Whistleblowing: Reaping the benefits

The incidence of whistle blowing appears to have exploded in the last decade. Hardly a week goes by without seeing—on “60 Minutes” or a similar show—a televised report on the terrible experience of some hapless whistleblower who attempted to right a wrongdoing. While some firms have instituted innovative programs to encourage valid internal whistle blowing, most have not. If left unchallenged in the long run and frequently in the short run, wrongdoing can damage a company's profitability, tarnish its reputation, demoralize its employees, and result in substantial fines or costly lawsuits. Fortunately, there are several useful steps that can be taken, many of which are now occurring in all types of organizations. We will describe alternative approaches that enable organizations to take advantage of the opportunities that whistleblowers offer, without encouraging the “gadfly” who threatens to file complaints when no reasonable basis exists and who is disruptive in attempting to assert or challenge authority...