Administrative Ethics, Essay Example

In chapter 8 of James Svara’s “The Ethics Primer,” the risk and uncertainty of whistleblowing is discussed and examined. Specifically, the ethics that are involved when acting as a whistleblower are complicated and require a great deal of deliberation (Svara, 2014, p. 143). As Svara suggests, on one end the whistleblower is acting out of ethical consideration of what issues and concerns are taking place at the organization, whereas on the other end, the whistleblower will ultimately harm the organization and those who work there by coming forward (2014, pp. 143-144). This is quite an interesting and tough ethics problem for individuals who are considering whistleblowing on their organization, because it can not only cause harm to those who are innocent, but also create legal and personal problems for the whistleblower (Svara, 2014, pp. 149-154). However, as a public administrator, it is necessary to consider the greater good, and that falls under the duty to the public.

Svara then lays out the conditions that must be met in order to go public with harmful and damaging information about the organization. These conditions must be met because “staff members owe loyalty to their organization” (Svara, 2014, p. 145). Svara says that the whistleblower must be certain that a true and serious problem exists that warrants action (2014, pp. 145-146). Also, the whistleblower must have concrete facts about the abuse and must focus on the abuses that have occurred or are occurring, not on the people (Svara, 2014, p. 146). Then, the whistleblower must be sure their motives are to serve the public and lastly, that all internal channels within the organization have been exhausted in efforts to solve the problem (Svara, 2014, p. 146). The last condition, Svara states that sometimes it might not be possible to exhaust all internal channels due to the unknowns of how others in the organization might respond, which can lead to possibility of retaliation (2014, p. 147). These conditions are vital to make sure the whistleblower is making the ethical decisions in the proper manner, as well as providing a safer environment for themselves. This is because whistleblowers are often subjected to retaliation methods from the organiztion or those who were involved in the abuses, which can even lead to prosecution of the whistleblower (Svara, 2014, p. 149).

References

Svara, J. H. (2014). The ethics primer for public administrators in government and nonprofit organizations. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.