International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Whistleblowing: Don’t Encourage It, Prevent It; Comment on “Cultures of Silence And Cultures of Voice: The Role Of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations”

Document Type : Commentary

Author
D. Robert MacDougall
Department of Social Sciences, New York City College of Technology (CUNY), New York City, NY, USA
10.15171/ijhpm.2015.190
Abstract
In a recent article, Mannion and Davies argue that there are a multitude of ways in which organizations (such as the National Health Service [NHS]) can deal with wrongdoing or ethical problems, including the formation of policies that encourage and protect would-be whistleblowers. However, it is important to distinguish internal reporting about wrongdoing from whistleblowing proper, because the two are morally quite different and should not be dealt with in the same way. This article argues that we should not understand the authors’ conclusions to apply to “whistleblowing” proper, because their recommended approach would be both unfeasible and undesirable for addressing whistleblowing defined in this way.

Highlights

 

 

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Keywords
Whistleblowing
Moral Dilemma
Organizational Policy
Public Policy
Ethics
Subjects

 

 

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  • Received Date 15 September 2015
  • Revised Date 17 October 2015
  • Accepted Date 14 October 2015
  • First Published Date 01 March 2016
  • Published Date 01 March 2016