Whistleblowers - Case Study Example

Whistleblowers Q Whistleblowing has become increasingly common in the contemporary business environment. Increasing whistleblowing rewards to over thirty percent of the fines is highly likely to increase corruption reporting. Corporate misconducts go unreported because the money involved run in millions of dollars. Without whistleblowing, some corporate misconduct would go unreported. Following an increased reward package, persons with vital information will be willing to come forward to either report the issue or testify against perpetrators (Burke and Cary 19).

In today’s global business environment, white-collar crimes are extremely difficult to prosecute due to the underlying mechanisms available to suppress evidence. In this respect, whistleblowers come in handy. Rather than taking part in the actual misconduct, some individuals in the corporate setting will be enticed to report misconduct subject to the rewards availed. However, caution should be prioritized to avoid faked whistleblowing intended to collect the offered benefits. In general, high rewards will create an incentive for whistleblowers to expose business and corporate misconduct in the economy.Q.2Encouraging whistleblowing will undoubtedly have its negative consequences, but the benefits stand a better a chance to outweigh the negatives.

To start with, promoting whistleblowing will force business players to adhere and comply with the relevant laws, rules, and regulations (Vandekerckhove 156). In the process, employer-employee relations will move towards enhanced trust and loyalty. In essence, whistleblowing will encourage both employers and employees to follow ethical codes of conduct. Speculating a culture of suspicion and distrust is only probable if misconduct is an underlying practice. Straight and ethical practices should not warrant fear or worry as far as whistleblowing is concerned.

In this respect, whistleblowing will encourage trust, loyalty, and straightforwardness in the society. Amid this, the emergence of negatives cannot be ruled out. Whistleblowing could result in tense relations between employers and employees. In any setting where whistleblowing might occur, employees and employers should unite to do what is right, legal, and ethical.Q.3Even though the number of pursued whistleblowing cases is significantly low, the need to make penalties stricter is critical. To start with, increasing the penalty will act as deterrence for corporate misconduct (Richter and Frances 147).

Persons intending to engage in any form of misconduct will have to come to terms with the probable penalty following an exposure of the crime. In this respect, encouraging whistleblowing and increasing penalty for misconduct will keep perpetrators at bay. In terms of putting employees in questionable positions if they are incorrect about a given misconduct, such a situation will not be an every time occurrence. Allegations or claims made by the whistleblowers are subject to scrutiny and investigation.

Legal processes do not take word for word when it comes to prosecuting cases. Rather, evidence must be present for evaluation and analysis. Given that a legal process is intensive and extensive, incorrect information could be captured way before it places employees in compromising positions. Most importantly, law protects every party to the misconduct. As a result, increasing the penalty should not jeopardize the rights, freedoms, or position of employees at work.Works CitedBurke, Ronald, and Cary Cooper.

Research Companion to Corruption in Organizations. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009. Print.Richter, William, and Frances Burke. Combating Corruption, Encouraging Ethics: A Practical Guide to Management Ethics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Print.Vandekerckhove, Wim. Whistleblowing and Organizational Social Responsibility: A Global Assessment. Farnham: Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2012. Print.