the years to aid in improved protection for whistleblowers, and reassure them that reporting unethical acts to the proper authorities will not result in retaliation (Hastings, 2015). …show more content…

Some whistleblowers are seen as “liberators” by the community, but colleagues and others may view them as a tattletale who is looking for attention or personal gain. Whistleblowers normally come across problems when they go public with information that may hurt their businesses. The whistleblowers try to help protect the public, but are then victimized for their actions. Most whistleblowers lives become difficult after they decide to go public with the information in spite of the laws protecting them (Hastings,

Show More
Related

  • Hughes Microelectronics Case Study

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Examples Of Pressure In Fahrenheit 451

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Computer Fraud And Abuse Act (CFAA) Of 1986

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was drafted to encourage and protect whistleblowers from retaliation after the fraud scandal that cause the collapse of Enron in 2001. In a 2010 Senate Report found that “external auditors detected only 4.1 percent of uncovered fraud schemes, “whistleblower tips detected 54.1% of uncovered fraud schemes in public companies” and were thirteen times more effective than external audits” (Turpan, 2016). Whistleblowers serve an important service to the public and are more effective than external audits. The CFAA has been used to by employers to retaliate against employees who act as informants for agencies like Internal Revenue Service or Security Exchange Commission to expose fraud. There employees, not to their financial gain, gather information as evidence of fraud by the company. With a broad interpretation of CFAA, the employee would "exceed their authority" and was "unauthorized" to access the information, therefore allowing the company to hide their illegal

    Read More

  • Case Analysis Of Hollate Manufacturing

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although Hollate introduced a compliance program and code of conduct when it went public, the programs were put on “the back burner”. This outcome is not surprised for that the company does not pay attention to the programs. It is, therefore, important to “reinforce the values” and “employee a boundary system when actions are inconsistent with the code of conduct” for the purpose of early detection. Tyco provides a good example after its scandal, by initiating “mandatory annual compliance training for all its employees worldwide” and creating the Tyco Guide to Ethical Conduct to familiarize employees with company expectations and help them make ethical decisions. As tips is the most useful method for internal and external sources to detect frauds, the whistleblower hotline should be well communicated with encouragement on reporting any suspicious activity. In addition, to improve the effectiveness of the compliance program and code of conducts, Hollate should implement management monitoring and evaluation on a regular

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Mandated Reporting

    602 Words  | 2 Pages

    The government designates certain professionals within society as mandated reporters. This means that if a person, who holds a position identified by the government, suspects that a child is being abused or neglected, they must go through the process of reporting the abuse/neglect to their local Department of Health and Human services office (“Michigan Child Abuse Laws”, 2017). This policy is relevant not only to those working within the social work field, but also to those who work closely with children, such as teachers and day care workers. Michigan’s Child Protection Law identifies citizens in the following positions as mandated reporters:

    Read More

  • Thethical Ethical Issue Of Whistleblowing In The Workplace

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Why Standing Up For Others Are Important

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    Why is standing up for others important? It is important because it helps people that are in trouble and cannot speak up for themselves. For example, sometimes when people get bullied, they are too scared to stand up for themselves, but if a friend comes along and stands up for that person it becomes better all around. Its worst when someone is being picked on and a by passer just walks by and lets it happen. Or is it wickedest when someone just does not care at all?

    Read More

  • Unveiling Whistleblowers: Protecting Public from Wrongdoings

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Whistleblowing Essay

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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).

    Read More

  • Is SNC-Lavalin's Whistleblowing Justified?

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Treatment of Whistleblowers

    1888 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whistleblowers often make their way into the public eye, but what is a whistle blower exactly? What are the criteria? Whistle blowing is "raising the alarm in public about a wrong being committed in private" (Vickers, 2002, p.42). By definition, a whistle blower can only "blow the whistle" on an organization of which he is a member (Vickers, 2002). That point is rather obvious. After all, the concept of being a whistleblower is providing inside information. Also, it brings up a significant problem. People are reluctant to "blow the whistle" because they can lose everything they worked for. It seems almost unfair. The person in this predicament will have to decide whether or not to keep his job as is, or to do the right thing and tel...

    Read More

  • Whistleblowing Essay

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Insider trading

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ivan Boesky pleaded guilty to the biggest insider-trading scheme discovered by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He made 200 million dollars by profiting from stock-price volatility on corporate mergers. What he actually did was cheat by using illegally obtained secret information about impending mergers to buy and sell stock before mergers became public knowledge/ Although insider trading is nothing new, the SEC knows it has become a threat to the public’s confidence, and they must enforce regulations to stop criminal activity. The SEC has put pressure on managers to regulate information leaks, promising strict legal enforcement if a business fails to police misuse of privileged employee information.

    Read More

  • Whistleblowing Essay

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whistleblowing is the action of an employee, who reports any unethical violations they see or come across in the firm. Employees should be encouraged to practise whistleblowing, also, organisations should encourage them to act up against unethical behaviour. The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, is a United States federal law, which protects federal whistleblowers who are working for the government and report misconduct. A whistleblower is a person who exposes information or activity that is illegal or unethical. The act of 1989 was made to protect whistleblowers.

    Read More

  • Whistleblowing

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whistle blowing is an attempt of an employee or former employee of a company to reveal what he or she believes to be a wrongdoing in or by a company or organization. Whistle blowing tries to make others aware of practices that are considered illegal or immoral. If the wrongdoing is reported to someone in the company it is said to be internal. Internal whistle blowing tends to do less damage to the company. There is also external whistle blowing. This is where the wrongdoing is reported to the media and brought to the attention of the public. This type of whistle blowing tends to affect the company in a negative way because of bad publicity. It is said that whistle blowing is personal if the wrongdoing affects the whistle blower alone (like sexual harassment), and said to be impersonal if the wrongdoing affects other people. Many people whistle blow for two main reasons: morality and revenge.

    Read More

More about Why People Decide To Promote Whistleblowing

Open Document