Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Organisational Whistleblowing Policies: Making Employees Responsible or Liable?

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper explores the possible impact of the recent legal developments on organizational whistleblowing on the autonomy and responsibility of whistleblowers. In the past thirty years numerous pieces of legislation have been passed to offer protection to whistleblowers from retaliation for disclosing organisational wrongdoing. An area that remains uncertain in relation to whistleblowing and its related policies in organisations, is whether these policies actually increase the individualisation of work, allowing employees to behave in accordance with their conscience and in line with societal expectations or whether they are another management tool to control employees and protect organisations from them. The assumptions of whistleblower protection with regard to moral autonomy are examined in order to clarify the purpose of whistleblower protection at work. The two extreme positions in the discourse of whistleblowing are that whistleblowing legislation and policies either aim to enable individual responsibility and moral autonomy at work, or they aim to protect organisations by allowing them to control employees and make them liable for ethics at work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahrne G.: 1994, Social Organizations: Interaction Inside, Outside and Between Organizations. (Sage, London)

    Google Scholar 

  • Alford C. F.: 2001, Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power. (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey J. J.: 1997, Individual Scapetribing and Responsibility Ascriptions. Journal of Business Ethics 16, 47–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnard C. I.: 1938, The Functions of the Executive. (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman Z.: 1989, Modernity and the Holocaust. (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman Z.: 1993, Postmodern Ethics. (Blackwell, Oxford)

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry B.: 2004, Organizational Culture: A Framework and Strategies for Facilitating Employee Whistle-Blowing. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 16(1), 1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callahan E. S., Dworkin T. M.: 1994, Who Blows the Whistle to the Media, and Why: Organizational Characteristics of Media Whistleblowers. American Business Law Journal 32(2), 151–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callahan E. S., Dworkin T. M., Fort T. L., Schipani C. A.: 2002, Integrating Trends in Whistleblowing and Corporate Governance: Promoting Organizational Effectiveness, Societal Responsibility, and Employee Empowerment. American Business Law Journal 40(1), 177–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiasson, M., H. G. Johnson and J. R. Byington: 1995, Blowing the Whistle: Accountants in Industry, CPA Journal (February), 24–27

  • Chiu R. K.: 2003, Ethical Judgment and Whistleblowing Intention: Examining the Moderating Role of Locus of Control. Journal of Business Ethics 43, 65–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CNIL: 2005, ‹Guidelines Adopted 10 November 2005 for the Implementation of Whistleblowing Systems in Compliance with the French Data Protection Act Of 6 January 1978, as Amended in August 2004, Relating to Information Technology, Data Filing Systems And Liberties’, (CNIL, Paris)

  • Crittenden P.: 1990, Learning to be Moral: Philosophical Thoughts about Moral Development. (Humanities Press, New Jersey)

    Google Scholar 

  • De George R. T.: 1992, Agency Theory and the Ethics of Agency. In N. E. Bowie, & E. R. Freeman (eds), Ethics and Agency Theory: An introduction 3 edition. (Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 59–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodson K. E.: 1997, Autonomy and Authority in Kant's Rechtslehre. Political Theory 25(1), 93–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dozier J. B., Miceli M. P.: 1985, Potential Predictors of Whistle-Blowing – A Pro-social Behavior Perspective. Academy of Management Review 10(4), 823–836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin T.M., Callahan E.S.: 1998, Buying Silence. American Business Law Journal 36(1), 151–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliston F. A.: 1982, Civil-Disobedience and Whistleblowing – A Comparative Appraisal of 2 Forms Of Dissent. Journal of Business Ethics 1, 23–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon M. M.: 1988, The Scope of Sociology. (Oxford University Press, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hassink, H., M. de Vries and L. Bollen: 2007, ‹A Content Analysis of Whistleblowing Policies of Leading European Companies’, Journal of Business Ethics 75(1), 25–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewson, C.: 2005, ‹Whistle While you Work? Germany’, Eversheds HR Euronews (September), 4

  • Jackall R.: 1988, Moral Mazes. (Oxford University Press, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jubb P. B.: 1999, Whistleblowing: A Restrictive Definition and Interpretation. Journal of Business Ethics 21, 77–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaler J.: 2002, Responsibility, Accountability and Governance. Business Ethics: A European Review 11(4), 327–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaptein M.: 2002, Guidelines for the Development of an Ethics Safety Net. Journal of Business Ethics 41, 217–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan J. P.: 1990, Upper-Level Managers and Whistleblowing: Determinants of Perceptions of Company Encouragement and Information about Where to Blow the Whistle. Journal of Business and Psychology 5(2), 223–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovell A.: 2002, Moral Agency as Victim of the Vulnerability of Autonomy. Business Ethics: A European Review 11(1), 62–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacIntyre A.: 1984, After Virtue. (University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame)

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin B.: 2003, Illusions of Whistleblower Protection. UTS Law Review 5, 119–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews M. C.: 1987, Codes of Ethics: Organizational Behavior and Misbehavior. Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy 9, 107–130

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna R. J.: 2001, Business is the Common Purpose of the Employees. In M. A. Rahim, K. D. Mackenzie, R. T. Golembiewski (eds), Current Topics in Management. Vol. 6. (Elsevier Science, London) pp. 217–245

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna R. J., Tsahuridu E. E.: 2001, Must Managers Leave Ethics at Home? Economics and Moral Anomy in Business Organisations. Reason in Practice, The Journal of Philosophy of Management 1(3), 67–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellema G.: 2003, Responsibility, Taint, and Ethical Distance in Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 47, 125–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli M. P., Near J. P.: 1984, The Relationships among Beliefs, Organizational Position, and Whistle-Blowing Status: A Discriminant Analysis. Academy of Management Journal 27(4), 687–705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli M. P., Near J. P.: 1985, Characteristics of Organizational Climate and Perceived Wrongdoing Associated with Whistle-Blowing Decisions. Personnel Psychology 38(3), 525–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli M. P., Near J. P.: 1989, The Incidence of Wrongdoing, Whistle-Blowing, and Retaliation: Results of a Naturally Occurring Field Experiment. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 2(2), 91–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli M. P., Near J. P.: 1991, Whistle-blowing as an Organizational Process. Research in the Sociology of Organizations 9, 139–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Miceli M. P., Near J. P.: 1992, Blowing the Whistle: The Organizational and Legal Implications for Companies and Employees. (Lexington Books, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Miceli M. P., Rehg M., Near J. P., Ryan K. C.: 1999, Can Laws Protect Whistle-Blowers? Results of a Naturally Occurring Field Experiment. Work and Occupations 26(1), 129–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nader R., Petkas P. J., Blackwell K. (eds): 1972, Whistle Blowing: The Report of the Conference on Professional Responsibility. (Grossman, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Near J. P., Dworkin T. M.: 1998, Responses to Legislative Changes: Corporate Whistleblowing Policies. Journal of Business Ethics 17, 1551–1561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Near J. P., Miceli M. P.: 1987, Whistle-blowers in Organizations: Dissidents or Reformers? Research in Organizational Behavior 9, 321–368

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolan.: 1996, Second Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life Cm 3270. (The Stationary Office, London)

    Google Scholar 

  • OLAF.: 2005, OLAF Manual. (OLAF, Brussels)

    Google Scholar 

  • Park H., Rehg M. T., Lee D.: 2005, The Influence of Confucian Ethics and Collectivism on Whistleblowing Intentions: A Study of South Korean Public Employees. Journal of Business Ethics 58, 387–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • PCAW: 2004, Speak Up or Pay Up – The New Liability on Employees For Workplace Accidents (Public Concern at Work, Brussels)

    Google Scholar 

  • Privacy Commission: 2006, ‹Recommendation No. 01/2006 of 29th November 2006’ (Belgian Privacy Commission, Brussels)

  • Rachels J.: 1997, Can Ethics Provide Answers? And Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham Maryland)

    Google Scholar 

  • Radin T. J., Werhane P. H.: 1996, The Public / Private Distinction and the Political Status of Employment. American Business Law Journal 34(2), 245–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rashid Z. A., Ho J. A.: 2003, Perceptions of Business Ethics in a Multicultural Community: The Case of Malaysia. Journal of Business Ethics 43, 75–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott W. G., Hart D. K.: 1980, Organizational America. (Houghton Mifflin, Boston)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sennett R.: 1998, The Corrosion of Character. (W. W. Norton, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims R. L., Keenan J. P.: 1998, Predictors of External Whistleblowing: Organizational and Intrapersonal Variables. Journal of Business Ethics 17, 411–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith H. R., Carroll A. B.: 1984, Organization Ethics: A Stacked Deck. Journal of Business Ethics 3, 95–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavakoli A. A., Keenan J. P., Cranjak-Karanovic B.: 2003, Culture and Whistleblowing. An Empirical Study of Croatian and United States Managers Utilizing Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. Journal of Business Ethics 43, 49–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Time: 2002, ‹Persons of the Year’, Time (December 30, 2002/January 6, 2003), 36–62

  • Tippett, E. C.: 2006, ‹The Promise of Compelled Whistleblowing: What the Corporate Governance Provisions of Sarbanes Oxley Mean for Employment Law’ Available at SSRN: http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=930226

  • Tsahuridu E. E., McKenna R.: 2000, Moral Autonomy in Organizational Decisions. In A. M. Rahim, Golembiewski R. T., MacKenzie K. D. (eds) Current Topics in Management. Vol 5. (JAI Press, Stamford) pp 167–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandekerckhove W.: 2006, Whistleblowing and Organisation Social Responsibility. (Ashgate, Aldershot/Burlington)

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandekerckhove W., Commers M. S. R.: 2004, Whistle Blowing and Rational Loyalty. Journal of Business Ethics 53, 225–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan D.: 1998, Rational Choice, Situated Action, and the Social Control of Organizations. Law & Society Review 32(1), 23–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinten G. (ed.) 1994 Whistleblowing: Subversion or Corporate Citizenship? (St. Martin’s Press, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton C. C.: 1997, Shriver’s ‹Ethics for Enemies’: Implications for Research. Business Ethics Quarterly 7(4), 151–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman A. S.: 1992, The Use of Normative Metatheoretical Values in the Process of Personality Theory Development. In W. M. Kurtines, M. Azmitia, J. L. Gewirtz (eds) The Role of Values in Psychology and Human Development. (John Wiley, New York), pp. 161–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Werhane P. H.: 1999, Justice and Trust. Journal of Business Ethics, 21, 237–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wren T. E.: 1997, Moral Agency. In P. H. Werhane, E. R. Freeman (eds), The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Business Ethics. (Blackwell Business, Oxford), pp. 423–426

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Business School, University of Greenwich, Park Row, London, SE10 9LS, UK

    Eva E. Tsahuridu & Wim Vandekerckhove

Authors
  1. Eva E. Tsahuridu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wim Vandekerckhove
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eva E. Tsahuridu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tsahuridu, E.E., Vandekerckhove, W. Organisational Whistleblowing Policies: Making Employees Responsible or Liable?. J Bus Ethics 82, 107–118 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9565-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9565-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation