EOTO 2 - Blog #9
A whistleblower is a person, usually an employee, who brings wrongdoing by an employer or by other employees to the attention of a government or law enforcement agency (Whistleblower). Some positives of whistleblowing or being a whistleblower are its tendency to reveal information that may be harmful to the environment and its’ employees as well as mainly the company itself. Some negatives of whistleblowing or being a whistleblower are that, if found, that whistleblower will most likely lose their job and other companies that person wishes to apply or interview for may be hesitant to hire that person due to their loyalty being put into question with the previous whistleblowing even though a whistleblower is commonly protected legally from retaliation. An example of someone who may be considered a whistleblower is someone who works within a company and reveals that the same company is price fixing, over-billing or billing for services not performed.
Ultimately, that person is exposing that company for going against conduct and almost “cheating” the consumer, whoever that may be. Whistleblowing brings fairness and loyalty into conflict. According to Ethicssage.com, “Doing what is fair or just often conflicts with showing loyalty” (Is Whistleblowing an Ethical Practice? 2014). Whistleblowing positively affects society if the whistleblowing occurs when it is believed that more harm than good will occur if the whistleblower stays silent. On the other hand, whistleblowing will affect society negatively if that whistleblower only has the intention of doing so for personal gain. It is seen that sometimes greed is often a motivating force when considering whether to “blow the whistle” on a financial wrongdoing. Overall, whistleblowing is controversial for all parties involved.
Whistleblowing affects society as a whole, whether it be good or bad, it affects the way companies perform as well as how they treat their employees and even customer satisfaction could be a factor. Before someone becomes a whistleblower, they often battle between the idea of what is ethically right and how whistleblowing will benefit them. More frequently than not, the whistleblower is not whistleblowing for themselves, but more so those who are considered the consumers of the company who is doing the wrong as well as those who currently work there but do not wish to lose their current job, no matter how detrimental those wrongdoings are to society or the consumer.
While some may say that exposing these companies is the only answer when someone finds out what is going on behind the scenes, there are entirely different sides to each story where someone else may thing it is silly to out a company that may put all employees in jeopardy of losing their jobs when they simply cannot afford to lose it. Most situations in life that are good vs. bad are the most controversial when both sides can be considered bad as well as good depending on who you speak to and their perspective.
Whistleblower. (n.d.). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whistleblower
Is Whistleblowing an Ethical Practice? (2014, September 30). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.ethicssage.com/2014/09/is-whistleblowing-an-ethical-practice.html
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