Whistleblowing: The New Enlightenment: Exemplar Essay To Follow

Of late, whistleblowing is something that has come to be one of the major occurrences that are successful in stirring the entire society with the sheer impetus of shocking revelation that are of primary importance. With time, people have come to be more aware about the ethical conflicts that are encountered at workplaces. It needs to be reckoned that whistleblowers go on to sound the alarm from within an organization in which they function, only to highlight the abuses or neglect that come to threaten the interest of the people in general. Very high stakes are involved in whistleblowing. So, the primary matter of concern is whether the associated cons of whistleblowing are more worrying or if the negative impacts of the corrupted corporations are more of a problem. If one thinks deeply, it can be comprehended that the negative impacts of the corrupted organizations truly stand as a major threat to the system and the society.
There can be no denial of the fact that much amount of trust is involved when it comes to the reputation of the corporation. It is expected of the corporations that they would function on stringent ethical standards in accordance with the laws of the land. However, this is hardly the case in many instances. According to the writer, Sissela Bok, professional ethics needs collegial loyalty. However, the various codes of ethics focus on the aspect of being responsible toward the public over the duties to the clients as well as colleagues in an organization. Thus, one can understand how the sense of responsibility toward general people would undermine the ethics within an organization when it comes down to exposing corruption. It is at such trying times that the insider has to take the ethical call about the scenario. The individual has to make the choice, and if it is in favor of exposing the flaw or unethical act on the part of the corporation, that definitely counts to be for the greater good of the society. Moreover, it has to be reminisced that corporations have strict norms of functioning that ought to be followed by the employees. If these is any breach of norms, that is surely not an ethical thing. So, in such a situation, if one of the employees takes a stand, risks his or her job or safety to expose the occurrence to the people of the society, there is no point in judging the whistleblower at all.
Instead, the corporation and its manner of functioning have to put to question after the revelation by the whistleblower. It can be understood that the actions on the part of the corporation are surely not in compliance with legality. Also, a huge number of people might be in the domain that gets affected by such an act by the corporation. So, judging by the standards of ethics and morality, the revelation by the whistleblower is surely something that needs support from the people of the society as it is for their own good. Truly, the whistleblower might be bound by his or her contract or the confidentiality norms of the corporation in context not to expose any details of functioning of the organization in the public domain. While this complicates the scenario for the future prospects of the whistleblower, the greater good accomplished by the person cannot be undermined in any way.
Now, moving on to generalize about the corruption of the corporations, it has to be comprehended that corporations have a vast impact on the population of a country. Corporations have the backing of money and powerful contacts that often make the organizations immune to any disciplinary action in practicality. Hence, it becomes all the important to be aware of the negative impacts of the corruption of such powerful corporations. According to authors Eva E. Tsahuridu and Wim Vandekerckhove, quite a number of legislations have been passed in the past three decades across many nations. These laws have come to offer the whistleblowers the much needed protection from the expected retaliation from the corporations for disclosing the wrongdoings in the organization. This has been done due to the fact that the whistleblowers come at the receiving end of the corporation’s actions and animosity as the act of whistleblowing has the potential to expose and tarnish the image of such corporations that would have otherwise remained as domains of propriety in the public eye.
So, it must be evident that the destructive side effects of whistleblowing would apply for the corrupted corporations. The corporations would come under the scanner of the people of the society as well as the law of the state. That is surely something such corrupted corporations deserve. On the other hand, the whistleblower might face impediments as well coming from the side of the powerful people associated with the corporations. However, it has to be noted that the whistleblower has obviously weighed all the options and taken cognizance of the possible threats to his or her life and career due to the act of whistleblowing in such a circumstance. Thus, the person can be comprehended to have done the act voluntarily and with utmost resolution to expose the corruption in the apparently properly functioning corporation. The person would have, however, left a positive impact on the lives of the many people who were getting affected by the lapse or unethical act on the part of the corporation.
As such, judging from the perspective of ethical standards and sense of morality, exposing the corrupted corporations is surely the need of the hour. The corruption in such corporations would surely have a destructive effect on the lives of people who are affected by the functioning or products coming out from such organizations. Whistleblowers should be seen as the vanguards of ethics, law and order. They have a huge role to play in the process of exposing major issues that would have escaped any possible scrutiny otherwise. Hence, Sissela Bok correctly opines that when a whistleblower comes to raise the alarm in the public domain, his or her arguments would surely be scrutinized in every possible way. The person would require articulating the various reasons that made him or her speak out against the corporation. The whistleblower would need to substantiate the charges against the wrongdoing. So, there is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the whistleblowers.
The whistleblowers have to make the final call to come out in the open and speak about the issue. According to Eva E. Tsahuridu and Wim Vandekerckhove, the various whistleblowing policies come to enable the moral autonomy at the workplace. As such, these policies need to be nurtured and developed by individuals who would be able to abide by the values as these have the impetus to bring substantial change in their lives, in the organizations as well as the society. To conclude, it would be correct to say that the destructive side effects of corruption in the corporations surely need to be neutralized as they affect many people’s lives. Whistleblowers have come to take the role of the modern day subversive individuals who have the power to bring positive change in the institutionalized system. They need to have high ethical value and morality so that they can succeed in their ambition of accomplishing good for the people.