Whistle blowing
Working in the corporate or government environment, employees are sometimes subject to see things they should not see. Such things that are unethical to society or to the corporation. An employee is then placed in a situation where the employee must decide what action should be taken. Do you report the unethical behavior to upper-management or do you just let it go to avoid risking the disciplinary action towards a co-worker, the company or at times risk losing your job. Whistleblowing is defined as an employee’s disclosure to government, the press, or upper-management authorities that the employer is engaged in unsafe or illegal activities. The textbook, “Moral Issues in Business, stated whistleblowing as “an employee act of informing the public about the illegal or immoral behavior of an employer or organization. At times employees are reluctant to report their company or disclose information of unethical behavior because of loyalty to the company or fear of having to deal with the matter and end up losing their job. A lot of people love where they work and do not want to be labeled “snitches”. But the important part of learning more about this topic is to discover the right
The False Claims Act which was revised in 1986, protects whistle blowers from dismissal. The good thing about this Act is it allows for reinstatement with seniority, double back pay, interest on back pay, compensation for discriminatory treatment, and reasonable legal fees. This just shows employers that employees need to be respected and with fairness. Important concepts we studied in class were just cause and due process. These concepts help make sure employees are treated fairly and that any discipline or discharge is in relation to job performance. What I am learning as I continue to research whistleblowing is that the problem with employers is that they think they are maximizing profit and saving money by being involved in wrongful activities. I read so many cases about companies that dump toxic waste into rivers, lakes, or oceans because they do not want to spend the money necessary to properly dispose of the toxic material. But at the end these companies end up spending more money after they are caught in the act. When these companies are caught they are usually severely fined, have to pay for the clean up and have to pay for disposing of the toxic waste properly. So what they felt would save them money, actually cost them more at the end. The problems that are of concern to whistle blowers is that usually when you confront upper-management about the situation you have noticed, they offer you an ultimatum or a bribe, like a raise or bonus to keep it quiet. What decision do you make now in a situation like this? I still position in favor of whistle blowing, because an employer can threaten you or bribe you but the situation of unethical behavior has not been solved. The purpose of whistle blowing and reporting the wrongful action is to improve society and not let employers get away with doing the wrong thing. The position I take in terms of whistleblowing is I am in favor of it. I feel it is important to protect society and make sure employers are practicing legal business and ethical behavior. Employers usually have no incentive to correct their unethical behavior if they can get away with it. Also, I would not feel right and comfortable working for a company that either asked me to do unethical things or a company that practiced unethical behavior. In 1998 the Public Interest Disclosure Act was created, it is sometimes called the Whistleblowers’ Act. The Act applies to all workers in any industry and protects them when they decide to report or raise concerns about the company regarding crime, illegal activity, and danger of health and safety or the environment. It is important that employees are educated of their rights and taught business ethics because you never know when they will be placed in a situation when whistle blowing might be necessary. Also, it is important that employees communicate with one another about the situations they are in and think about the consequences of any wrongful actions. It is not worth putting yourself on the limb for your company, if it will ruin your reputation. No one will want to hire anyone involved in unethical or criminal behavior because they will not be trusted. Also, the majority of the time the company you work for will not defend your unethical activities to avoid being brought down with you. So the lesson to be learned, is you should do the right things always, to avoid making a bigger fool of yourself. We have rights to protect us and help aid us in making the right decision. In conclusion, whistleblowers provide society with justice and hope for protecting the need for ethical behavior. Without these people stepping up and doing the right things, our society will continue to be in danger. There will be companies continuing to frequently release dangerous products, cheat people of their money, and endanger the environment through illegal dumping or pollution. Some of the effects of these companies unethical behavior will not only ha
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Approximate Word count = 2844
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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