Whistle Blowing

Breaking The Silence“Whistle Blowing is the instance of reporting improper activities to an appropriate person.’’ – Richard T.De George

Features•Individual Act : Whistle Blowing is an act of an individual i.e. a person or a group of person.•Moral Motive : The Whistle Blowing is done for a public good rather than for some selfish motive.•Reasonable Belief : The Whistle Blower beliefs that the conduct for an activity reported is inappropriate.

•Calling Attention : Whistle Blowing means calling attention of proper authority to something which is wrong.•Expectation Of Positive Response : The Whistle Blower expects the organization or the external agency to respond positively.•Voluntary Act : Whistle Blowing is voluntary and deliberate as there is no legal obligation to do so.•Several Types : The Person Blowing The Whistle maybe an insider or an outsider. It maybe against a person, an organization or a group and a government.

Types Of Whistle Blowing• Internal Whistle Blowing : It refers to disclose about the improper conduct of a person within the organization. Its purpose is to get the matter investigated in accordance with the organization’s rules and procedures.•External Whistle Blowing : It refers to disclosure to outside agencies such as the media, enforcement authorities and public interest groups.

•Personal Whistle Blowing : When a person or class of persons is subjected to immoral behavior or exploitation, the disclosure is called personal whistle blowing.

•Corporate Whistle Blowing : It refers to disclosure about misconduct on the part of a company.

•Government Whistle Blowing : It refers to disclosure about wrong or immoral conduct on the part of government officials or department.

Motives Of Whistle Blowing • To Enforce Ethical Conduct : Whistle Blowing is done to make

the person or organization realize and adopt ethical behavior.• To Highlight the Dangers : One of the reasons behind whistle

blowing is to point out the possible dangers from the use of a product or technology.• To Highlight Threat to Public : Disclosure is also made to

point out the danger to life and property due to a defective product or technique.• To Motivate Towards Morality : One of the motives of whistle

blowing is to inspire the mangers or government officials to adopt morals value and ethical practices.

Is Whistle Blowing Morally Justified ?

•When whistle blowing is based on an appropriate motive or utmost good faith.•When the whistle blower has exhausted all internal channels.•When the whistle blower’s belief regarding the inappropriate conduct is based on reasonable evidence.•When the whistle blower’s action has some chance of exposing and/or avoiding the moral violation.•When the whistle blower’s action is commensurate with responsibility for avoiding and/or exposing moral violation.

When whistle blowing is morally unjustified ?

• Breach of trust : When the disclosure amounts to breach of trust on the part of the person making the disclosure.• Internal Channels not used : When the person

making the disclosure has not tried internal channels to prevent or stop the wrongdoing or misconduct.• Insufficient Evidence : When there is lack of clear and

substantiated evidence that the organization is doing something wrong which cause serious harm to the other parties.• Little Chance Of success : Whistle blowing is not

justified incase it is uncertain that it will prevent the wrong.

Advantages • An insider has first-hand information compare to an external investigative agency. He may, therefore, be able to supply clinching evidence for pinning down the guilty.• An insider may give early warning signals which may help abort corruption.• Protecting whistle blower may deter corrupt behavior by others.•Making whistle blowing official and acceptable would obviate anonymous petitioning and unauthorized leaks to the media.

Problems• In an organization, whistle blowing breaks the unwritten code of silence, which expects every employee to be loyal to the others.• Officially encouraged whistle blowing may discourage corrupt behavior which will also discourage initiative and the willingness to take bold and quick decisions.• In the present politically and morally vitiated administrative environment, is there not a risk of whistle blowing being used to blackmail colleagues or even bosses.• After the whistle blowing case has been justified, the honest whistle blowers has to face the mental agony.

Creating A Whistle Blowing Culture

• Formulate a policy : A clear cut policy reflecting commitment to ethical conduct must be developed.• Publicize the policy : The policy should be given wide

publicity through memos, newsletters, annual reports, etc.• Top management support : The top executives must

fully support the culture of honesty, truth, openness. • Investigating and follow-up : All the allegations must

be promptly investigated and appropriate follow up must be taken.

Cases of whistle blowing in India

CASE 1:One of the early cases of whistle blowing in India is when Feroz Gandhi disclosed the Mundhra Scam in Life Insurance Corporation of India(LIC). The irregularity was highlighted in 1958. Nehru, as the leader of the ruling Congress party, wished to have the LIC matter handled quietly since it might show the government in a poor light.

Whistle Blower Policy

Whistle blower policy is a document that contains a company’s commitment to whistle blowing. It provides guideline about the process and procedures to be followed by the whistle blowers, the protection available to them and the actions the company proposes to take on the disclosures made by whistle blowers.

Need of Whistle Blower Policy

Several corporate frauds have come to light through whistle blowing. Therefore, a formal policy on whistle blowing is useful mechanism for uncovering misbehavior on the part of employees. It prevents blowing up of misdoings. It helps to reduce corporate loses due to theft, violations of rules and regulations and other unethical practices.

Contents of Whistle Blower Policy•Coverage : A whistle Blower Policy covers individuals within the organization as well as outsiders who conduct business with it.•Process : The policy describes the steps which whistle blowers are expected to take in filling their claims. It may require whistle blower to direct their claims to a specified person.•Confidentiality : The identity od the whistle blower is kept secret. Confidentiality is essential so that whistle blower feel secure and comfortable.

Its applicabilityWhistle Blower Policy applies to all the permanentemployees of the company. This policy is formulated to provide opportunities to employees to access in good faith in case they observe improper practices in the company.