Cultural Divides
Europe
and the USA have different value systems in regards to work. Americans value
the entrepreneur and the ideal of freedoms that can be achieved through
working. Americans want to be free and do not seek to become aristocratic.
Europeans historically have strived to become on par with the best. Europeans
see work as a bad thing that must be done in order to do something else you
prefer. AC work as a punishment and their ideal situation would be very
aristocratic and not involve them having to do any type of work. Americans are
thought to be overworked by most parts of the world. There are 134 countries
globally that have enacted laws limiting the maximum number of hours worked per
week (Miller, 2010) . The United States
of America is not one of them.
Whistleblowers in the U.S.
“The disclosure of information about a perceived
wrongdoing in an organisation, or the risk thereof, to individuals or entities
believed to be able to effect action” (Transparency International, 2009) is known as whistle-blowing.
There are many challenges that anyone reporting a company for unlawful activity
is going to have to face. If this route is chosen, the Office of the
Whistleblower Protection Program identifies the possible adverse actions as:
·
“Firing or laying off
·
Blacklisting
·
Demoting
·
Denying overtime or promotion
·
Disciplining
·
Denial of benefits
·
Failure to hire or rehire
·
Intimidation
·
Making threats
·
Reassignment affecting prospects for
promotion
·
Reducing pay or hours” (Department of Labor, 2011)
Whistleblowers in Europe
Whistle-blowing in Europe would be far less effective. Knigge
(2010) explains that “some things of corporate wrongdoing would be illegal in
the US, but would not be illegal in Europe, so whistle-blowing on them wouldn't
be very effective”. Europe has made
significant strides in the right direction. In 2010, the Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly “unanimously adopted a whistleblower protection resolution” (Rahija, 2010) but there are
nowhere near the U.S. when it comes to the level of protection offered to
whistleblowers. A whistleblower would face the same adverse actions in Europe
as they would in the United States but may be left without adequate protection
from them.
Appropriate Course of Action
There are seven deadly sins when it comes to whistle-blowing.
Martin (1999) identifies them as:
“• Trusting too
much
• Not having
enough evidence
• Using the
wrong style
• Not waiting
for the right opportunity
• Not building
support
• Playing the
opponent’s game
• Not knowing when to
stop.”
In
Mary’s situation, there are several ways she could go about trying to find a
solution to all of the problems that are going on around her at work. She would
have to identify what laws were being broken and who would care if they found
out what was going on. Unfortunately, the behavior Mary is seeing is not technically
illegal. She would only be able to go over the supervisors head that she has
already talked to in order to see if they cared what was going on. It would be
a good idea first to find some company guidance stating that it is forbidden to
do the things she’s trying to prevent. If the owner of the company doesn’t care
if people drink, gamble and skip work, there would be little else Mary could do
besides quit.
Mary
should locate the guidance stating that it is not permitted to do the things
she’s seeing. She should then gather evidence to support her claims and figure
out who if next in the chain of command above the supervisors she has already
spoken with. She should set up a meeting and present the evidence in a calm and
cool manner. If she still doesn’t see a reaction, she may consider going one
level higher, but it would probably be advisable to cut her losses if she doesn’t
have any luck up to this point. While Mary’s situation is unfortunate, it is
not her responsibility to play police to the company she works for and she has
to come to terms with the fact that action may never be taken.
References
Department of Labor. (2011, November 10). Occupational
Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from The
Whistleblower Protection Program: http://www.whistleblowers.gov/
Knigge, M. (2010, May 9). Deutsche
Welle. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from Europe, US take different
approaches to whistle-blowing :
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5965148,00.html
Martin, B. (1999). BcMartin.
Retrieved November 20, 2011, from The whistleblower’s handbook: how to be an
effective resister: http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/99wh.pdf
Miller, G. (2010, October 12). 20
Something Finance. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from The U.S. is the Most
Overworked Developed Nation in the World – When do we Draw the Line?:
http://20somethingfinance.com/american-hours-worked-productivity-vacation/
Rahija, B. (2010, May 17). Project on
Government Oversight. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from Council of Europe
Unanimously Adopts Whistleblower Protection Resolution:
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2010/05/council-of-europe-unanimously-adopts-whistleblower-protection-resolution.html
Transparency International. (2009).
Retrieved November 20, 2011, from The need for whistleblower protection:
http://www.transparency.org/layout/set/print/global_priorities/other_thematic_issues/towards_greater_protection_of_whistleblowers/the_need_for_whistleblower_protection
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