Why Your Company Should Have A Whistleblowing Policy
11/3/2014
Why Your Company Should Have A Whistleblowing Policy
Why Your Company Should Have A Whistleblowing Policy by Tim Barnett, Assistant Professor of Management, Louisiana Tech University Sam Advanced
Management Journal, Autumn, 1992, pp. 37-42
Whistleblowers, those individuals who call attention to possible wrongdoing within their organizations, are the subjects of much controversy. Some say that whistleblowers are noble characters, willing to sacrifice personally and professionally to expose organizational practices that are wasteful, fraudulent, or harmful to the public safety. Others suggest that whistleblowers are, by and large, disgruntled employees who maliciously and recklessly accuse individuals they feel have wronged them in …show more content…
However, whistleblowers may often be wrong in their accusations and their motives are not always pure. Their actions can disrupt a workplace, and may cause serious harm to individuals wrongly accused.
Whatever your personal view of whistleblowers and whistleblowing, as an organizational policymaker you must consider the issue objectively. It is not an issue that can be ignored, due to the possible negative consequences for both your employees and your organization. For example, a recent review of whistleblowing incidents shows that among the whistleblowers surveyed, 62% lost their jobs, 18% felt that they were harassed or transferred, and 11% had their job responsibilities or salaries reduced. Fifty-one percent of the incidents resulted in external investigations of the companies involved, 37% in management shake-ups, 22% in criminal investigations, and 11% in indictrnents.[1]
Although these outcomes may not be typical, they do point out the potential seriousness of whistle blowing. Recent whistleblowing cases further demonstrate the potential problems facing companies that do not adequately address the issue. For example, after an employee of the entertainment company …show more content…
And, as they discussed earlier, such legal protection is indeed increasingly available. Finally, the world is becoming increasingly complex. Business organizations must deal with diverse and demanding stakeholder groups. More and more conflict between business and these groups can be expected concerning controversial issues such as the environment, civil rights, product safety, animal rights, and many other issues. Employees who sympathize with activists in various interest groups may be torn between their feelings toward these groups and loyalty to their organizations. When confronted with ethical conflicts which force them to choose between competing loyalties, they may choose actions which are consistent with their perceived obligations to individuals and groups outside the organization.
3. The ineffectiveness of retaliation. Although it seems that organizations sometimes punish whistleblowers to silence them or to persuade other employees to keep silent, there is little if any empirical evidence that such tactics work. In fact, employees who blow the whistle to parties
Why Your Company Should Have A Whistleblowing Policy
Why Your Company Should Have A Whistleblowing Policy by Tim Barnett, Assistant Professor of Management, Louisiana Tech University Sam Advanced
Management Journal, Autumn, 1992, pp. 37-42
Whistleblowers, those individuals who call attention to possible wrongdoing within their organizations, are the subjects of much controversy. Some say that whistleblowers are noble characters, willing to sacrifice personally and professionally to expose organizational practices that are wasteful, fraudulent, or harmful to the public safety. Others suggest that whistleblowers are, by and large, disgruntled employees who maliciously and recklessly accuse individuals they feel have wronged them in …show more content…
However, whistleblowers may often be wrong in their accusations and their motives are not always pure. Their actions can disrupt a workplace, and may cause serious harm to individuals wrongly accused.
Whatever your personal view of whistleblowers and whistleblowing, as an organizational policymaker you must consider the issue objectively. It is not an issue that can be ignored, due to the possible negative consequences for both your employees and your organization. For example, a recent review of whistleblowing incidents shows that among the whistleblowers surveyed, 62% lost their jobs, 18% felt that they were harassed or transferred, and 11% had their job responsibilities or salaries reduced. Fifty-one percent of the incidents resulted in external investigations of the companies involved, 37% in management shake-ups, 22% in criminal investigations, and 11% in indictrnents.[1]
Although these outcomes may not be typical, they do point out the potential seriousness of whistle blowing. Recent whistleblowing cases further demonstrate the potential problems facing companies that do not adequately address the issue. For example, after an employee of the entertainment company …show more content…
And, as they discussed earlier, such legal protection is indeed increasingly available. Finally, the world is becoming increasingly complex. Business organizations must deal with diverse and demanding stakeholder groups. More and more conflict between business and these groups can be expected concerning controversial issues such as the environment, civil rights, product safety, animal rights, and many other issues. Employees who sympathize with activists in various interest groups may be torn between their feelings toward these groups and loyalty to their organizations. When confronted with ethical conflicts which force them to choose between competing loyalties, they may choose actions which are consistent with their perceived obligations to individuals and groups outside the organization.
3. The ineffectiveness of retaliation. Although it seems that organizations sometimes punish whistleblowers to silence them or to persuade other employees to keep silent, there is little if any empirical evidence that such tactics work. In fact, employees who blow the whistle to parties