Risk and Reward of Whistleblowing

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A whistleblower is “a person who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority” (“Dictionary”). Most companies in this day and age have regulations on how to act if someone needs to blow the whistle. With the thin line from right and wrong for whistle blowing, you could go from having a job to being jobless in a day if you do not follow the corrective action. While whistleblowers like David Tuff and Cynthia Cooper can influence how a company operates, they must decide how to face the risk resulting to blowing the whistle. Most successful companies today have employees that follow their rules, but if they have a problem they will follow company rule and report it to the person in charge. David Tuff was a security guard at the Blue Mountain Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Part of Tuff’s job training at Blue Mountain required that Tuff learn the procedures found in the Security Officer’s Manual. These procedures said, “If a serious accident or illegal behavior should occur on the premises of the licensee, it shall be the responsibility of the licensee to notify the appropriate police department immediately” (Beauchamp 32). Furthermore, the manual permits, “The Private Security Coordinator may reprimand a licensee as hereinafter provided. Any violation of any regulation or rule found in this manual is cause for disciplinary action” (Beauchamp 32-33). After reading this, Tuff believed that his license could be revoked for any failure to report illegal behavior such as drunk driving. Fourteen months after Tuff joined the company, Blue Mountain issued new rules assigning duties to security guards to allow people to leave the mall under the influence of alcohol. Tuff immediately spoke out in opposition to the new rules. He complained to his superiors about the new rule, his immediate supervisor told him that he should

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