CIV402 Sec22 & 66 4/29/2020

Whistleblowing
American Heritage Dictionary defines a whistleblower as ‘‘one who reveals
wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority.’’

This suggests two characteristics of whistleblowing:

(1) One reveals information that the organization does not want revealed to the
public or some authority, and
(2) One does this out of approved channels.

Four types of Whistleblowing

Internal whistleblowing, the alarm about wrongdoing stays within the organization,
although the whistleblower may bypass his immediate superiors, especially if they
are involved in the wrongdoing.

External whistleblowing, the whistleblower goes outside the organization, alerting a

regulatory organization or the press.

Open whistleblowing, the whistleblower reveals his identity,

Anonymous whistleblowing the whistleblower attempts to keep his identity secret.

Whistleblowing: A Harm-Preventing Justification

De George believes that whistleblowing is morally permissible if
1. The harm that ‘‘will be done by the product to the public is serious and
considerable’’;
2. The employees report their concern to their superiors, and;
3. ‘‘getting no satisfaction from their immediate superiors, they exhaust the
channels available’’ within the organization.

De George believes that whistleblowing is morally obligatory if

1. The employee has ‘‘documented evidence that would convince a
responsible, impartial observer that his view of the situation is correct and the
company policy is wrong’’; and

2. The employee has ‘‘strong evidence that making the information public will
in fact prevent the threatened serious harm.’’

Dr. Manish A. Kewalramani 1

CIV402 Sec22 & 66 4/29/2020

Review Questions:
In your own words say what whistleblowing is. What are the four different parts
of the definition? What conditions should be met in order to make
whistleblowing permissible? What conditions should be met in order to make
whistleblowing obligatory.

What guidelines should the responsible engineer use in deciding when to

engage in organizational disobedience in areas of contrary action,
nonparticipation and protest; and how should he or she carry out this
disobedience?

Dr. Manish A. Kewalramani 2