Whistleblowing And Its Effect On National Security

Review “Just pucker and blow: An analysis of corporate whistleblowers” in Chapter 2. Please respond to the following:

What is the explanation of the standard view on whistleblowing presented by Sissela Bok and reported by Robert Larmer in his article?

The various forms of retribution that whistle-blowers endure at the hands of employers both financially and psychologically for attempting to correct mismanagement, fraud, and dishonesty are often too much for the whistle-blower to bear. Careers are in jeopardy because individuals with strong ethics decide to pursue law suits against their employers. One example is where the US Forest Service employees found their careers ruined by either demotions or loss of jobs when caught speaking out in favor of the environment or sound science, or when

1. Describe the key characteristics of a whistleblower, and briefly summarize one (1) researched instance of whistleblowing in one (1) publicly traded company within the last 12 months. Include the details of the issue that the whistleblower reported and the effect of the whistleblower’s actions on both the whistleblower himself and the company.

In recent history, one extremely controversial case of whistleblowing has been the government leaks caused by Edward Snowden, in which he exposed secret documents from the National Security Agency (NSA), for the entire world to see. The information he released revealed that the communication records of millions of Americans have been kept, whether or not these people had been involved with any suspicious activity (Greenwald). Snowden felt he was justified in releasing the documents, under his belief that collecting private information about innocent citizens is malpractice and that it violates the ideals of democracy (Snowden). This particular example of whistleblowing has been largely disputed among all types of people, from leaders of countries, to CEOs and workers at technology companies, to everyday Americans wondering just how much information the government has filed on them. This enormous controversy can be best understood by recognizing the two principle factors that have lead to dispute.

Law enforcement has always been an example to their citizens because of the values that these institutions represent like leadership, integrity, fairness, team work and service orientation. When one of these values is broken the rest start falling apart and it slowly starts spreading among the rest of the personnel in the institution until one decides to stand up for what is right. These officers are called “whistleblowers” this term was created in the early 1970s by US civic activist Ralph Nader, this word was used to avoid the negative terms like “snitches” or “informers” and it makes reference to a referee who uses its whistle to call out a foul play. Just like some officers who have spoken out on their colleagues actions. Most

Unfortunately, even though the events of the film are based on real life, the reality is that most whistleblowers are not seen in a positive light. Take, for example, Edward Snowden. Many people believe he is a traitor, while others see him as a patriot standing up for people’s rights. In the business world, whistleblowing is generally regarded as a bad thing. That is unless you are in a position of authority.

Hayley, I absolutely agree with you. Each individual must make his or her own decision as to whether the disturbing unethical offense is worth the personal cost (Reece 2014, pg 111). When I was personal faced with trying to decide to whistle blow or keep quiet and do nothing at all; I had to tell. I tried to just keep my head down and be silent but, the silence was literally making me sick. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and what I knew was constantly on my mind, I felt like I couldn’t function properly. The reason I was unable to function was because not being honest was not in my charter. I made the decision to be the whistleblower, and yes I did receive some back lash but for me that was better than the silence. Every individual is different,

Are government whistleblowers acting in the public interest, or do they endanger the public by exposing classified information? Just as government transparency has waned in recent years, there have been several instances of very public national intelligence whistle-blowing. Large scale leaks such as those published by The Guardian and WikiLeaks have prompted debate on issues of government secrecy, as well as the balance between security and liberty. High profile whistleblowers like Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden have, at great personal risk, leaked classified information to the public in the interest of transparency. Leaked media and documents range from embarrassing, to potentially dangerous. Heightened levels of

Although many see it as a solution to keeping government surveillance in check, whistleblowing only alerts citizens to the problem. Chuck McCutcheon agrees with this claim in his article titled “Whistleblowers.” In the article, McCutcheon maintains that “there is a trend toward greater public support for whistleblowing and a stronger sense that whistleblowers should be supported, rather than it just being assumed that they are always destined to suffer as martyrs” (2). In other words, McCutcheon believes that whistleblowers only have the potential to start

This report was due to the leak of classified document by Edward Joseph Snowden, a former contractor for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and former worker of the NSA (National Security Agency) through subcontractor Booz Allen Hamilton, a tech consulting firm. Based in the NSA's Oahu office, Edward Snowden was a system administrator as described by intelligence officials. As a system administrator, Snowden action of whistle blowing can be analyzed from different angle with different perspective. The impact of his act on the intelligence gathering itself was devastating. According to Keith Alexander, former NSA director, what Snowden has uncovered has brought about irreversible and noteworthy harm to the United States and its allies (Ackerman and Rushe, 2013). By discussing the harm caused by Snowden leaking the classified documents, we will be evaluating the damage that can be caused by unethical act done by a system administrator. Later on, the impact and reform that Snowden whistle blowing brought to system administration will be

The whistleblower him or herself must be carefully scrutinized. What are the personal and the professional reputations of the whistleblower? What is the motive driving the whistleblower? Is it to benefit the client or the organization, or is it a need for attention or revenge? Is the whistleblower's cause seen as legitimate and significant by trustworthy colleagues and friends? Is the whistleblower aware of the potential consequences of blowing the whistle and still willing to accept responsibility for actions taken?

But by the time he recognized he could gain profit out of blowing the whistle on this case, he followed the wrong path. Instead of telling the right people inside the company, he collected material to prove his theory and did not hesitate to trap colleagues which weren’t really part of the fraud, just to get a good amount of money for him out of it. So he chose his own interests above the interests of the organization.

At the start of this century, unprecedented collapses of Enron and WorldCom have sparked heated world discussions over corporate whistle-blowing. In light of this, legislations and professional codes of conduct are implemented to provide framework on ethical and financial decision-making particularly for auditors. This essay covers prerequisites for an effective corporate whistle-blower hotline, measures to avoid potential pitfalls, as well as analysis on benefits and drawbacks of having a whistle-blower hotline.

This essay will serve to provide a definition for whistleblowing whilst also touching on the advantages and disadvantages. In doing so it will be clear as to why whistleblowing should be encouraged in organisations.