Business, Society, and Environment: The Ethics of Whistleblowing

This essay examines the ethical dilemma of whistleblowing, specifically focusing on a scenario where an employee, Wen Jie, suspects environmental wrongdoings by a waste processing company contracted by her employer. It argues that Wen Jie has a moral obligation to report her suspicions, even if it risks her husband's job and the company's contract. The essay draws a parallel with another case study involving unsafe food practices, highlighting the importance of prioritizing public safety and ethical responsibility over company loyalty. It concludes that whistleblowing is justified when it exposes unethical or illegal activities that harm society or the environment. Desklib provides access to this essay and other study resources for students.

Running head: Business, Society and the Environment
Business, Society and the Environment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Whistle blowing does not violate company loyalty. Whistle blowing is a term wherein an
employee of an organization passes on information about some wrongdoing or malpractices that
are taking place in an organization. Whistle blowing refers to making a disclosure or “blowing
the whistle” (Near & Miceli 2016). It brings calling attention to wrongdoing that is happening
within an organization. To be covered by whistle blowing law a worker must believe that they
are acting in the interest of the public. Secondly, they should also ensure that the disclosure falls
into one of the following categories such as criminal offences, miscarriage of justice, failure to
comply with the law, damaging the environment and covering up wrongdoings (Near & Miceli
2016). In this case, it is damage to the environment that is being done.
Whistle blowing is relevant to the case study because it is the moral duty and moral obligation of
Wen Jie to let her employers know that WasteWorks may not be processing the waste the way
that is expected from them. Since it seems to Wen Jie that WasteWorks are simply dumping the
waste that is carefully separated at the hotel into the same waste processing facility and that very
little of the waste is kept aside for recycling or reprocessing, Wen Jie ought to tell her employers
about it. Wen Jie should confide in her employers Gabrielle and Tony so that this does not hinder
their sustainability initiatives and they can take stringent measures against this practice and
continue with their sustainability initiatives as they are doing.
Wen Jie should definitely take action. She should not remain quiet and she should go and talk to
Gabrielle and Tony even if it means that Harcourt loses its contract with WasteWorks and in the
process her husband loses his job. It is a risk that Wen Jie has to take. There is a possibility that
WasteWorks will lose the contract with Harcourt if the suspicions of Wen Jie are confirmed and

2BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
WasteWorks is found to be guilty. This would mean that Wasteworks would lay off staff which
could also result in her husband losing his job. Nonetheless, as a person and as an employee, it is
the moral duty and responsibility of Wen Jie to inform her employers Gabrielle and Tony about
the work that WasteWork is probably doing.
In another instance, Jessica worked in quality control in a factory that dealt mainly with
beef. Jessica was concerned that the factory was changing the kill dates on the meat to give it a
longer shelf life. This meat was then transported to stores with the wrong sell-by and wrong use-
by dates. Jessica realized that the meat that was being sent to stores was unsafe to eat. She
confided in her manager who told her to keep quiet. Jessica, therefore contacted the Food
Standards Agency about the issue. The following day the manager of the factory was informed
that their contract with the stores would be dissolved if this practice continued. As a result, this
practice came to an end (Weiskopf & Tobias-Miersch 2016).

3BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
REFERENCES:
Dungan, J., Waytz, A., & Young, L. (2015). The psychology of whistleblowing. Current
Opinion in Psychology, 6, 129-133.
Mannion, R., Blenkinsopp, J., Powell, M., McHale, J., Millar, R., Snowden, N., & Davies, H.
(2018). Understanding the knowledge gaps in whistleblowing and speaking up in health
care: narrative reviews of the research literature and formal inquiries, a legal analysis and
stakeholder interviews. Health Services and Delivery Research.
Near, J. P., & Miceli, M. P. (2016). After the wrongdoing: What managers should know about
whistleblowing. Business Horizons, 59(1), 105-114.
Weiskopf, R., & Tobias-Miersch, Y. (2016). Whistleblowing, parrhesia and the contestation of
truth in the workplace. Organization Studies, 37(11), 1621-1640.