Week 3 Blog Post
Amy Block Joy’s two articles reveal a lot about the
difficulty in becoming a whistleblower. In everyday life we are presented with
events where we see what we might consider injustice occurring, yet many people
often would prefer to not take action to correct these issues. The bystander
affect can grip people entrenched in complex systems of power, rendering them
effectively mute. That’s why it is incredibly oppressive that Joy risked “the
kiss of death” to her career in academia by going forward and exposing the
embezzlement that was occurring in the system. Of course, unless one is at the
top it is impossible to prevent others from retaliating, especially if
corruption leads all the way to the top of the chain of power. Because Joy told
everyone, including the chancellor, everyone was made well aware of the issue,
however, even then issues may be swept under the rug because it avoids public judgment.
In this case, Dr. Savage, her direct superior, even tried to cover up and
silence the matter, which left Joy feeling in a predicament. She felt unable to
trust anyone, and was unsure who was complicit in the embezzlement. Her other
piece, “Ethics & ‘Breaking Bad’: Developing and practicing ethical skills”
discusses some of the barriers many face when trying to report malpractice. She
says that “fear and peer-pressure” were barriers which prevented people from
taking action. Therefore, it seems that people don’t know what is right or
wrong, but rather have difficulty reporting it without anonymity. The question
then becomes; how can we better provide members large organizations anonymous
outlets to report malpractice?
Citations:
1. Joy, A. B. (n.d.). Whistleblower.
Tree Publishing LLC.
2. Joy, A. B. (2015, August 06). Looking Back: A Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week Success Story. Retrieved from http://complianceandethics.org/looking-back-a-corporate-compliance-ethics-week-success-story/
3. The Bystander Effect is about more than the diffusion of responsibility. (2016, July 30). Retrieved from https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/06/29/the-bystander-effect-is-about-more-than-the-diffusion-of-responsibility/
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