Business Ethics Now! - Ch. 7-Blowing the Whistle

Whistle-blower hotline

A telephone line by which employees can leave messages to alert a company of suspected misconduct without revealing their identity.

Whistle-blower

A(n) ____is an employee who discovers corporate misconduct and chooses to bring it to the attention of others.

Damages

Employees who prevail in whistle-blower cases are entitled to _____, which may include; (1) reinstatement ot the same seniority status that the employee would have had but for the adverse employment action. (2) Back pay. (3) Interest (4) All compensatory damages to make the employee whole.

False

Everyone views whistleblowers as brave men and women who put their career and personal lives at risk in the name of "doing the right thing?" (true/false)

True

External whistle-blowing is a 20th century phenomenon (true/false)

False

In today's environment, experts highly recommended that becoming a whistleblower and taking your story public should be a first resort, not last (true/false)

2002

Prior to _____, legal protection for whistleblowers existed only in the form of legislation that encouraged behavior by employees who felt compelled to speak out, without offering any safeguards against retaliation aimed at them.

True

Public awareness of whistleblowers reached its peak in 2002? (true/false)

Qui Tam Lawsuit

A lawsuit brought on behalf of the federal government by a whistle-blower under the false Claims Act of 1863.

Whistle-Blower

An employee who disovers corporate misconduct and chooses to bring it to the attention of others.

A

Congress took an integrated approach to the matter of whistle-blowing by prohibiting retaliation against whistleblowers and encouraging the act of whistle-blowing under which act? a) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act b) The Whistleblowers Protection Act of 1989 c) False Claims Act of 1963 d) Federal Sentencing Guidelines Act

True

One could argue that whistleblowers provide an invaluable service to their organization and to the general public. (true/false)

Considerable

The potential for financial gain is some areas of corporate whistle-blowing can be _____.

True

The large payouts to whistle-blowers in qui tam lawsuits are a direct result of the way the legislation is written.

External

______ whistle-blowing is an employee discovering corporate misconduct and choosing to bring it to the attention of law enforcement agencies and/or media.

D

All of the following can cause a whistleblower to lose legitimacy, except: a) motivation by financial gains b) motivation by media attention c) the employee is carrying out a personal vendetta d) the employee is trying to protect the public.

True

Given this new legal environment surrounding whistle-blowers, all employers would be wise to put the following mechanisms in place: (1) A well-defined process to document how such complaints are handled (2) An employee hotline (3) A prompt and thorough investigation of all complaints (4) A detailed report of all investigations, documenting all corporate officers involved and all action taken.

False

Internal whistle-blowing is when an employee discovers corporate misconduct and brings it to the attention of his or her supervisor, and the brings it to the attention of law-enforcement agencies and the media. (true/false)

False

Karen Silkwood was amoung the internal auditing team that first uncovered questionable accounting practices at WorldCom. (true/false)

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Not until the ____________ of 2002 (also known as the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act), did congress take an intergrated approach to the matter of whistle-blowing by both prohibiting relatiation against whistle-blowers and encouraging the act of whistle-blowing itself.

B

On could argue that whistleblowers provide ______. a) A positive image of their organization b) An invaluable service to their orgainization c) Investors an unrealistic outlook of a company d) A disservice to the public.

True

SOX does not protect employee complaints to the news media. Such reports, by themselves, do not constitute whistle-blowing under SOX.

C

The Whistleblower Act of 1989 finally addressed the issue of ______. a) Relaliation against employees in private organizations who brought accusations of unethical behavior b) Retaliation against employees in non-profit organizations who brought accusations of unethical behavior c) Retaliation against federal employees who brought accusations of unethical behavior d) Retaliation against any employee who brought accusations of unethical behavior.

C

The fact that an employee is left with no option but to "go public" with the information should be seen as evidence that _____. a) the employee is unhappy with the organization's decision and is seeking the media's help to persuade the corporation. b)The orgainization is trying to gauge the seriousness of the situation by pushing its employee. c)The organization has failed to address the situation internally for the long-term betterment of the corporation. d) The organization feels that the situation does not merit the employee's evidence.

True

The language on a whistle-blower's entitlement to "all compensatory damages to make the employee whole" is not clear in the SOX legislation.

False

The legitmacy of whistle-blowing remains even in the employee is motivated only by media attention.(true/false)

True

The potential for financial gain in some areas of corporate whistle-blowing can be considerable. (true/false)

True

The whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 applied only to federal employees.

C

What year did public awareness of whistleblowers reach a peak? a) 1998 b) 2000 c) 2002 d) 2004

A

Whether the motivation to speak out and reveal questionable behavior came from a personal ethical decision or from the potential for a substantial financial windfall will _______. a) Probably never by completely verified b) Always by verified c) Be verified the majority of the time d) Always be sought after

Ethical

Whistle blowing is _____ under 5 conditions, (1) when the company, through a product or decision, will cause serious and considerable harm to the public or break existing laws, the employee should report the organization; (2) When the employee identifies a serious threat of harm. (3) When the employee's immediate supervisor does not act. (4) The employee must have documented evidence that is convincing to a reasonable, impartial observer that his/her view of the situation is accurate and evidence that tthe firm's practice, product, or policy seriously threatens and puts in danger the public or product user. (5) The employee must have valid reasons to believe that revealing the wrong doing to the public will result in the changes nescessary to remedy the situation.

Unethical

Whistle blowing is _______if there is evidence that the employee is motivated by the opportunity for financial gain or media attention or that the employee is carrying out an individual vendetta against the company.

True

Whistle-blowers are generally considered to be models of honor and integrity at a time when integrity in the business world seems to be in very short supply. (true/false)

True

Whistle-blowers are often severly criticized as informers, sneaks, spies, or squealers who have in some way breached the trust and loyalty they owe to their employers. (true/false)

Internal

_______ whistle-blowing is an employee discovering corporate misconduct and bringing it to the attention of his or her supervisor, who then follow established procedures to address the misconduct within the organization.