Whistle Blowers: Saints or Sinners

MT302 Organizational Behavior

Unit Three: Case Incident 2

Whistle Blowers: Saints or Sinners

7-24-2010

Unethical practices do need to be reported FOR the good of companies and its members. The unethical use of software or “pirating” is an example of whistle blowing. If employees are aware the illegal use of software by their employer it should be reported to the proper authorities such as the Business Software Alliance. The practice using software illegally is not only ethically wrong but is also illegal. Companies are making their profit at another companies expense; the use of software that is downloaded or installed illegally is “stealing” and should be treated as theft. It should have the same consequences as someone who has committed a theft and is a crime. The financial gains that are noticed by the company using the pirated software is cutting into the financial gains of the company that invested into the development of the software. Therefore if the financial gains realized by the company that is committing the crime then they have not been attained legally just as someone who commits theft is allowed to keep what they stole after they are caught.

If someone has decided to blow the alleged whistle on their employer for any wrongdoing they also realize there is some financial benefit to what they are doing. Along with financial gain there is also the retaliation for a disgruntled employee who may seize the chance to get back at their employer for things they have not liked. This may also open the door for people to build their case around what they cannot prove, such as the example given in our Case Study. The individual that filed the case built the case off what he believed however it was found to be incorrect. The individual wanted to do the right thing, however he was still awarded a large sum of money for the report and the case was still found to not be true. The self fulfillment of either wanting to prove something wrong with the...