Ethical Whistleblowing
WhistleBlowing, When you hear this word you will have a lot of questions about whistleBlowing like Is it good or bad? Can I do this? Will it affect society? So This article will help you to answer your all of your questions about whistleBlowing,
At first, we will look at what is whistleBlowing?
Whistleblowing is the act of telling the authorities or the public that the organization you are working for is doing something immoral or illegal. This will affect your organization or government in good or bad.Whistleblowing is a valuable and powerful tool in organizational corporate governance strategy because it gives employees the way to deal with incidence of misconduct and protect the interest of individuals, organizations or public.
Who is a whistleblower?
A whistle-blower is a person who exposes secretive information or activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct
Complaints that count as whistleblowing
You’re protected by law if you report any of the following:
- 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
- the company is breaking the law, for example does not have the right insurance
- you believe someone is covering up wrongdoing
Personal grievances (for example bullying, harassment, discrimination) are not covered by whistleblowing law, unless your particular case is in the public interest.
But is whistleblowing ethical?
Whistleblowing is an ethical behavior because in an environment that supports whistleblowers through encouraging self-regulation and accountability, management can ensure that the business activities are protected from unethical exercises
If somebody is sure about the company is doing serious harm to the public having clear evidence to prove it and the internal disclosure creates an inadequate response to eliminate the harm, then it is ethically required to blow the whistle.
However, if the whistleblower does not try the inside channels first or there are various allegations which are not based on truth, it will not be possible to say that the act of whistleblowing is ethical.Moreover, the incentive behind the blowing the whistle should not be a personal grievance or a desire for gaining financial benefit.
There are four elements of the whistleblowing process:
1. The whistleblower
2. The whistleblowing act or complaint
3. The party to whom the complaint is made
4. The organization against which the complaint is lodged.
what are the Steps/procedure for a whistleblowing?
Step 1 — Get Evidence
Step 2 — Presenting the Evidence
Step 3 — Government Investigation
Step 4 — The Decision
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