Whistle Blowing and Rational Loyalty

Vandekerckhove, Wim; Commers, Matthew J.

doi:10.1023/b:busi.0000039411.11986.6b

Cited by 98 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Also, these companies had significantly more internal disclosures than companies without such internal procedures. These results show that internal whistleblowing policies do result in an increased role of internal whistleblowing, which in general is preferred over external whistleblowing, both from an ethical and a practical point of view (see Barnett et al, 1993;Vandekerckhove and Commers, 2004;Van Es and Smit, 2003).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Psychological factors: the psychological factors include features like organizational commitment and loyalty. For example, the more loyal an employee is to his company, the more likely it is that he will report organizational misbehaviour, as long as this is advantageous to his employer (see Larmer, 1992;Mesmer-Magnus and Viswesvaran, 2005;Miceli and Near, 1988;Street, 1995;Vandekerckhove and Commers, 2004). Overall, the findings of studies on whistleblowers' characteristics indicate that whistleblowers usually hold professional positions, have longer service, and are male.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Content Analysis of Whistleblowing Policies of Leading European Companies

2007

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Content Analysis of Whistleblowing Policies of Leading European Companies

2007

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“…Although whistleblowing could be considered as a step against managers or employees, it should not be seen as an act of damaging the corporate image but as an act of courage and support of the organization in a broader perspective. No employee is bound to be loyal towards any individual or group within an organization who violates the mission, goals and values of the organization (Vandekerchove and Commers, 2004.). A whistleblower could be seen as an altruistic person with unselÞ sh concerns about the well-being of others to avoid the wrongdoing which harms the interests of the organization, its consumers, co-workers and the society in general (Arnold and Ponemon, 1991;Vinten, 2000;Dasgupta and Ankit, 2010).…”

Section: Legal Violationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitude of Management Students towards Whistleblowing: Evidence from Croatia

Bogdanović

Tyll

2016

CEBR

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This study examines the attitude of management students towards whistleblowing in a sample of 121 master students of business ethics at the Faculty of Economics University in Split, Croatia. The three measurement instruments include whistleblowers´ attitudes (3 items), whistleblowing attitudes (2 items) and potential types of whistleblowing reactions (8 items), i.e. external reactions (4 items) and internal reactions (4 items). The results of the study indicated a positive attitude toward whistleblowing and whistleblowers. The authors also found that female students exhibited more con dence in management and were more prone to whistleblowing than male students. Also, students with professional experience considered whistleblowing to be in the public interest more than students with no professional experience. The results may be of practical use to managers who can bene t from whistleblowing while keeping in mind that whistleblowing can't be avoided and that punishing whistleblowers seems to be a bad managerial practice.

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“…This argument brings us closer to a possible solution. Vandekerckhove and Commers (2004) present a similar argument to that of Coughlan by employing the concept of rational loyalty, which they define as follows:…”

Section: Towards Resolving the Conflicting Demandsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Morality of principle versus morality of loyalty: The case of whistleblowing

Uys¹,

Senekal²

2014

AJOBE

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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...

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Whistle Blowing and Rational Loyalty

Cited by 98 publications

References 11 publications

A Content Analysis of Whistleblowing Policies of Leading European Companies

A Content Analysis of Whistleblowing Policies of Leading European Companies

Attitude of Management Students towards Whistleblowing: Evidence from Croatia

Morality of principle versus morality of loyalty: The case of whistleblowing

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