Whistleblowing
"Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Overview
What is Whistleblowing?
When and how to blow the whistle
Risks
Statistics
Ethical Dilemma
Case Study: Challenger Disaster
2002: The Year of the Whistleblower
What is Whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is…
'raising concerns about misconduct within an
organization or within an independent structure
associated with it'
(Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life)
'bringing an activity to a sharp conclusion as if by the
blast of a whistle'
(Oxford English Dictionary)
'giving information (usually to the authorities) about
illegal and underhand practices‘
(Chambers Dictionary)
When to Blow the Whistle
Knowledge of inappropriateness
Making proprietary software available to public
Back door/booby-trap in code
Embezzlement or redirection of funds
Bad claims
Unrealistic date projection
Advertising hype
Knowledge of impending doom
What to think about
The “mom” test:
“I’m going to be in this industry a long time. Will
this damage my reputation with my boss,
colleagues, future customers or employers?”
The personal responsibility test:
Weigh personal obligations to family and etc. that
can only be met if you have an income.
“Will harm avoided by greater than harm incurred?”
How to Blow the Whistle
Do it anonymously
let the evidence speak for itself and protect yourself if
possible
Do it in a group
charges have more weight and won’t seem like a personal
vendetta.
Present just the evidence
leave interpretation of facts to others.
Work through internal channels
start with your immediate supervisor or follow the standard
reporting procedure
Work through external channels
go public (biggest risk)
Risks of Whistleblowing
WB rarely works out well for the
whistleblower
Viewed as a “rat” who ratted out the company
Resented by coworkers
Serious contemplation of job change or personal
problematic activity (drinking, drugs, self-
destructive behavior)
Depends on the organization for a job, the job
makes money, the family needs money to survive
Statistics
Polling Group:
233 individuals polled, 40% responded
Average age: 47
Employed for 6.5 years at job
Almost all lost job
Statistics
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
Positive Effects:
20% felt their actions resulted in positive changes
More than 50% (of responders) would do it again
Ethical Dilemma
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
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’”
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
Case Study: Challenger
January 28, 1986
Space Shuttle Challenger
exploded 72 seconds into
its flight, killing all 7 crew
members. The flight received much media
attention because a teacher, Christa
McAuliffe, was on board.
Challenger: What Went Wrong
Explosion caused by O-ring
failure between segments of
the booster rockets.
Several employees of the
manufacturer, Thiokol, had
been aware of the O-ring
deficiencies.
No one listened to the
engineers who knew about
the problem
Challenger: Major Players
Roger Boisjoly, seal specialist at Thiokol
Directed task force for a year to study the evidence
that hot gases eroded O-rings
Allan McDonald, manager of solid-rocket motor
program
Larry Mulloy, NASA official, manager of booster
programs
George Hardy, NASA official
Challenger: Timeline
July 31, 1985
Boisioly wrote a memo saying, “it is my honest and
very real fear that if we do not take immediate action
to solve the problem [the company could] stand in
jeopardy of losing a flight.”
No conclusive evidence to back up memo
Challenger: Timeline
January 27, 1986, the day before lift-off
McDonald was worried about temperatures dropping to 22
degrees overnight.
14 engineers “fought like hell” to get permission to present to
NASA
All 14 Thiokol engineers recommended postponing the launch
Mulloy and Hardy challenged the recommendation
Mulloy: “When do you want me to launch, next April?”
Hardy: recommendation “appalled” him
Thiokol: Management reversed the recommendation for
postponement
What kind of dilemma was Thiokol forced into?
Challenger: The Explosion
O-rings partially failed
on ignition (picture)
Melted metal sealed
the gap
Hit a wind shear,
causing the booster to
flex and the seal to
dislodge
Loss of cabin
pressure
Flames led to
explosion
Challenger: Timeline
After the explosion
McDonald
Went public
Demoted by management
Public outcry and Congressional investigation led to a reversal of that
decision and a promotion instead
Became spokesman for Thiokol and new rocket boosters
Boisjoly
“I hope and pray that I have not risked my job and family security by
being honest in my conviction”
Never worked on a shuttle again because it was too painful
Wondered if there was more he could have done, even though the
record shows he minced no words
Reassigned by management with altered responsibilities
Took leave of absence, a year later went on disability
Challenger: Timeline
Later Repercussions
Boisjoly sued Thiokol for $1 billion in personal suit
Dismissed because Thiokol’s actions were ruled not to have
been designed to cause him distress
Biosjoly sued Thiokol for $2 billion under False Claims
Act
Filed on premise that Thiokol falsely certified safety and
knew that the rockets they supplied to NASA were defective
Dismissed in 1988: Judge ruled that decision to launch was
not a false claim, but an engineering judgment with which
other engineers disagreed, and that NASA also knew the
facts behind the allegations, and was not deceived
Challenger: Questions
What effects did Boisjoly and McDonald face when they
blew the whistle?
Why did NASA not listen to the engineers?
Why did Thiokol to reverse its decision even though they
knew it was incorrect?
Would you have blown the whistle differently than
Boisjoly and McDonald? If so, how?
Did McDonald go public at the right time?
2002: Year of the Whistleblower
Cynthia Cooper Coleen Rowley Sherron Watkins
WorldCom FBI Enron
Sherron Watkins
Former Vice President of Enron
Corporation
Alerted then-CEO Ken Lay in August
2001 to accounting irregularities within
the company
Warned that Enron 'might implode in a
wave of accounting scandals.'
Testified before Congressional
Committees from the House and Senate
investigating Enron's demise.
Lauded in the press for her courageous
actions, but left her job at Enron after a
few months when she wasn't given
much to do
Coleen Rowley
FBI staff attorney
Wrote 13-page memo to FBI Director
about pre-9/11 intelligence in May 2002
Testified for the Senate Judiciary
Committee
Concerned the FBI was becoming more
bureaucratic and micromanaged
Helped government focus on better
intelligence management
Fanny Pack
Cynthia Cooper
WorldCom’s Director of Internal Audit
Her team discovered $3 billion in questionable
expenses
Met with 4 executives to track down and explain
the undocumented expenses
Disclosed findings, WorldCom stock frozen,
corporate credit rating went from B+ to CCC-
Remained as VP of Internal Audit, not
promoted, no gratitude, resented by employees
