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A Project on
WHISTLE BLOWING
MID II Assignment Submitted
In the Partial Fulfillment of the requirement for
The Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration
Submitted to Submitted by
Dr. Chandra Lata Singh Vaishnavi More; Y18180534
B.B.A. 4TH Sem.
Department of Business Management
Dr. Harisingh Gour university, Sagar, M.P. (470002)
Year 2019-2020
23rd Batch
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CONTENT
Definition
Features
Types of whistle blowing
Motives of whistle blowing
Conditions when whistle blowing is morally justified
Conditions when whistle blowing is morally unjustified
Advantages
Problems
Creating a whistle blowing culture
Protection laws
Whistle blower policy
Needs for whistle blower policy
Contents of whistle blower policy
Its applicability
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WHISTLE BLOWING
“Breaking the Silence”
Whistle Blowing is the instance of reporting improper activities
to an appropriate person.
FEATURES OF WHISTLE BLOWING
1. INDIVIDUAL ACT: Whistle Blowing is an act of individual
i.e. a person or a group of person.
2. MORAL MOTIVE: The Whistle Blowing is done for a
public good rather than for some selfish motive.
3. REASONABLE BELIEF: The Whistle Blower beliefs that
the conduct for an activity reported is inappropriate.
4. CALLING ATTENTION: Whistle Blowing means calling
attention of proper authority to something which is wrong.
5. EXPECTATION OF POSITIVE RESPONSE: The Whistle
Blower expects the organisation or the external agency to
respond positively.
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6. VOLUNTARY ACT: Whistle Blowing is voluntary and
deliberate as there is no legal obligation to do so.
7. SEVERAL TYPES: The person blowing the whistle maybe
an insider or an outsider. It maybe against a person, or an
organisation or a group or government.
TYPES OF WHISTLE BLOWING
1. INTERNAL WHISTLE BLOWING: It refers to disclose
about the improper conduct of a person within the
organisation. Its purpose is to get the matter investigated
in accordance with the organization’s rules and
procedures.
2. EXTERNAL WHISTLE BLOWING: It refers to
disclosure to outside agencies such as the media,
enforcement authorities and public interest groups.
3. PERSONAL WHISTLE BLOWING: When a person or
class of persons is subjected to immoral behaviour or
exploitation, the disclosure is called personal whistle
blowing.
4. CORPORATE WHISTLE BLOWING: It refers to
disclosure about misconduct on the part of a company.
5. GOBVERNMENT WHISTLE BLOWING: It refers to
discloser about wrong or immoral conduct on the part of
government officials or department.
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MOTIVES OF WHISTLE BLOWING
1. To enforce ethical conduct: Whistle blowing is done to
make the person or organization realize and adopt ethical
behaviour.
2. To highlight the danger: One of the reasons behind
whistle blowing is to point out the possible dangers from
the use of the products or technology.
3. To highlight threat to public: Disclosure is also made to
point out the danger to life and property due to a defective
product or technique.
4. To motivate towards morality: One of the motives of
whistle blowing is to inspire the managers or government
officials to adopt moral values and ethical practices.
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CONDITIONS WHEN WHISTLE BLOWING IS
MORALLY JUSTIFIED:
When Whistle Blowing is based on an appropriate
motive or utmost good faith.
When the whistle blower’s belief regarding the
inappropriate conduct is based on reasonable
evidence.
When the whistle blower’s action has some chance of
exposing or avoiding the moral violation.
CONDITIONS WHEN WHISTLE BLOWING IS
MORALLY UNJUSTIFIED:
Breach of trust: when the disclosure amounts to breach of
trust on the part of the person making the disclosure.
Internal channels not used: when the person making the
disclosure has not tried internal channels to prevent or
stop the wrongdoing or misconduct.
Insufficient evidence: when there is lack of clear and
substantiated evidence that the organization is doing
something which cause serious harm to the other parties.
Little chance of success: whistle blowing is not justified in
case it is uncertain that it will prevent the wrong.
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ADVANTAGES
An insider has first hand information compare to an
external investigative agency. He may therefore, be able to
supply clinching evidence for pinning down the guilty.
An insider may give early warnings signals which may help
abort corruption.
Making whistle blowing official and acceptable would
obviate anonymous petitioning and unauthorized leaks to
the media.
PROBLEMS
In an organization, whistle blowing breaks the unwritten
code of silence, which expects every employee to be loyal
to the others.
Officially encouraged whistle blowing may discourage
corrupt behavior which will also discourage initiative and
the willingness to take bold and quick decisions.
After the whistle blowing case has been justified, the honest
whistle blowers has to face the mental agony.
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CREATING A WHISTLE BLOWING CULTURE
Formulate a policy: a clear cut policy reflecting
commitment to ethical conduct must be developed.
Publicize the policy: the policy should be given wide
publicity through memos, newsletters, annual reports,
etc.
Top management support: the top executives must
fully support the culture of honesty, truth, openness.
Investigating and follow up: all the allegations must
be promptly investigated and appropriate follow up
must be taken.
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PROTECTION LAWS:
1. The Whistle blower protection law 1989.
2. The Whistleblower act 1994.
Whistle blowers in some areas are not without legal
support. In united states, both federal and state laws
are aimed at protecting those who undertake whistle
blowing.
However, even with this support the potential whistle
blower must still contemplate a difficult and
dangerous path.
The primary protection law is the Federal Whistle
Blower Protection Act 1989.
Another Federal Law is the False Claims Act, which
has been around since 1863.
Many state governments have passed their own
whistle blower protection acts.
WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY
Whistle blower policy is a document that contains a company’s
commitment to whistle blowing. It provides guidelines about the
process and procedures to be followed by the whistle blowers,
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and protection available to them and the actions the company
proposes to take on the disclosers made by the whistle blowers.
NEEDS FOR WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY
Several corporate frauds have come to light through whistle
blowing. Therefore a formal policy on whistle blowing is useful
mechanisms for uncovering misbehavior on the part of
employees. It prevents blowing up of misdoings. It helps to
reduce corporate losses due to theft, violations of rules and
regulations and other unethical practices.
CONTENT OF WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY
Coverage: A whistle blower policy covers individuals
within the organizations as well as the outsiders who
conduct business with it.
Process: The policy describes the steps which whistle
blowers are expected to take in filling their claims. It may
require whistle blower to direct their claims to a specific
person.
Confidentiality: The identity of the whistle blower is kept
secret. Confidentiality is essential so that whistle blower
feels secure and comfortable.
Its APPLICABILITY
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Whistle blower policy applies to all the permanent employees of
the company. This policy is formulated to provide opportunities
to employees to access in good faith in case they observe
improper practices in the company.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A whistle-blower is primarily motivated by _
A. retaliation
B. ethical concern
C. personal gain
D. fear of retribution
2. Which of the following is necessary for whistle-blowing
to occur?
A. information
B. legal protection
C. a nondisclosure agreement
D. managing authority
3. Some corporations have an ombudsman, whose role is to
A. blow the whistle
B. release information to the public
C. report on employees
D. hear complaints
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4. Why is the loyal agent argument supported by the law?
A. The argument is supported because of the agent
dictates the principal's job duties.
B. The argument is supported because the agent is morally
but not contractually obligated to follow the principal's
directions.
C. The argument is supported because the agent is not an
employee of the principal.
D. The argument is supported because the agent is
contractually obligated to perform his or her duty
5. The two Challenger spacecraft engineers who were
concerned about possible Oring failure were unsuccessful
at whistleblowing because they ________
. A. tried to resolve the matter internally at Morton Thiokol
B. refused to use Morton Thiokol internal channels to
address the matter
C. did not document problems with the O-ring
D. opted to contact the press before speaking with their
superiors about potential problems with the O-ring
6. Loyalty to a corporation can sometimes lead to
whistleblowing if _____.
A. the corporation is a large one
B. the whistleblower enjoys legal protection
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C. the whistleblower wants to see change in the
corporation
D. the government is paying the employee for the
information
7. Employees who are most upset with a company will most
often _____.
A. write to the CEO
B. simply leave the company
C. go public with their complaints
D. hope the company will reform from within
ANSWERS
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. A
6. C
7. B
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