SHORT NOTE ON WHISTLE BLOWING (INCLUDING EXAMPLE)

A whistleblower is a person who raises a concern about wrongdoing occurring in an

organization or body of people, usually this person would be from that same organization. The
revealed misconduct may be classified in many ways; for example, a violation of a law, rule,
regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health/safety violations, and
corruption. Whistleblowers may make their allegations internally (for example, to other people
within the accused organization) or externally (to regulators, law enforcement agencies, to the
media or to groups concerned with the issues).

Whistleblowers frequently face reprisal - sometimes at the hands of the organization or group
which they have accused, sometimes from related organizations, and sometimes under law.

Most whistleblowers are internal whistleblowers, who report misconduct to a fellow employee or
superior within their company. One of the most interesting questions with respect to internal
whistleblowers is why and under what circumstances people will either act on the spot to stop
illegal and otherwise unacceptable behavior or report it.[2] There is some reason to believe that
people are more likely to take action with respect to unacceptable behavior, within an
organization, if there are complaint systems that offer not just options dictated by the
organization, but a choice of options for individuals, including an option that offers near absolute
confidentiality.[3]

External whistleblowers, however, report misconduct to outside persons or entities. In these

cases, depending on the information's severity and nature, whistleblowers may report the
misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or watchdog agencies, or other local, state,
or federal agencies.

Lo Pui-lam is an employee of Hong Kong City Civil Service brought to the attention of
the public the corruption that was happening in the service. Lo, a driver of sewage
collection trucks, understood that the night shift workers had the habit of filling the tanks
with fresh water so that when they arrived at the dumping ground, the truck would weigh
enough to pass inspection. Lo, who was concerned about the corrupt practice tried to
approach the supervisors. The general reaction was not to make any fuss and no action
was taken. Lo had to go up to the level of the member of legislature to have his concern
voiced. Even the welfare officer who was responsible for helping the cause tried to
persuade Lo to back off and threatened him with job loss. Although action was taken to
discipline the night shift workers, Lo had to face tough retaliation from the workers and
supervisors in form of verbal threats and insults and was given rougher jobs. He was
continuously monitored for the slightest infraction. For doing something he felt right, Lo
had to face boycott from his colleagues. As Lo puts it “I eat alone” and "I don't talk to
Anyone.

MAJOR ETHICAL ISSUES IN TODAY’S CORPORATE WORLD

Ethical issues arising from internal and industry practices - examples

 • Treatment of customers - e.g. honoring the spirit as well as the letter of the law in respect to
warranties and after sales service
• The number and proportion of women and ethnic minority people in senior positions
• The organization’s loyalty to employees when it is in difficult economic conditions
• Employment of disabled people
• Working conditions and treatment of workers
• Bribes to secure contracts
• Child labor in the developing world
• Business practices of supply firms

Unethical practices in marketing - examples

• Pricing lack of clarity in pricing

• Dumping – selling at a loss to increase market share and destroy competition in order to
subsequently raise prices
• Price fixing cartels
• Encouraging people to claim prizes when they phoning premium rate numbers
• “Bait and switch” selling - attracting customers and then subjecting them to high pressure
selling techniques to switch to an more expensive alternative
• High pressure selling - especially in relation to groups such as the elderly
• Counterfeit goods and brand piracy
• Copying the style of packaging in an attempt to mislead consumers
• Deceptive advertising
• Irresponsible issue of credit cards and the irresponsible raising of credit limits
• Unethical practices in market research and competitor intelligence

Unethical practices relating to products - examples

• Selling goods abroad which are banned at home

• Omitting to provide information on side effects
• Unsafe products
• Built in obsolescence
• Wasteful and unnecessary packaging
• Deception on size and content
• Inaccurate and incomplete testing of products
• Treatment of animals in product testing

Ethics and the supply chain

- It would be hypocritical to claim to be a ethical firm if it turned a blind to unethical practices by

suppliers in the supply chain. In particular:

• The use of child labor and forced labor

• Production in sweatshops
• Violation of the basic rights of workers
• Ignoring of health, safety and environmental standards

An ethical producer has to be concerned with what is practiced by all firms (upstream and
downstream) in the supply chain.
IEEE CODE OF ETHICS

We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of
life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the
communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and
agree:

1. to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public,
and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;

2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties
when they do exist;

3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;

4. to reject bribery in all its forms;

5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;

6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if
qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;

7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to
credit properly the contributions of others;

8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national
origin;

9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;

10.to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following
this code of ethics.