Should Greed Be the Goad for Good?

Abstract

Fighting wrongdoing through whistleblowing is on the horizon. This year a whistleblower protection bill was introduced in Parliament, the media have prominently featured incidents where failure of whistleblowing has occurred, and prominent UK scholars and leaders have endorsed it. The USA was at this same juncture 10–15 years ago, when many felt the large institutions in US society were beyond effective control. Whistleblowers were seen as a vanguard which could directly correct wrong‐doing and indirectly facilitate organisational ‘right‐doing’. Early reporting of wrongdoing by organisation insiders who had good evidence would lead to more expedient and less expensive correction of the problem. Encouraging whistle‐blowing would also indirectly deter wrongdoing because those considering wrongdoing would know fellow employees were watching and willing to talk. The resulting state legislation, enacted by three‐quarters of the states, is similar to the proposed UK legislation in many important respects.

Citation

Morehead Dworkin, T. (1997), "Should Greed Be the Goad for Good?", Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 336-342. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb025800