Whistleblowers

Outline & Initial Source List

Below is a list of “Whistleblowers” you may or may not have heard of.

• Take a look at the list…choose one.  Do some initial research (and keep track of the sources you use).  You may look at Wiki – but it cannot be a cited source for this assignment.
• Take a look at the assignment instructions
• Create a 1 -2 page outline of the major topic areas and some initial notes that you will expand upon in writing you paper…this is to show you are a) getting a start, and b) allow the Instructor to provide guidance to help your inquiry well before the due date
• Add to your outline your initial source list…make sure to use proper citation format for that source list.

Submit your OUTLINE & INITIAL SOURCE LIST in one Word document below before the listed deadline by clicking on the title line above. ( Your deadline and link to submit the full paper is farther below in “Course Content.”).

Research Paper Instructions

This is a short research paper in which you explore the topic of “whistleblowers” and ethical decision making relating to their actions.

A description of what it means to be a whistleblower is provided in the information within this assignment section of Blackboard.  Note that there are general terms about what a whistleblower is and any protections a whistleblower may have, but also guidance specific to the government agency or organization to which the employee belongs.  There are also laws and rules that prohibit sharing of information in many ways…yes, a real moral dilemma for a whistleblower!

For your assignment, frame your paper in a way to cover these key areas at a minimum (but don’t use them as a question and then you write an answer below the question…create one seamless essay with proper citations that includes these essential parts :

• Who is the whistleblower, what is their role, and what are the issues they are concerned about?
• What are the ethical dilemmas they are facing with choosing courses of action? There are many relating the person and the case you are examining.  (Also, be specific about laws that prohibit disclosures, threats they may face to their safety or job, and other risks of any type) Are there whistleblower protection laws or regulations issued by their agency or organization? Do they fully protect them from all the impacts resulting from what they are about to do?  Why or why not?
• What are all the options the whistleblowers have to resolve their concerns? (Some may not be right…but it is an option nonetheless) …which did they choose…why do you think they chose it?
• Describe any moral courage that was required…or was their no courage or no personal risk involved?
• Was the whistleblower a “flawed” person in any way?  Did their flaws cause them problems too?  Describe the additional risks if you are a reporter of misconduct yet are not a “saint” if it was not fully explored above.
• What would you have done in each dilemma…the same as they did?  Something different?  Why?

  Your paper should be 6 to 7 pages excluding the title page and sources page.  (No “abstract section is required as shown in APA).  Use at least 4 sources in addition to the text.  Submit in a Word document before the deadline.

WHISTLEBLOWERS TO CHOOSE FROM:

Mark Whitacre – A senior executive with Archer Danial Midlands (ADM), a Fortune 500 multi-national food corporation, who cooperated with the FBI for 3 years regarding ADMs illegal price-fixing schemes.  He was later sentenced to prison.

Peter Buxton – a social worker and medical investigator with the U.S. Public Health Service who reported the Tuskegee syphilis experiment on unknowing African Americans by the U.S. government. He leaked the information to Congress.

Frank Serpico – an New York Police Department plainclothes officer who reported police corruption within the department, who was later nearly killed in an undercover operation in which other officers reportedly refused to give him medical attention

Karen Silkwood – a technician at a nuclear facility, she publicly reported unsafe practices there and testified before the Atomic Energy Commission.  She was killed in a suspicious auto accident.

Mark Felt – an FBI special agent who rose to the rank of #2 in the FBI and became a confidential source for the Washington Post investigation of the Watergate Scandal which resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon and indictment of dozens of government officials.

Natalie Edwards – an employee of the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) who disclosed confidential documents about Russian involvement in the 2020 election to the media.  She was later sentenced to prison.

Everett Stern – while an anti-money laundering compliance officer with HSBC, a multinational investment banking firm, he uncovered suspicious transactions with Middle East terrorist groups. When ignored by HSBC, he reported his findings to the FBI & CIA, resulting in being “blacklisted” from the financial community.