Download - Whistle blowing , whistle blowers and acts
Whistleblowing““Our lives begin to end the Our lives begin to end the
day we become day we become silent about things that silent about things that
matter." matter." -Martin Luther King, Jr.-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Definition of Whistle-Blowing
One who reveals wrong-doing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority.
One who discloses information about misconduct in their workplace that they feel violates the law or endangers the welfare of others.
One who speaks out, typically to expose corruption or dangers to the public or environment.
PURPOSES
To draw attention to unethical, inappropriate conduct which has or may have detrimental effects either for the institution or for those affected by its functions.
It extends to situations where an individual believes that an activity is harmful while others involved are not aware of it or reject the perception that is involved
TYPES OF WHISTLEBLOWING
i.Internal :- it is blowing the whistle inside the organization. For example designated officer, workers or bosses in the same organization.ii.External :-blowing the whistle to law enforcement agencies or to teams worried with the matters for example Lawyers, Mass media, law enforcement.
Unethical conduct.Unethical conduct.
MistreatmentMistreatment
DiscriminationDiscrimination
Mental Or Sexual AbuseMental Or Sexual Abuse
Disadvantages of Whistle-blowing Diminishes Trust in
the Workplace
Can Negatively Affect Your Career
Can Destroy the Company
Risk to Personal Safety
Stages of a Whistle Blowing Incident
Stage One – Is There a Potential Whistle Blowing Scenario ?Stage Two – Seriousness TestStage Three – Reality CheckStage Four – Becoming Aware of the Big PictureStage Five – Forcing Management Recognition of the ProblemStage Six – Taking the Problem to Upper ManagementStage Seven – Going Outside the OrganizationStage Eight – Living with The Results
7 Common Mistakes
Trusting too much
Not having enough evidence
Using the wrong style
Not waiting for the right opportunity
Not building support
Playing the opponent’s game
Not knowing when to stop
Focal Areas for a person before whistle Blowing?
1. Is the situation of sufficient moral importance to justify
whistle-blowing?
2. Do you have all the facts and do you properly
understand their significance?
3. Have all internal channels and steps short of whistle-
blowing been exhausted?
4. What is the best way to blow the whistle?
5. What is my responsibility in view of my role within the
organization?
6. What are the chances for success?15
In 2003, the Law Commission of India recommended the adoption of the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Act, 2002.
The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 was renamed as The Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, 2011 by the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.
The Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, 2011 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 28 December 2011.
In U.K, the public interest Disclosure Act 1998 provide a framework of Whistleblowers.
Austria
Belgium
BrazilBrazil
United StatesUnited States
Australia
ChinaChina
Denmark
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
IndiaIndia
Italy Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Singapore
South Africa
Sweden
Thailand
UAE
UnitedKingdom
Little or no protection Some protection through general laws Express protection
SaudiArabia
Qatar
Malaysia
Indonesia
South Korea
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Whistleblower Protection Ratings Across the Globe
Committees recommending Whistle Blowing as an element of Corporate Governance
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Committee Year
Confederation of Indian Industry code on corporate governance
1998
Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee 1999
Naresh Chandra Committee 2002
N. R Narayana Murthy 2003
NHS Chief ‘stopped fro
m speaking on
patient safety
Health service manager Gary Walker is the
first former NHS employee to break the so-
called “super gag”. 14 February 2013
BBC News
Ryanair has sacked a senior pilot and is preparing legal action against him over “defamatory” comments he made about the airline’s safety policy in a Channel 4 documentary.
15 August 2013 The Telegraph
Olympus whistleblower Michael Woodford speaks out
Michael Woodford, who blew the whistle on an accounting scandal
at Olympus, appeared at its shareholders' meeting and demanded to
know why he was fired as chief executive.
.
20 April 2012The Independent
Whistleblowing Headlines..Case Studies
18 January 2013The Guardian
Ryanair sacks pilot over Channel 4 Dispatches Programme
Gas market whistleblower sacked after accusing firms of price fixing
Seth Freedman, the whistleblower at the centre of energy market manipulation allegations, has been sacked by his price reporting agency, ICIS Heren.
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The Satyendra Dubey Fate …(2003)
The National Highways Authority
of India (NHAI) engineer
Satyendra Dubey was killed after
he wrote a letter to the office of
then PM A B Vajpayee detailing
corruption in the construction of
highways.
History Repeated in the Manjunath Shanmugham Incident (2005)
Manjunath Shanmugham, an
IIM graduate and a sales
manager of the IOC, was
murdered on Nov 19, 2005 for
exposing the racket of
adulteration of petrol and the
mafia behind it.
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Tuskigee Syphilis Experiment – Case Study
Peter Buxtun (sometimes referred to as Peter Buxton; born 1937 in Prague]) is a former employee of the United States Public Health Service who became known as the whistleblower responsible for ending the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.
1. Daniel Ellsberg: A former U.S. military analyst Leaked pentagon papers during Vietnam war in
1971 Later in 1998 said “The public is lied to every day by
the President, by his spokespeople, by his officers. If you can't handle the thought that the President lies to the public for all kinds of reasons, you couldn't stay in the government at that level.”
Awards :-----”Right Livelihood Award in 2006”
2. Mark Felt (Deep Throat) : Former FBI agent Leaked information about Watergate
scandal to “Washington post” …..
journalists----Bob Woodward and
Carl Bernstein.. Us president Richard Nixon resigned in 1974. Denied his role then… In 2005 revealed “I am the guy they called “Deep Throat.”
• 3. Bradley Manning : Former US military Uploaded a trove of military and • diplomatic information, including • over 500,000 army reports and • classified combat videos, to WikiLeaks Recording of US apache helicopter open fire to
civilians • in youtube. Charged for aiding enemy ……… 20 years of imprisonment…
Leaked information from NSA(National • security agency) in 2013… Former system administrator under CIA• (Central intelligence agency) Charged with two counts of violating the • Espionage act ,theft of government
property Punishable for 30 years of prison Stayed in Moscow airport transit zone for
39 days Russia gave 3 year residency permit…..
“An internet gathering”No leaderKnown as anonsMainly oppose internet censorship and
control target the govermentsProtests through hacking and slogans
Case Study: Karen Silkwood
She was a Chemical technician at Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site.
She blew whistle upon the issues of health and safety of the workers at the plant.
Karen Silkwood
In the summer of 1974, she testified to the Atomic Energy Commission about her concerns.She discovered what she believed to be numerous violations of health regulations, including exposure of workers to contamination, faulty respiratory equipment and improper storage of samples.
Karen Silkwood’s Mysterious
DeathOn November 5, 1974, Silkwood performed a routine self-check and found that her body contained almost 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination.
Silkwood's body was found in her car, which had run off the road and struck a culvert. The car contained none of the documents she held in the union meeting at the Hub cafe. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kerr-McGee closed its nuclear-fuel plants in 1975. The Department of Energy (DOE) reported the Cimarron plant as decontaminated and decommissioned in 1994.
Case Study: Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey S. Wigand worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes. Wigand became nationally known as a whistleblower on February 4, 1996 when he appeared on the CBS news program 60 Minutesand stated that Brown & Williamson had intentionally manipulated its tobacco blend to increase the amount of nicotine in cigarette smoke.
Jeffrey Wigand
On November 29, 1995 he gave deposition testimony in a case brought by the state of Mississippi against tobacco companies in which he stated that tobacco companies manipulated nicotine content, suppressed efforts to develop safer cigarettes and lied about the addictive properties of nicotine.
Jeffrey Wigand
His exposure of tobacco industry lies led directly to stronger government curbs on the behavior of the tobacco industry.
Wigand also founded a nonprofit called Smoke-free Kids to educate children about the dangers of smoking.
Case Study: Cheryl Eckard
In 2002, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC sent one of its quality-assurance managers, Cheryl Eckard, to Puerto Rico to help clean up a mess at one of its biggest manufacturing plants. U.S. authorities had just cited the plant for several violations, including making a contaminated ointment used to treat skin infections on children.
The plant had received complaints that drugs of different types and strengths were being mixed up in the same bottle, and plant managers had made no attempt to issue a recall or correct the cause of the mix-ups, according to a lawsuit Ms. Eckard later filed in federal court in Boston.
Cheryl Eckard received $96 million as claim settlement .
The plant was closed thereafter.
Keep quiet?
Go Outside?
Raise internally?
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A concern about
malpractice
Effects of Whistle-Blowing
• Forced to leave organization/demotion
• Credibility ruined• Family, health, and/or
life in jeopardy• Outrage and
divisiveness of people directly or indirectly involved
• Physical or psychological isolation
• Organization experiences loss of money, restitution, productivity, and positive reputations.
• Incarceration
Live With The Results
Make yourself prepared.Think early to deal with
the changed circumstances.Keep on going the positive
thinking.Take care of your self.
HOW TO BLOW WHISTLE
Do it anonymously• let the evidence speak for itself and protect yourself if
possible
Do it in a group• charges have more weight and won’t seem like a
personal vendetta.
Present just the evidence• leave interpretation of facts to others.
Work through internal channels• start with your immediate supervisor or follow the
standard reporting procedure
Work through external channels• go public (biggest risk)
Why Whistle Blowing is Important?
“Too see wrong and not to expose it ,is to become a silent partner to its continuance”.
-Dr. John Raymond Baker
Whistle Blowing - The missing links
Ineffective mechanism
Failure to Impart Proper confidence
Lack of Independent ombudsmen
Non maintainability of whistle blower confidentiality
Ineffective Security of whistle blower
Improper Inquiry and investigation procedure
Inappropriate punishment
The Fear of Isolation
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How to encourage Whistle Blowing
Management addressing to
organization to provide confidence
Ensuring confidentiality of Whistle
Blower by Providing anonymous
Telephone facility for
communication or e-mail ID.
Providing Security of the whistle
blower.
Management positive participation.
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Conclusion
A whistle blowing incident is probably the most emotionally difficult thing you can experience as a professionalNot every incident that should result in whistle blowing does, sometimes the whistle is “swallowed” rather than blownIn some cases, there are federal and state laws meant to provide protection for the whistle blowersIf you find yourself in a possible whistle-blowing incident, you should exhaust all internal alternatives for addressing the problem and accumulate all documentation possible. If blowing the whistle becomes the only alternative, then you should anticipate a job change and you should get good legal representation