When if ever is an employee justified in blowing the whistle?

Briefly, (1) the firm's actions will do serious and considerable harm to others; (2) the whistle-blowing act is justifiable once the employee reports it to her immediate supervisor and makes her moral concerns known; (3) absent any action by the supervisor, the employee should take the matter all the way up to the ...
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When can whistleblowing be justified?

In this article we argue that whistleblowing is justified when disclosures are made with the proper intent and fulfill specific communicative constraints in addressing issues of public interest. Three communicative con- straints of informativeness, truthfulness and evidence are discussed in this regard.
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What are three reasons when external whistle blowing can be justified?

power. However, they may be justified if (1) the information disclosed concerns grave government wrongdoing, (2) alternative channels of disclosure are first exhausted and (3) steps are taken to minimize harm.
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What should an employee consider before blowing the whistle?

The whistleblower should make sure the evidence is 'specific, timely and credible' and provide examples and details of transactions. The more information the better, and if more details or evidences comes to light during the course of the investigation, the whistleblower should submit those too.
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Is whistleblowing justified when it can prevent harm?

Avoiding moral wrong-doing is a greater demand than preventing harm. The act of whistleblowing allows the whistleblower from being complicit in the wrong-doing. Thus it can be successful even if preventing harm is not successful.
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Whistleblowing (at Work)



What are the paradoxes of whistleblowing?

Davis presents the standard theory of whistleblowing and what constitutes circumstances in which whistleblowing is morally required of an employee. Three paradoxes follow from the standard theory (of burden, of missing harm, of failure), to which Davis responds with a complicity theory that avoids all of them.
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What is the standard theory of whistleblowing?

2.2 Theories of Whistleblowing

Standard theory is based on the cost benefit analysis. In the standard theory, the whistleblower should take also oneself into account while making case analysis. There are three paradoxes regarding this theory which are Burden, Harm and Failure (Davis, 2003:547).
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What is one of the important conditions of whistleblowing?

All reports must be handled with confidentiality and sensitivity. Ultimately, all that whistleblowers want is to have their report handled confidentially, protection from any comeback (including being victimised or fired), and to have their report investigated properly.
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What are the 3 steps in the whistleblowing process?

Whistleblowing investigation process: How to prepare for an internal investigation
  1. Step 1: Separate the wheat from the chaff. ...
  2. Step 2: Contact the whistleblower. ...
  3. Step 3: Get to the bottom of things. ...
  4. Step 4: Take corrective measures.
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What are the two types of whistleblowing?

There are two types of whistleblowing. The first type is internal whistleblowing. This means that the whistleblower reports misconduct to another person within the organization. The second type is external whistleblowing.
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What is an example of whistleblowing?

If an employee report wrongdoing that they believe is in the public interest, it is known as whistleblowing. Whistleblowing examples can include criminal activity, such as theft or unethical or unjust behaviour in the workplace, including racist, sexist or homophobic behaviour.
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What is the importance of whistleblowing?

Whistleblowing enables justice and transparency. In your company, it could encourage a culture of openness and accountability. This empowers workers and creates an organisation that rejects wrongdoing. Overall, it makes for an environment in which workers can feel safe and protected from issues that could harm them.
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What is whistle blowing in ethics with example?

An example of whistleblowing is when an employee finds evidence of embezzlement within a company and uses the evidence to report the illegal activity to their boss, the board, or to the police. This can be done on a corporate or federal level.
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What are the pros and cons of whistleblowing?

That's why we suggest every potential whistleblower carefully consider the pros and cons of whistleblowing in the workplace:
  • Pro: Exposing Fraudulent Activity Is the Right Thing to Do. ...
  • Con: Your Career Could Suffer. ...
  • Pro: Protection from Retaliation Is Available. ...
  • Con: Your Relationships May Suffer.
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What are procedures for whistleblowing?

If you do not feel your concern has been addressed adequately you may raise it with an independent body such as one of the following as appropriate:
  • your trade union.
  • the Citizen's Advice Bureau.
  • Ofsted.
  • a relevant voluntary organisation.
  • the Police.
  • the Local Government Ombudsman.
  • Oxfordshire Racial Equality Council.
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Is whistleblowing ethical?

A simple formula: whistleblowing is exactly as ethical as the practices it exposes are unethical.
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How do you deal with whistleblowing?

The following are some steps to consider in Practice:
  1. Introduce and communicate a whistleblowing policy. ...
  2. Provide a forum for employees to discuss issues internally. ...
  3. Ensure management support the process. ...
  4. Ensure a thorough and immediate investigation takes place. ...
  5. Treat all cases in confidence.
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How whistle blowing can be beneficial to the organisation?

A strong culture of whistleblowing helps to identify all manner of potential threats — including some threats, such as cybersecurity risks, that might not involve employee misconduct at all. It minimizes risks and costs. Misconduct that continues for a long time will ultimately be more expensive to resolve.
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Under what condition is whistleblowing at least permissible and becomes your moral obligation?

According to the “standard theory” on whistleblowing, whistleblowing is morally required when it is required at all; people have a moral obligation to prevent serious harm to others if they can do so with little costs to themselves.
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Who in the first instance should you consider reporting your whistleblowing situation to?

In most UK cases, whistleblowing disclosures should be made to your employer, however, if you feel unable to do so because you have a real fear of retaliation, or evidence being destroyed, or you have already reported the whistleblowing concern to your employer, you may report your concern directly to the relevant ...
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Is whistleblowing a crime?

Complaints that count as whistleblowing

a criminal offence, for example fraud. someone's health and safety is in danger. risk or actual damage to the environment. a miscarriage of justice.
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Is whistleblowing utilitarian?

The ethical theory of consequentialism (utilitarian) provides a powerful justification for whistleblowing: maximizing the human benefit and minimizing the harm. Below is the standards theory summarized by Davis (2003, pp. 89-90) and describing when whistleblowing is morally required for the greatest good of society.
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What is complicity theory?

Complicity theory takes the notion that language creates reality to its logical extreme by suggesting that a language of argument and persuasion that rests on rigid definitions of self and other actually cultivates an understanding of difference as fundamentally negative.
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What is complicity theory of whistleblowing?

On Complicity Theory one must blow the whistle when by doing so one avoids being part of serious wrongdoing. The theories also differ on exactly why whistleblowing requires justification. On Complicity Theory one needs a good moral reason to overcome the act of disloyalty in which the agent engages.
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Is a paradox true?

A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion.
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