What Makes Whistleblowers So Threatening?; Comment on “Cultures of Silence and Cultures of Voice: The Role of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations”

Document Type : Commentary

Author

Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

Abstract

Whistleblowing is defined by the retaliation that those who speak out receive. Why some organizations find it almost impossible not to retaliate depends more on the properties of the organization than the act of the individual whistleblower. These properties are, to greater or lesser degree, present in all organizations. Not all organizations retaliate against whistleblowers, but the whistleblower represents a threat to every organization. And to every individual within the organization, because the whistleblower challenges the morality and ethics of the rest of us.

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References

Alford CF. Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; 2001.
Mannion R, Davies HT. Cultures of silence and cultures of voice: the role of whistleblowing in healthcare organisations. Int J Health Policy  Manag. 2015;4(8):503-505. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2015.120
Douglas M. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin; 1966.
Alford CF. Think No Evil: Korean Values in the Age of Globalization. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; 1999.
Bauman Z. Modernity and the Holocaust. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; 1989:213-215.
Alford CF. Whistleblower protection policy. American Governance, 5 vols. Detroit, Michigan: Macmillan Reference; 2016.

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