Organizational Behavior: Analyzing Whistleblowers as Company Heroes

This essay delves into the concept of whistleblowers as heroes within the context of organizational behavior. It defines whistleblowers as individuals who expose illegal or unethical activities within a workplace, emphasizing that they are not disloyal employees but rather those who provide crucial information to management. The essay highlights key characteristics of whistleblowers, including their loyalty, commitment to speaking the truth, and their role in suggesting improvements to management. It further explores how whistleblowers serve as early warning systems and require a safe space to voice concerns, guiding management towards taking the right actions. The Enron case is used as an example to illustrate the impact of whistleblowers. The essay concludes that whistleblowers are essential for maintaining organizational ethics, achieving goals, and fostering a positive company culture.

Running head: Organization behavior
Organization behavior

Organization behavior
Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................1
Characteristics of whistleblowers......................................1
Conclusion.........................................................................4
References.........................................................................5
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Organization behavior
Introduction
Whistleblower is considered as a person who exposes the activities which are illegal and
not ethical in the workplace. The company can be private or public but the information is given
by the particular person. It can be stated that this person cannot be considered as disloyal
employee as he or she is conveying the information which is not ethical. It is also important for
the management to have proper knowledge of the activities which are illegal and unethical so
that it can be easy to minimize the negative impact on the overall operations (Miceli & Near,
2016).
Therefore, in this paper the discussion will be made on the topic “Whistleblowers as
heroes of the company”. Whistleblowers are the individuals who convey the accurate
information to the management or to the leaders of the company. These employees are known as
heroes as they are conveying the information so that right actions can be taken by the
management. If in the workplace, illegal and unethical activities take place then it is important to
have proper knowledge as it hinders the overall activities of the company. When Whistleblowers
give information to the top management they get to know about the actual activities which are
taking place in the workplace.
Characteristics of whistleblowers
There are many characteristics that can be analyzed in the Whistleblowers and this is only
the reasons they can be stated as the heroes. It can be evaluated that whistleblowers are
motivated by loyalty. It can be stated that they have the feeling to behave in the loyal manner by
conveying the message to the top management.
Loyalty
Whistleblower is the one who has the feeling to be loyal and by having these employees
it can be simple for the company to accomplish goals and objectives in an effective manner. The
company has the opportunity to maintain growth by taking the accurate information from the
whistleblowers. If whistleblowers are not there in the workplace, then it can be difficult for the
company to analyze the illegal and unethical activities which are taking place in the workplace
(Park, Blenkinsopp & Park, 2014). There are also disloyal employees in the workplace who leak
the important data of the company in the market. These employees are considered as the threat
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for the company but whistleblowers are the one who give accurate information of these types of
unethical and illegal activities to the top management. Disloyal employees think for their own
benefit in the workplace but whistleblowers think in the interest of the organization. So,
whistleblowers should be there in the workplace as it can help the company to achieve success in
the competitive market.
Speak truth
The whistleblowers are also considered as heroes because they speak truth to power.
They have the mindset that when they speak the truth then only they will achieve some respect or
power. So, this is one of the important factors which are important as in the workplace there are
few employees who speak truth or convey important information to the top management.
Whistleblowers focus on speaking truth that is only the reason which can support the argument
that whistleblowers are considered as heroes. It can be seen that without speaking truth the
employees cannot be considered as the whistleblower. It is important for the employee to give
the right information so that activities can be maintained in the workplace (Friedman, 2015).
Give suggestion to the management
Whistle blowers are considered as one of the best source through which the company can
gather the information in a proper manner. It can also be seen that the activities which are
unethical and illegal in the workplace should be considered by the management so that positive
outcome can be attained. The whistle blowers help to suggest the ways to the management so
that unethical and illegal activities which are taking place in the workplace can be managed
(Heumann, Friedes, Redlawsk, Cassak & Kesari, 2016).
Think positive
Whistle blowers are the heroes, who think positive and consider the overall goals and
objectives of the company. It can be evaluated that with the help of the whistle blowers it can be
simple for the company to maintain positivity in the workplace. If unethical and illegal activities
do not take place in the workplace then it can be simple to boost the positive behavior of the
employees in the workplace. The top management tries to maintain the positive behavior by
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minimizing the activities which are not ethical or the activities which are illegal (Stereotype,
2016).
The whistleblowers have the attitude to be honest and loyal towards the overall mission
of the company. They also become upset and dissatisfied when they analyze that in the
workplace the higher values which are given by the management are being ignored by the
employees. But the main factor related with them is that the do not focus on creating grievances
to be shown in public but they want to fix it so that negative impact cannot be seen on the overall
activities of the company (Tingle, 2014).
Best early warning system
Also, it can be stated that whistleblowers are considered as the best early warning system
in the workplace. They give alert to the management of the unethical or illegal activities which
are taking place in the management. Also, they try to fix the solution by giving recommendations
to the management. The whistleblowers are the employees who have courage and integrity to
speak against the unethical activities which are taking place and they can give sign to the
management. It saves the time of management and also the cost in future (Gasparski, 2017).
Require a safe space to speak
Whistleblowers are also the employees who require a safe space to speak. It can be seen
that there are many employees in the workplace who do not speak about the problems which are
taking place. These employees also convey the information to the management that helps in
retaining the employees in the workplace. Also, it helps the management in considering the right
decision which is beneficial for the employees and also for the company in the competitive
market (Pomper, 2016).
It can also be stated that to safeguard the employees in the workplace it is important to
have internal whistle blowers so that wrong doing can be easily identified and policies of the
workplace can be made accordingly. When whistle blowers give information to the management
then it is the responsibility to focus on improving the situation rather than penalizing the
employees in the workplace.
Consider the right actions
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The whistle blowers have an attitude to guide the management to consider the right
actions so that it can be simple to maintain the overall competitive advantage in the workplace. It
also helps to accomplish the entire goals and objectives in the workplace. When the management
introduces whistle blower policy then it can benefit the company as through this it can be easy to
retain and attract the employees towards the overall activities of the company in the competitive
market. So, it can be stated that whistleblowers helps the company in considering the right
policies which can help to maintain the overall culture of the company in the market (Sehgal,
2014).
Example
In Enron Company it can be stated that they suffered from the largest corporate scandal
in the overall history. But the thanks should be given to the vice president of the company who is
Sherron Watkins. She wrote the letter to the boss in which she mentioned the fraudulent
accounting activities which are taking place that equated Enron stock more in reference to the
Ponzi scheme which is a publicly traded company. She requested the management of the
company to take immediate actions. After 5 months the letter became public and was fodder for
the national outrage and this was done with the accounting firm. But it has been examined that
despite of public and congressional scrutiny that focused on whistle blowing she continued to
work, for Enron Company without changing the mindset.
Conclusion
Therefore, by analyzing the paper it can be concluded that whistle blowers are considered
as the heroes of the company. They are the employees who showcase the wrong doing in front of
the management and also make the authorities aware about the activities which are taking place
in the workplace. If whistle blowers are not there then it can be difficult for the company to
accomplish its goals and objectives in the competitive market. Whistle blowers also help the
management in considering the right decision which is beneficial for the company and also for
the employees. So, whistle blowers should be there so that it can be easy in the workplace to
maintain the overall culture and also it can help in achieving success in the market.
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References
Friedman, M. (2015). Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor: Considering the Implications for
Canadian National Security and Whistleblower Law. Dalhousie J. Legal Stud., 24, 1.
Gasparski, W. W. (2017). Rewarding the Whistleblower—Disgrace, Recognition or Efficiency?.
In Whistleblowing (pp. 27-38). Routledge.
Heumann, M., Friedes, A., Redlawsk, D., Cassak, L., & Kesari, A. (2016). Public Perceptions of
Whistleblowing. Public Integrity, 18(1), 6-24.
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Miceli, M. P., & Near, J. P. (2016). Whistleblowing. In Encyclopedia of Human Resource
Management. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Park, H., Blenkinsopp, J., & Park, M. (2014). The influence of an observer’s value orientation
and personality type on attitudes toward whistleblowing. Journal of business ethics, 120(1),
121-129.
Pomper, G. M. (2016). On Ordinary Heroes and American Democracy. Routledge.
Sehgal, P. (2014). Whistleblowers: Traitors or Heroes? A global perspective. Proceedings of
26th,82(6),60-75.
Stereotype, H. W. (2016). Whistleblowers as Heroes. Handbook of Heroism and Heroic
Leadership, 356(6),1-10.
Tingle, J. (2014). Whistleblowers: heroes or villains?. British Journal of Nursing, 23(18), 1002-
1003.
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