Question

What three features of whistleblowing make it morally problematic

Answer 1

  

Three questions that make whistle-blowing problematic are:-

1)Are employees following the right internal channels?

2)Is whistle-blowing done in public interest or private interest?

3)Will whistle-blowing work in a given context?

There are reliable channels to lodge complains and raise issues in companies itself. Employee can directly meet his manager to make him take note of what his issues are. The employer should be providing solutions after carefully and detailed study. An employee must only Externally blow whistle in case he exhausted the internal employer channel.

Many employees directly opt for external whistle blowing. This can harm the company’s reputation and the social atmosphere which was an important part. This behavior from the employee can do more harm than anything.

An employee ,according to unsaid company policy ,should be loyal to the company.

Then there is the issue of who he does it for. Is he doing it for taking revenge on the company or spoiling the reputation of company for other benefits or is he really interested in the welfare of public? This is a question that is difficult to answer for the public, company or the employee. Some times the employee can act irresponsibly, immaturely not following the laws. A person who does it for himself has no right to be protected by the law. There are guideline he must follow before deciding to go against company or for the welfare of the public.

Making sure of the intention or protecting the company from revengeful or angered employees can be a task.

Will whistle blowing work in all situations? No, sometimes it is not needed, sometimes even if done in the right ways do not produce right outcomes. The employee needs to do his homework well before he blows the whistle. He has to decide if the issues he think is causing harm to public or company really harmful. He has to understand the situation, document his observations, study the evidence like if it will test the law or not and then really blow the whistle. Blowing the whistle can harm the employee himself sometimes.

So the employee must be sure of his claim’s outcome before he goes ahead.