What ethical dilemmas does whistle blowing present?
When a person encounters wrongdoing in the public sphere, his or her first step should probably be to use the organization s internal whistle blowing mechanisms. William Black, professor of law and economics at University of Missouri-Kansas City, was himself a whistle blower when he worked as a Savings and Loan regulator in the 1980s. During a term as visiting scholar at the Ethics Center, he wrote about his experience: Whistle blowers in the public sector often face the unique problem that their disclosure may constitute a crime. This can create an ethical dilemma when the ongoing misconduct is severe and there is no reasonable prospect that the abuse will end absent blowing the whistle .I would still recommend trying to get the responsible organs (e.g., your agency’s/department’s congressional oversight committees and/or inspector general) to take action first unless the threat to public safety was imminent. All government bodies should have fairly straightforward lines of authority.
