Section C, Group 8:

Arvind V(09P130) Karna RaoP(09P148) Manan Nagori(09P151) Priyak P(09P156) Rohit Mehta(09P164)

 A whistleblower is a person who alleges misconduct Most whistleblowers are Internal whistleblowers, who report misconduct to a fellow employee or superior within their company. External whistleblowers, however, report misconduct to outside persons or entities like Media Whistle blowing is a strong means to deter corporate wrong doing

 When this right is abused, whistleblowers can be as unethical as the company that they are blowing the whistle on Views about whistleblowing vary widely from being seen as selfless martyrs for public interest and organizational accountability; to 'dobbers' or "snitches" , solely pursuing personal glory and fame

 Fairway Electric is among the most reputed companies in US market for building nuclear power plants Jim Bower, loyal employee of Fairway Electric, accidentally comes across an old Fairway report regarding a flaw in the design of the Radon II reactor While it didnt amount to a safety hazard, the flaw wouldve resulted in additional costs for customers

 Jim brings the issue to the notice of his boss Bob, who turns to the CEO Ken Deaver Ken tells Bob to suppress the issue Jim then takes matters into his own hand and anonymously reports the issue to the media This results in a public outcry and damages the reputation of the company Jims peers say they dont wish to work with him At the end there is a talk of transfer/firing

 Jim is proud of the clean reputation his company enjoys Shocked by the fact that Fairway decided to keep the flaw under wraps for so long Feels morally obligated to make the issue public

 He realizes his responsibility towards the society He couldnt stand the idea of duping the customers for the organizations gain He did give a chance to the top management to come clean and was forced to take a drastic step He is highly disturbed by the way his honesty is rewarded

 At the time the flaw was identified, the work had already begun Fairway had already sold the design to many clients when the results of the report came There was no safety hazard involved The entire division stood to go down if the flaw was reported There was nothing to be gained and a lot to loose by making the old issue public

Analysis
Ken had the companys interest in mind He failed to see the implications of risking the long established clean reputation of Fairway He was not willing to give in because of past mistakes and failed to take into account the stakeholders benefit Ken had covered up the issue when it actually happened, but he even failed to come clean when it was made public by Jim His behavior was highly unethical

 Bob could understand the point of view of both Jim and the CEO, Ken He had been with Fairway for over 8 years and had great faith in the company He felt it was not his duty to judge what happened 15 years earlier He decided to go ahead with Kens decision and push his own inhibitions concerning ethical implications of the issue aside

Analysis
Bob was more practical than passionate His relationship with Ken and his reliance on his judgment, made him unable to see the situation from a different angle He also didnt fulfill his responsibility towards Jim as his superior and failed to assume charge for the matter He is unethical if not doing anything when you can is unethical

 Clients were kept in the dark about the structural flaw even when Fairway became aware of it The additional costs resulting from the flaw would not be borne by the company customers and the rate payers Kens reaction to Jims discovery was to hush up the entire matter as soon as possible

 Kens priorities seemed to be focused on avoiding any short term losses and not on company values The identity of the whistle-blower was not kept confidential and became common knowledge to everyone in the company No attempt was made to make the situation easier for Jim, instead Ken directs Bob to transfer Jim to another division to avoid any problems

 Whistle blowing makes the organisation more responsible Employees following unethical practices are caught and actions can be taken on them Companies having sound whistle blower policy are fined much less in case of any stray event happening Employees prefer using internal channel to highlight the problem than taking it to outside media Increased employee satisfaction as all instances of neglect is noticed and acted upon Helps strengthen employees as well as the

 Whistle blowing can often bring to light issues which are of great significance This serves as a way to deter unethical practices by companies At times, new laws and practices are introduced which may benefit the whole society Having a whistleblower policy framework in place keeps an internal check on the organization

 Establish staff confidence that their issues will be taken seriously by management A clear and well-communicated antiretribution policy Staff involvement in the development of policies relating to whistle blowing Offering prompt and continuous responses to internal complaints Promote organization's code of conduct Switch from an internally operated anonymous tip hotline to one that is managed by an outside party

 India
Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement-provides for a

non-mandatory requirement for all listed companies to establish a mechanism called 'Whistle Blower Policy' for employees to report to the management instances of unethical behavior, actual or suspected, fraud or violation of the Company's code of conduct or ethics policy. For public sector The CVC shall, as the Designated Agency, receive written complaints or disclosure on any allegation of corruption or of misuse of office by any employee of the Central Government or of any corporation established under any Central Act, government companies, societies or local authorities owned or controlled by the Central Government.

 Whistle Blower Policy for Tata Companies

" Reporting Concerns Every employee of a Tata Company shall promptly report to the management any actual or possible violation of the Code or an event he becomes aware of that could affect the business or reputation of his or any other Tata Company." To provide employees, customers and vendors an avenue to raise concerns, in line with E.I.D.- Parry (India) Limiteds commitment to the highest possible standards of ethical, moral and legal business conduct and its commitment to open communication. To provide necessary safeguards for protection of employees from reprisals or victimization, for whistleblowing in good faith

Murugappa group

Ingvar Bratt, a former Bofors engineer who revealed himself as the anonymous source in the Bofors Scandal about illegal weapon exports. An act that led to a new Swedish law concerning company secrets which commonly is referred to as Lex Bratt. Satyendra Dubey, who accused employer NHAI of corruption in highway construction projects in India, in letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Assassinated on November 27, 2003. Enormous media coverage following his death may lead to Whistleblower Act in India Jeffrey Wigand, a former executive of Brown & Williamson who exposed his company's practice of intentionally manipulating the effect of nicotine in cigarettes on the CBS news program 60 Minutes. Famously known as the man who blew the whistle on Big Tobacco and almost single-handedly revealed the health dangers of smoking to the public. S. Manjunath, a formerly manager at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), and crusader against adulteration of petrol. He was shot dead on November 19, 2005, allegedly by a petrol pump owner from Uttar Pradesh