1.

Whistle Blower

2.
o Our lives begin to end the day we become

o silent about things that matter."

o Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. Whistle-blowing is…

o 'raising concerns about misconduct within an organization or within an

independent structure associated with it'

 (Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life)

o 'bringing an activity to a sharp conclusion as if by the blast of a whistle'

 (Oxford English Dictionary)

o 'giving information (usually to the authorities) about illegal and underhand

practices‘

 (Chambers Dictionary)

4. Types of Whistle blowing

o Internal Whistle blowing

 is made to someone within the organization.

o Personal Whistle blowing

 is blowing the whistle on the offender

 here the charge is not against the organization or system but

against one individual

o External Whistle Blowing

 For an external issue not directly affecting one as an individual

5. When to Blow the Whistle

o Knowledge of inappropriateness

 Making proprietary software available to public

 Back door/booby-trap in code

 Embezzlement or redirection of funds

o Bad claims

 Unrealistic date projection

 Advertising hype
 o Knowledge of impending doom

6. How to Blow the Whistle

o Do it anonymously

 let the evidence speak for itself and protect yourself if

possible

o Do it in a group

 charges have more weight and won’t seem like a

personal vendetta.

o Present just the evidence

 leave interpretation of facts to others.

7. How to Blow the Whistle

o Work through internal channels

 Start with your immediate supervisor or follow the

standard reporting procedure

o Work through external channels

 go public (biggest risk)

8. Criteria for Justifiable Whistle Blowing

9.
o The firm through its product or policy will do serious and considerable harm
to the public, whether in the person of the user of its product, an innocent bystander, or
the general public.

o Once an employee identifies a serious threat to the user of a product or to

the general public, he or she should report it to his or her immediate superior and make
his or her moral concern known.

o Unless he or she does so, the act of Whistle blowing is not justifiable.

Criteria for Justifiable Whistle Blowing

10.
o 3. If one's immediate superior does nothing effective about the concern or
complaint, the employee should exhaust the internal procedures and possibilities within
the firm

o This usually will involve taking the matter up the managerial ladder, and if
necessary and possible to the Board of Directors.

Criteria for Justifiable Whistle Blowing

11.
o In addition
  Whistleblower must have accessible documented evidence

 that would convince a reasonable, impartial observer that one's

view of the situation is correct,

 and that the company's product or practice posses a serious and

likely danger to the public or to the user of the product.

Criteria for Justifiable Whistle Blowing

12.
o In addition

 The employee must have good reason to believe that by going

public the necessary changes will be brought about.

 The chance of being successful must be worth the risk one takes
and danger to which one is exposed.

Criteria for Justifiable Whistle Blowing

13.
o But then why is it so difficult?

14. Ethical Dilemma

o The Mum Effect --reluctance to blow the whistle

 Audit report may contradict the best judgment and

vested interests of the powerful players backing a project; fear of reprisals

o The Deaf Effect --reluctance to hear the whistle

 “ I wrote lots of reports. I escalated things as much as I

could, but in the end, they said, ‘We really appreciate your efforts, but thanks,
but no thanks’”

o The Blind Effect --reluctance to see the need to blow the whistle

 Established audit functions do not operate effectively

because they try to conceal the information from management

15. Fear & Doubt

o Will I be viewed as a “rat” who ratted out the company?

o I will be resented by my colleagues

o Stress could lead to resorting to drinking, self-destructive behaviour

o If I lose this job, what will my family do?

o What if “those” guys find out and harm me?

16. Statistics

o Polling Group:
  233 individuals polled, 40% responded

 Average age: 47

 Employed for 6.5 years at job

 Almost all lost job

Source: http://legacy.ncsu.edu/CSC379/lectures/wk16/lecture.html
o Negative Effects:

 51% of gov’t employees lost their job

 82% harassed by superiors

 69% watched closely after blowing the whistle

 63% lost job responsibilities

 60% fired

 10% attempted suicide

o Positive Effects:

 20% felt their actions resulted in positive changes

 More than 50% (of responders) would do it again