Whistleblowing: The Right Choice
Whistleblowing has become a popular topic in recent decades due to the misconduct of private businesses and government-run operations. Whistleblowers usually get perceived as snitches or people making up lies because they are mad at the company. Whistleblowers should not be viewed in bad terms but instead be seen as people standing up to do what is right. Whistleblowers are showing the company loyalty because they are trying to make sure the company is doing business in a professional manner. Even though, Whistleblowers try to do what is right but more often than not they are retaliated against. This retaliation forces the whistleblower to seek protection from the company or government corporation. Whistleblowing
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He or she must decide if speaking out is in the best interest of the public. The choice is more complicated due to the uncertainties of who is responsible for the abuse or neglect, how great is the threat, and will speaking out result in changes for the better (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997, pg 328)?The whistleblower also needs to weigh the responsibility to the public’s best interest versus his loyalties to his company and his colleagues. The codes of ethics stresses the responsibility to the public outweighs their allegiance (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997, pg 328).Another conflict is personal in nature. The core of our loyalties lies with our family, and to some extension, the company that provides employment. We are loyal to our colleagues since we often spend more time with them then our families. Loyalty also reaches the local community and our country guided by both civic and patriotic duty (Devine & Maassarani, 2011, pg 10).The main dilemma for a whistleblower to solve is choosing between the conflicts and values, such as the loyalty and duty to the company, honesty to the public, to his family and friends, but mostly towards himself. These are all subjective, depending on where the whistleblower lives, his culture, and his background. The question then becomes not which interest is the most important, but what the level of loyalty is shown to the company. The definition of loyalty is based in accordance with one’s interest, sometimes acting their wishes (Rimoldi & Zanchetti, 2007, pg 16).Whistleblowing does, however, require some disloyalty towards the company, but this could be thought of in a positive way, as it means to be honest to a wide group of people. Internal whistleblowing is not considered disloyal as it aims to solve a problem without destroying a company’s reputation. External whistleblowing is acceptable only when serious harm is involved, when the concerns are ignored by the