Whistleblowing

After doing research, it seems whistleblowing is a common theme in businesses but may not be brought to light so easily. Whistleblowing is a person who is viewed as a threat to a company or per say organization. Their behavior is seen as wrongdoing and can be categorized as misconduct.

A series of cases of academic medicine failing to respond properly to unethical behaviour in clinical research that have been discussed in the literature illustrate the scope and seriousness of the problem. The Olivieri/Apotex affair is just another instance of academic medicine's ethical failure in cases of scientific fraud and misconduct. This case involves funding from a private pharmaceutical company, other cases do not. Yet the significant similarity is that in each instance, instead of supporting the individual who reported a serious ethical problem relating to research, the institution responded with the punishment of the whistleblowers. Recent history, as is illustrated by a series of cases that ultimately reached public attention, makes it unmistakably clear that there can be grave consequences for faculty, students, and staff who report discrepancies and concerns about unethical research behaviour. On 30 October 1995 a report from the Research Triangle Institute on "Consequences of Whistleblowing for the Whistleblower in Misconduct in Science Cases" (1) reported some of the personal costs of whistleblowing, as did the 5 January 1996 issue of Science, (2) as well as a 1999 issue of Science and Engineering Ethics. (3) Whistleblowers are ostracised, pressured to drop allegations, and threatened with counterallegations. They lose desirable assignments, have their research support reduced and their promotions and raises denied. Their contracts are not renewed, and they are fired. (4) Whistleblowers are obvious targets, especially in a time of financial cutbacks, re-engineering and downsizing, and everyone knows it (Strain,2004).

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-114007434/whistleblowing-academic-medicine-olivieri.html