by Alex Storey

Created on: March 22, 2009   Last Updated: December 10, 2010

"A person who alleges misconduct"

"Someone who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in a position of authority"

"An employee who has inside knowledge of illegal activities occurring within his or her organization and reports to public"

"Exposure of fraud and abuse by an employee"

BLOWING THE WHISTLE: The police in England traditionally carried whistles in order to alert danger when blown! Business uses the metaphor of whistle blowing to mean all of the above.

PROS

These days a more auspicious and favorable climate for whistle blowing is presented. The advantages can be freedom of information, honesty, justice, fairness and equality. If lives can be saved it is surely the RIGHT thing to do.

Consumer and employee health can be protected. For example, the case of asbestos manufacturing, which directly related to lung disease as far back as the 1920's, was actively suppressed by company officials for fifty years.

Internal whistle blowing is appealing to superiors inside the organization and you may be seen as a savior. Green business is big business these days and a selling point.

Increasing communication is usually a positive if it raises the standards. Employees may feel more comfortable at work if they are free to raise their concerns. Modern day organizations often have clear whistle blowing policies, accessible to everyone in order to abide by the law.

CONS

You may be seen as a grass or snitch, face reprisals, hostility, alienation and victimization at work and be more closely supervised as a result.

In the old days, you were expected to be loyal or be fired. The lack of protection meant problems were usually concealed rather than solved. Management would famously say, "you cannot bite the hand that feeds you and insist on staying on for the banquet."

External whistle blowing is going public and one famous example when somebody should have is Firestone Tires in 1972. Warnings internally were ignored about a faulty tire, which resulted in death and serious injury with blowouts. This could have been avoided.

NHS

By the time the whistle is blown, unfortunately much of the damage has already been done! According to Karen Jennings of Unison, speaking in 2009 about health workers, "It is essential for staff to be able to raise concerns about standards of patient care or staff safety, without the fear of reprisals."

SUMMARY

For an entertaining insight to the concept of blowing the whistle, watch The Insider (1999) which is the story of Jeffrey Wigand and his Big Tobacco exposure.

Russell Crowe receives severe personal consequences including death threats against his family, loss of income, divorce, and the threat of litigation for breach of confidentiality relating to Al Pacino's suing for reimbursement of funds to pay for smoking related diseases.

My suggestion is this. Encourage INTERNAL whistle blowing to avoid the need to blow the whistle EXTERNALLY. This has the advantage of bringing unethical practice to the forefront without leaking outside and damaging the organization. The company then has the chance to rectify the problem. If they don't, then go public!

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