Whistleblowers often pay a heavy price for exposing what they perceive to be organizational wrongdoing. Based on 18 narrative interviews with South African whistleblowers, this article considers the contradictory nature of whistleblowing by exploring the role of loyalty, trust and betrayal in explaining the retaliation that whistleblowers receive. It concludes that whistleblowing can only achieve its aims of addressing organizational wrongdoing without high costs for the whistleblower and the organization if organizational loyalty is reconceptualized as rational loyalty. This entails a consideration of the institutionalization of whistleblowing as authorized disclosure, how this could lead to a more rational approach to the understanding of the values of the organization and to what extent such an approach is feasible under the present circumstances in South Africa.

The focus of this article is on the political nature of whistleblowing. It argues that reprisals by management, rather than silencing the whistleblower, result in the transformation and politicisation of the individual. The process that leads to the transformation of a loyal employee into a political activist is considered through analysing the experiences of a whistleblower in the sphere of financial regulation in South Africa. The article investigates the effect of retaliation by the employer on the employee‐organisational relationship. It looks in particular at the nature of the power struggle between the whistleblower and management and suggests explanations why organisations tend to respond in such a harsh fashion to whistleblowing. It concludes that the act of whistleblowing not only displays an expressive dimension, but also a political instrumental dimension that is often neglected in literature on whistleblowing.

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ABSTRACT. whistleblowing involves the unauthorised disclosure of organisational wrongdoing by an employee (or former employee) to those who are perceived to be in a position to act on this information. when considering whether to disclose such information, whistleblowers confront the conflicting demands of the morality of principle versus the morality of loyalty. The aim of this paper is to explore the dynamics involved in this moral dilemma. A typology reflecting the possible responses in managing such moral dilemmas is developed. Three dimensions related to wrongdoing, namely perceptions, extent of the wrongdoing and power relationships are also analysed. It is concluded that, although the conflicting demands of the morality of principle versus the morality of loyalty will always exist, there are measures that can be taken to limit the impact of these conflicts and in the long run even resolve them. In particular, if loyalty is reconceptualised as rational loyalty, the disclosure of perceived wrongdoing could more easily be interpreted as loyalty to the organisation as a whole.Key words: whistleblowing, business ethics, morality of principle, morality of loyalty, conformity, deviance. IntroductionIssues of corruption and fraud are presently prominent in many African countries. It brings to the fore questions with regard to the extent of organisational wrongdoing and ways in which these problems can be addressed. One such mechanism is through encouraging employees who become aware of organisational wrongdoing to disclose information about the alleged misconduct to a relevant authority. The unauthorised disclosure by an employee or former employee of any illegal and/or immoral behaviour within the workplace to those who are perceived to be in a position to deal with the organisational wrongdoing is commonly known as whistleblowing.Reports in the media and research into whistleblowing reveal that the decision to blow the whistle is not a straightforward one. Although one may be inclined to assume that organisations appreciate such disclosures, and would respond positively, the experience of most whistleblowers suggests otherwise.Numerous cases of whistleblowing demonstrate that the act is in fact not appreciated and that whistleblowers are severely victimised by their employers. In reality employees who become aware of misconduct face a moral dilemma, which might discourage them from blowing the whistle. This dilemma relates to the choice between their obligation to care for the public good and their obligation of loyalty to their employer, that is confronting the conflicting demands of the morality of principle versus the morality of loyalty. A typology reflecting the different possible responses in managing moral dilemmas of this kind is developed. The extent to which the dynamics involved in this moral dilemma influences the choices that actors make, is explored. The paper is concluded with suggestions as to how the conflicting demands of the morality of principle versus the morality of loyalty could be reduce...

An opportunity recently arose in a South African organisation currently undergoing drastic structural changes to assess the effects of these changes on the trust relationship between employees and those to whom these employees report. Two studies form the focus of this article. The first one was undertaken prior to the announcement of the restructuring programme. Some 13 months after the restructuring was announced and 10 months after it had commenced, a similar study focusing on trust was undertaken. In this paper the major findings of the two studies on the trust relationship in the organisation are compared.<p> <strong>Opsomming</strong> <br>Die geleentheid het onlangs ontstaan om die effek van hierdie veranderinge op die vertrouensverhouding tussen werknemers en diegene aan wie hulle rapporteer binne ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse organisasie wat tans drastiese strukturele veranderinge ondergaan, te beoordeel. Hierdie artikel fokus op twee studies. Die eerste een is onderneem net voor die aankondiging van die herstruktureringsprogram. Ongeveer 13 maande na die herstrukturering aangekondig is en tien maande na dit ‘n aanvang geneem het, is ‘n soortgelyke studie oor die vertrouensverhouding onderneem. In hierdie artikel word die belangrikste bevindings van die twee studies met betrekking tot die vertrouensverhouding vergelyk en die resultate bespreek