Deck 16: Organizational Ethics Whistleblowing

Question 1

Commonly, acts of whistleblowing

A) help correct wrongs.
B) harm people or organizations.
C) may be hard on the whistleblower too.
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not required for whistleblowing to be morally justified, under the classic analysis?

A) The whistleblower's motives for acting are morally right.
B) The problem is serious and poses a pressing threat.
C) The whistleblower will pursue the proper channels in order to protect those who have been complicit in the problem.
D) The whistleblower has unsuccessfully pursued internal means to overcome the problem, or exceptions apply.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Bowie's condition about the whistleblower having proper motives

A) is a very important moral condition that should be fulfilled.
B) is primarily utilitarian in nature.
C) does not have much to do with whether the whistleblowing act itself needs to occur.
D) is a key piece of the modified analysis of whistleblowing.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

These are several ways "success" might be interpreted for whistleblowing. Thinking widely, a "success" might amount to all of the following, except

A) heading off some catastrophe.
B) reducing the impact of some serious threat.
C) correcting some illegal or immoral practice.
D) getting the whistleblower's job back.

Question 5

A problem threatens to cause very harmful effects. This relates most directly with the

A) severity of the problem.
B) urgency with which the problem must be addressed.
C) problem's chances of being addressed successfully.
D) whistleblower's motive.

Question 6

Which of the following is not one of the effects of Wylie's whistleblowing case that contributed to its overall success?

A) Facebook taking steps to block the data harvesting
B) Vote Leave being fined for violating election laws
C) New social networking sites being established
D) The Strategic Communication Laboratories Group and Cambridge Analytica being shut down

Question 7

Complicity theory is based on the principle that one should not

A) directly act in wrong ways.
B) lie or misrepresent things.
C) be an accomplice in wrongdoing either by doing or not doing something.
D) comply with unjust threats or demands from, say, a robber.

Question 8

To create a morally better situation, whistleblowing

A) only needs to produce more benefits than harms.
B) must never allow for any non-complicit to suffer harm.
C) must ensure that complicit person suffers some penalty.
D) must create a more just situation overall.

Question 9

Which of the following is incorrect? Whistleblowing acts that are _______ are not automatically _______.

A) morally justified; morally obligatory
B) morally obligatory; morally justified
C) severe; urgent
D) well intended; morally justified

Question 10

It is morally necessary that an individual have well-established knowledge of a problem before even starting to raise questions, but that may not be enough to substantiate concerns to an outsider.

Question 11

Considerations of complicity suggest that there ought to be a difference between how whistleblowing affects those complicit in a problem and how it affects the non-complicit.

Question 12

Among other morally positive things, whistleblowing can expose corruption, bring offenders to justice, expose a dangerous product or practice, inform the public of things they need to know about, and protect the environment from impending tragedies.

Question 13

Whistleblowing can sometimes cause harm to innocent parties. Whenever it does this, the whistleblowing cannot be morally justified according to the modified analysis.

Question 14

The modified analysis makes no changes regarding the evidence condition specified in the classic analysis.

Question 15

The modified analysis makes blowing the whistle a moral duty for a concerned individual who has some complicity with the problem.