Ethical Whistleblowing

Hi every one 👋👋 ,today I would like to write this article about Ethical Whistleblowing.this article mainly include following contents.What is whistleblowing,Elements of ethical whistleblowing and Steps/procedure for a whistleblowing.

What is Whistleblowing?

The term whistleblowing can be defined as someone raising a concern about a wrong doing within their organisation. The concern must be a genuine concern about a crime, criminal offence, miscarriage of justice, dangers to health and safety and of the environment.

whistleblowing is really where an individual says to someone (usually someone in a position of responsibility).like following thoughts look there’s something’s wrong here, they’re quite worried and we need to be looking at this because someone might be hurt the environment, the environment might be damaged there might be a breach of a legal obligation, something is going wrong.

Who is a whistleblower?

A whistleblower is defined as someone who divulges wrongdoing, fraud, corruption or mismanagement. Mostly the person could be an employee because he is the person who becomes adept in about the corruption or frauds which takes place inside a company or organisation. However since all organisations restricts publishing institutional information, the whistleblower often faces retaliation like dismissal from employment and even physical harm.

Elements of ethical whistleblowing

The barriers to a successful internal whistleblowing program are:

1. A lack of trust in the internal system
2. Unwillingness of employees to be “snitches”
3. Misguided union solidarity
4. Belief that management is not held to the same standard
5. Fear of retaliation
6. Fear of alienation from peers

Whistle blowing has to do with ethics because it represents a person’s understanding, at a deep level, that an action his or her organization is taking is harmful — that it interferes with people’s rights or is unfair or detracts from the common good. Whistle blowing also calls upon the virtues, especially courage, as standing up for principles can be a punishing experience. Even though laws are supposed to protect whistle blowers from retaliation, people who feel threatened by the revelations can ostracize the whistle blower, marginalizing or even forcing him or her out of public office. On the other hand, there have been occasions when the role of whistle blower has actually catapulted people into higher office and has earned the respect of constituents.

There are four element of whistle-blowing process

1.The whistle-blower

2.The whistle-blowing act or complaint

3.The party to whom the complaint is made

4.The organization against which the complaint is lodged

The Ethics of leaking informations

• The first thing a potential leaker should ask is the status of the information itself. Is the information “classified,” “proprietary,” or otherwise “protected?” Is there a system in place which clearly considers this information restricted? If the information is clearly intended to be protected, then the leaker must meet a stiff test if he or she wants to leak it.
• The second consideration is whether the potential leaker has a specific obligation, legal or ethical, to protect the information, or has the information only because another person violated his or her obligation to keep it secret. If so, then it is a much more serious matter to reveal it.
• The third consideration is whether the information is about public or private matters. Information about another’s sexual orientation, about his or her private finances, or about personal phone calls has more of a claim to privacy than information about a person’s actions as a corporate executive or a government official. The difficult cases, of course, are those where the private life of individuals arguably influences their public actions.
• On the other hand, a leaker must determine if the conduct he or she is exposing represents actual wrongdoing or if it is simply represents a policy disagreement.

Steps/procedure for a whistleblowing

Step 1 — Get Evidence

In many whistleblower cases where an employee wants to report wrongdoing, having documentary evidence is essential to corroborate what that employee reports to the relevant authority be that an internal compliance or audit entity, or a government agency.

Step 2 — Presenting the Evidence

Whistleblowers must file a complaint in court and submit it to the federal government with a Disclosure Statement that details the suspected misconduct.However, before filing the claim, we will set up a meeting with the appropriate government agency to discuss the claim.

Step 3 — Government Investigation

If the government decides to take action against your employer based on the results of its investigation, you may be asked to testify at a grand jury proceeding or during trial. It is important you be prepared to reveal your identity, since your testimony may have a considerable impact on the outcome of the case. At this point, roughly 90% of whistleblower cases the government chooses to pursue are successful, resulting in the whistleblower receiving a considerable portion of the government’s recovery.

Step 4 — The Decision

finaly the government will take action on that organization under the law.

*🙏Thank you🙏*

References:

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

What is whistleblowing? | WhistleB The Whistleblowing center