Beyond Whistle Blowing

Beyond Whistle Blowing : 

Beyond Whistle Blowing

Whistle Blowing and Whistle Blowers : 

Whistle Blowing and Whistle Blowers Business Ethics definition- “an act of disclosure made by a person about some wrong doings by a corporation to an external agency which is difficult for the public to know otherwise” Perception about Whistle Blowers: Hardworking Believe in Social, Political & Legal System Loyal to their organizations Image Source: mckinneysoccer.org

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Image Source: Cartoonstock.com

Criteria for “Justifiable” Whistle Blowing : 

Criteria for “Justifiable” Whistle Blowing Richard T De George’s conditions- To be morally permissible: Pose serious or considerable harm to public Incident should be reported to superior Moral concern should be communicated To be morally obligatory: Accessible, documented and convincing evidence Good chance of changes taking place But is this true for all ?

Going Beyond the Ordinary : 

Going Beyond the Ordinary Beyond just a morally defensible act… The difficult path of truth Virtues essential for living a life worth living Ready to even face death for an ideal Image Source: wikipedia.org Image Source satyamevajayate.info Image Source: indianexpress.com Socrates Satyendra Dubey S Manjunath

Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC) : 

Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC) “A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true” Classical Greek Philosopher Considered “wisest and most just of all men” Renowned for contribution to the field of ethics Socratic Method or Elenchus Asking and answering questions to stimulate rational thinking Image Source: wikipedia.org

Death of Socrates : 

Death of Socrates Condemned to death for false charges: Corrupting youths of Athens Instigating them against rulers Could have lived by: Escaping from prison Apologizing to jury Living in exile elsewhere Carried out own execution – drinking Hemlock: Held on to moral beliefs A law abiding citizen - respect for the system Image Source: wikipedia.org

The Socratic Wisdom : 

The Socratic Wisdom Socratic Pursuit for Justice and Equality something more than just living well with wealth and power What should our priorities be in life if our lives are really to go well? Living Well an understanding of virtue that transcends what is just ethically defensible Commitment to truth and deep sense of moral virtue “the greatest good for man in daily life is to converse about virtue” “the life which is unexamined is not worth living. A life which is worth living is also worth dying for”

Satyendra Dubey-The Road Less Travelled : 

Satyendra Dubey-The Road Less Travelled

Timeline : 

Timeline Nov 2002: Mr. Dubey sends letter to the PMO detailing irregularities in the construction activities of the NHAI and requesting anonymity. Nov 27, 2003: Mr. Dubey murdered in Gaya. Dec 9, 2003: CBI assigned to probe the murder case. Dec 11, 2003: Govt. denies leaking Dubey’s identity. Dec 26, 2003: CBI submits interim report stating that he was killed while offering resistance to thieves. Jan 2004: Key witnesses commit suicide. Feb 2004: FIR against CBI officials and CBI denies hand in the suicides

Timeline : 

Timeline Sep 2004: CBI files chargesheet in Dubey murder case and case filed against NHAI’s project director. Jan 2005: Final report submitted by CBI and charges filed in Satyendra Dubey murder case. Sep 2005: Dubey murder accused escapes.

NHAI Diaries : 

NHAI Diaries Dubey’s letter had highlighted the in-depth problems and corruption plaguing the NHAI. The contract deals were made on the basis of bribes and influential contacts. Even after contracting, the deals were sub-contracted to sub-standard contractors thus making enormous profit without any value-addition. Dubey also highlighted the siphoning off of Rs. 40 crores as mobilisation advance to contractors.

Aligning moral theories… : 

Aligning moral theories… Mr. Satyendra Dubey’s act is aptly justified and aligned to the criteria specified by Richard T De George for justifiable whistle blowing: The firm through its product or policy will do serious and considerable harm to the public, whether in the person of the user of its product, an innocent bystander, or the general public. Once an employee identifies a serious threat to the user of a product or to the general public, he or she should report it to his or her immediate superior and make his or her moral concern known. Unless he or she does so, the act of Whistle blowing is not justifiable. 3. If one's immediate superior does nothing effective about the concern or complaint, the employee should exhaust the internal procedures and possibilities within the firm. This usually will involve taking the matter up the managerial ladder, and if necessary and possible to the board of directors.

Lessons learnt : 

Lessons learnt Honesty is a value which is basic to the well being of the society. So in order to maintain the minimum ethical standard of institutions, we should not compromise on our honesty whenever they deviate. The fundamental duty of any democratic government is to protect its citizens and help them traverse the path of truth and justice. The words by which Dubey lived his life are: “I would rather die after spoken about my manners than speak in your manners and live”.

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The Manjunath case 27 year old Engineer and MBA from IIM-L Marketing manager in IOCL at Lakhimpur Kheri A “nightmare” for petrol outlet owners “Manju was not the typical business school wonder boy who had a way with cold statistics and fuzzy logics” – Prof. Debashish Chatterjee, IIM-L

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People involved Dinesh Seth & Rajendra Singh – Owner & Manager of L D Service station respectively Monu Mittal - son of the owner of Mittal outlet District supplies Inspector Villagers in Lakhimpur village

Sequence of events : 

Sequence of events “Most pumps in UP are political gifts given by politicians to their goons” PDS scam and siphoning of Kerosene widespread in Lakhimpur Mittal outlet and L D Service station closed for a month after failing adulteration tests. Monu’s license is cancelled Manjunath gets informants among Lakhimpur Villagers

The plot on Nov 19th : 

The plot on Nov 19th Manjunath checks samples in Mittal outlet at 4 PM Leaves at 6 PM leaving the measuring instrument in the outlet Monu gathers accomplices to kill Manjunath and waits till 8 PM for him to return Manjunath turns up at 9:30 PM and gets murdered

Aftermath : 

Aftermath Mittal sentenced to death in an extremely fast judgment and other accused get life term Manjunath Shanmugam trust Manjunath Shanmugam integrity award Relook into the subsidy mechanism of Kerosene by the Govt. Govt. resolution empowering Central Vigilance Commission – Whistle blower protection act

Learnings : 

Learnings Personal and External Whistle blowing done by Manjunath Rule Utilitarianism was followed Actions coincide with Kant’s Deontology – Universaliziblity and Reversibility

Conclusion : 

Conclusion Whistle blowing is beyond being morally defensible “What life is this if we have nothing to die for?” - Manjunath Strong faith in system, justice and reason force the whistleblowers’ actions

THANK YOU : 

THANK YOU