Tina Whitaker
Whistleblowing and Ethics
Upper Iowa University
February 11, 2018

Introduction Whistleblowers were never treated with hospitality. In general, 90% of whistleblowers lost their jobs or were demoted, regardless of the industry; 27% faced lawsuits; 26% had psychiatric or medical referrals; 17% lost their homes, and 8% went bankrupt (Waters 2008). As highly righteous as whistleblowers are, they also suffer severe consequences. In Hughes Aircraft case, the company 's employees who decided to blow the whistle, Goodearl and Aldred were extremely affected and treated unfairly, so much so that " [Goodearl] and her husband had to file for bankruptcy, and Aldred was on welfare for a year before she could find another job."(The Hughes Whistleblowing Case, n.d.). Hence, the focus of this paper is to determine whether or not whistle blowing is really worth the trouble, even though it is almost always ethically correct.
What are Goodearl’s obligations/responsibilities Goodearl has several responsibilities. First, Goodearl has responsibility to herself and her family, for one cannot survive with proper sources of income to exchange for goods and services. In this situation, she would act out of her self-interest. Second, she has responsibility to Hughes Microelectronics because she is an employee of the company and is responsible for the testing floor operation. Because of her responsibility to which the company delegates, Goodearl is obligated to