Description
Whistleblower: An Ethical DilemmaA whistleblower, by definition, is someone who brings an unethical, immoral, or illegal business practice to the public’s attention. Whistleblowers have a difficult time in doing this, and they often find their lives changed because of their actions. Sometimes they are shunned and also receive death threats. It is common for the family members to feel the effects of a whistleblower’s behavior.Dr. Jeffrey Wigand became one of the best-known whistleblowers after his experience was turned into a movie, The Insider. He proved tobacco companies were deliberately boosting the nicotine content of cigarettes, making them more addictive and cancer-causing. However, similar to other whistleblowers, he suffered from tremendous stress and received death threats and other forms of intimidation for doing the right thing. Do some research on Wigand’s actions. QUESTIONSAssess how Dr. Wigand showed moral intelligence and leadership in this situation. Assess what you think he did for his own credibility based on his actions.Evaluate what you would do if you found an unethical practice in your workplace. Would your response depend on the severity of the unethical practice? Justify why people tend to accept some unethical practices while others are not accepted. Propose three key steps an organization might take to build more consistent ethical decisions and actions.Conclude with a three-sentence summary of the most important point, lesson, or takeaways from the research.
