Necessary:(a) In the given situation, who took the larger risk: Khaled Assadi or Kyle Lagow.(a) Explain your reasoning by referring to (a).(c) Discuss if GE Energy's claimed conduct is more unethical than Countryside Financial's conduct. THE COLD, HARD REALITYThe media's attention to Jeffrey Wigand, Sherron Watkins, Coleen Rowley, and Cynthia Cooper could lead youto believe that doing the right thing and speaking out against the perceived wrongdoings of your employerwill guarantee you public support as an honourable and ethical person, putting the needs of your fellowhuman beings before your own. In reality, the majority of whistle-blowers face the opposite situation. Theyare branded as traitors, shunned by their former colleagues, and often singled out to the extent that theynever find work in their respective industries again. Consider the cases of the following two individuals whomade the same tough ethical choices as their more famous counterparts with markedly different outcomes.Khaled Assadi, an American employee of GE Energy, was temporarily assigned to the company's Amman,Jordan, operations, where he was responsible for coordinating with Iraq's governing bodies to secure andmanage energy service contracts. In 2011 Assadi reported to both his supervisors and the GE ombudspersonthat the company could be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for actions taken in relationto a joint venture agreement with the Iraqi minister of electricity. Assadi alleged that, during the negotiations,the company agreed to hire Iman Mahmood, a woman "closely associated" with the senior deputy minister forelectricity, at the specific request of that minister. Assadi was later fired from the company.In a subsequent lawsuit alleging that his represented illegal retaliation for his disclosures of alleged bribery.Assadi stated that he received a negative performance review immediately after reporting his concerns abouthiring of Iman Mahmood, and that GE began "constant and aggressive severance negotiations to force him toleave the company until it finally "abruptly ended all discussions and terminated" him.Assadi sought protection under the Dodd-Frank whistle-blower provisions, but in June 2012, the U.S. Court forthe Southern District of Texas dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the anti-retaliation provision did notapply in cases of "extraterritoriality (where the petitioner was assigned overseas at the time of the allegedevent).Kyle Lagow, a former home appraiser, will receive $14.5 million as part of a whistle blower lawsuit thataccused subprime lender Countrywide Financial (a bank of America subsidiary) of inflating appraisal valueson government insured loans. Lagow lost his job after raising concerns about appraisal practices at hiscompany, and his inability to find similar employment after the termination placed his family in severefinancial hardship.His complaint was brought under the qui tam provision and his lawsuit was one of five whistle-blowercomplaints that were folded into a larger $25 billion national mortgage settlement that five banks-Ally Bank(formerly GMAC), Bank of America, Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo-reached with state and federalofficials in February 2012.

Question

Necessary:(a) In the given situation, who took the larger risk: Khaled Assadi or Kyle Lagow.(a) Explain your reasoning by referring to (a).(c) Discuss if GE Energy's claimed conduct is more unethical than Countryside Financial's conduct. THE COLD, HARD REALITYThe media's attention to Jeffrey Wigand, Sherron Watkins, Coleen Rowley, and Cynthia Cooper could lead youto believe that doing the right thing and speaking out against the perceived wrongdoings of your employerwill guarantee you public support as an honourable and ethical person, putting the needs of your fellowhuman beings before your own. In reality, the majority of whistle-blowers face the opposite situation. Theyare branded as traitors, shunned by their former colleagues, and often singled out to the extent that theynever find work in their respective industries again. Consider the cases of the following two individuals whomade the same tough ethical choices as their more famous counterparts with markedly different outcomes.Khaled Assadi, an American employee of GE Energy, was temporarily assigned to the company's Amman,Jordan, operations, where he was responsible for coordinating with Iraq's governing bodies to secure andmanage energy service contracts. In 2011 Assadi reported to both his supervisors and the GE ombudspersonthat the company could be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for actions taken in relationto a joint venture agreement with the Iraqi minister of electricity. Assadi alleged that, during the negotiations,the company agreed to hire Iman Mahmood, a woman &#34;closely associated&#34; with the senior deputy minister forelectricity, at the specific request of that minister. Assadi was later fired from the company.In a subsequent lawsuit alleging that his represented illegal retaliation for his disclosures of alleged bribery.Assadi stated that he received a negative performance review immediately after reporting his concerns abouthiring of Iman Mahmood, and that GE began &#34;constant and aggressive severance negotiations to force him toleave the company until it finally &#34;abruptly ended all discussions and terminated&#34; him.Assadi sought protection under the Dodd-Frank whistle-blower provisions, but in June 2012, the U.S. Court forthe Southern District of Texas dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the anti-retaliation provision did notapply in cases of &#34;extraterritoriality (where the petitioner was assigned overseas at the time of the allegedevent).Kyle Lagow, a former home appraiser, will receive $14.5 million as part of a whistle blower lawsuit thataccused subprime lender Countrywide Financial (a bank of America subsidiary) of inflating appraisal valueson government insured loans. Lagow lost his job after raising concerns about appraisal practices at hiscompany, and his inability to find similar employment after the termination placed his family in severefinancial hardship.His complaint was brought under the qui tam provision and his lawsuit was one of five whistle-blowercomplaints that were folded into a larger $25 billion national mortgage settlement that five banks-Ally Bank(formerly GMAC), Bank of America, Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo-reached with state and federalofficials in February 2012.

Accepted Answer

If practiced earnestly, whistleblowing can result in the elimination of unethical behaviour at the…

Necessary: (a) In the given situation, who took the larger risk: Khaled Assadi or Kyle Lagow. (a) Explain your reasoning by referring to (a). (c) Discuss if GE Energy's claimed conduct is more unethical than Countryside Financial's