2. A whistleblower is defined as someone who exposes
wrongdoing, fraud, corruption or mismanagement.
⢠A whistleblower is a person who alleges misconduct
⢠Most whistleblowers are Internal whistleblowers, who report
misconduct to a fellow employee or superior within their company.
⢠External whistleblowers, however, report misconduct to outside
persons or entities like Media
⢠Whistle blowing is a strong means to deter corporate wrong doing
3. ⢠Fairway Electric is among the most reputed companies in US
market for building nuclear power plants
⢠Jim Bower, loyal employee of Fairway Electric, accidentally
comes across an old Fairway report regarding a flaw in the
design of the Radon II reactor
⢠While it didnât amount to a safety hazard, the flaw wouldâve
resulted in additional costs for customers
4. ⢠Jim brings the issue to the notice of his boss Bob, who
turns to the CEO Ken Deaver
⢠Ken tells Bob to suppress the issue
⢠Jim then takes matters into his own hand and anonymously
reports the issue to the media
⢠This results in a public outcry and damages the reputation
of the company
⢠Jimâs peers say they donât wish to work with him
⢠At the end there is a talk of transfer/firing Jim
5. ⢠Clients were kept in the dark about the structural
flaw even when Fairway became aware of it
⢠The additional costs resulting from the flaw would
not be borne by the company customers and the rate
payers
⢠Kenâs reaction to Jimâs discovery was to hush up the
entire matter as soon as possible
6. â˘
Kenâs priorities seemed to be focused on avoiding
any short term losses and not on company values
â˘
The identity of the whistle-blower was not kept
confidential and became common knowledge to
everyone in the company
â˘
No attempt was made to make the situation easier
for Jim, instead Ken directs Bob to transfer Jim to
another division to avoid any problems
7. â˘
Whistle blowing makes the organisation more responsible
â˘
Employees following unethical practices are caught and
actions can be taken on them
â˘
Companies having sound whistle blower policy are fined
much less in case of any stray event happening
â˘
Employees prefer using internal channel to highlight the
problem than taking it to outside media
â˘
Increased employee satisfaction as all instances of neglect is
noticed and acted upon
â˘
Helps strengthen employees as well as the customers trust
8. â˘
Whistle blowing can often bring to light issues
which are of great significance
â˘
This serves as a way to deter unethical practices by
companies
â˘
At times, new laws and practices are introduced
which may benefit the whole society
â˘
Having a whistleblower policy framework in place
keeps an internal check on the organization
9. â˘
Establish staff confidence that their issues will be taken seriously
by management
â˘
A clear and well-communicated anti-retribution policy
â˘
Staff involvement in the development of policies relating to whistle
blowing
â˘
Offering prompt and continuous responses to internal complaints
â˘
Promote organization's code of conduct
â˘
Switch from an internally operated anonymous tip hotline to one
that is managed by an outside party
10. â˘
Virtue ethics : Jim Bover
â˘
Teleological (Utilitarian) approach : Bob & Ken
â˘
Rationalizations :
o
âBest interest of the companyâ
o
âNot really illegal (no safety hazard)â
o
It is âsafeâ and will not be caught
11. ⌠US: Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, Corporate and
Criminal Fraud Accountability Act
⌠UK: Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998
⌠India:
ď
Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill,
2009 was prepared by the department of personnel
and training (DoPT),
ď
Central Agency (per Public Interest Disclosures and
Protection of Informers Resolution, 2004): CVC