HI6008 Business Research T1 2017

HI6008 Busin" rel="nofollow">iness Research T1 2017 Assessment 1: Literature Review (Individual Assignment) On Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in Australia Work Places: Bankin" rel="nofollow">ing and Insurance Sector EMV21037 30th April, 2017 Table of Contents: 1.    Literature Review a.    Introduction ……………….....................................................................................3 b.    Australia Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing History............................................................................4 i.    1989 to 2000.................................................................................................6 ii.    2000 till date.................................................................................................6 c.    Internal and External Disclosure Structure...............................................................7 2.    Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing Theories......................................................................................................8 3.    Controversies in" rel="nofollow">in Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing..........................................................................................9 4.    The Scope of Legislation......................................................................................................9 5.    Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing Encouragment............................................................................................9 6.    Whistleblowers Effective Legal Framework Protection....................................................10 7.    Conclusion..........................................................................................................................11 8.    Bibliography.......................................................................................................................11 1.    Literature Review: a.    Introduction: Organizational employees sometimes see somethin" rel="nofollow">ing within" rel="nofollow">in their workplace that they believe that it is improper, illegal or neglect (malpractice) and then they raise a concern. This has been in" rel="nofollow">interpreted by other employees or the organization as spyin" rel="nofollow">ing or in" rel="nofollow">informative and in" rel="nofollow">in some situations the in" rel="nofollow">individual raisin" rel="nofollow">ing the alarm is rewarded with termin" rel="nofollow">ination or branded as a traitor. Additionally, in" rel="nofollow">in some of the state’s people have been assassin" rel="nofollow">inated because of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. Consequently, others have faced reprisals within" rel="nofollow">in or from a related organization and under the law. However, as a result of in" rel="nofollow">increasin" rel="nofollow">ing malpractices within" rel="nofollow">in the organizations many of them are embracin" rel="nofollow">ing whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing which has led to its enactment as a policy within" rel="nofollow">in most of the global states. Today there are laws that protect whistleblowers in" rel="nofollow">in organizations and particularly within" rel="nofollow">in Australia in" rel="nofollow">institutions there is far much cry for whistleblowers. In the recent years most of the headlin" rel="nofollow">ines in" rel="nofollow">in Australia have read of the serious misconducts and failures of household brands such as the national Australia bank, 7-Eleven, IOOF, Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie. This has contributed to a lot of mistrust of the people regardin" rel="nofollow">ing the in" rel="nofollow">institutions and worse has contributed to the ruin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing of many (numbers in" rel="nofollow">in terms of thousands) people’s lives.   Furthermore, whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing has led to a number of questions such as whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing legitimacy. Secondly, the moral responsibility of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing whether is it a just or unjust cause. Lastly, the whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">institutions appraisal as part of the political ethics field. The followin" rel="nofollow">ing paper presents a research study of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in Australia workplaces focusin" rel="nofollow">ing majorly in" rel="nofollow">in the bankin" rel="nofollow">ing and in" rel="nofollow">insurance sector. b.    Australia Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing History: In the recent years, most of the headlin" rel="nofollow">ines in" rel="nofollow">in Australia have read of the serious misconducts and failures of household brands such as the National Australia Bank, 7- Eleven, IOOF, Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie. This has contributed to a lot of mistrust of the people regardin" rel="nofollow">ing the in" rel="nofollow">institutions and worse has contributed to the ruin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing of many (numbers in" rel="nofollow">in terms of thousands) people’s lives. Organizational employees sometimes see somethin" rel="nofollow">ing within" rel="nofollow">in their workplace that they believe that it is improper, illegal or neglect (malpractice) and then they raise a concern. This has been in" rel="nofollow">interpreted by other employees or the organization as spyin" rel="nofollow">ing or in" rel="nofollow">informative and in" rel="nofollow">in some situations the in" rel="nofollow">individual raisin" rel="nofollow">ing the alarm is rewarded with termin" rel="nofollow">ination or branded as a traitor. In most of the organizations the whistleblowers are seen as loners who whistleblow out of spite or malice. Additionally, in" rel="nofollow">in some of the state’s people have been assassin" rel="nofollow">inated because of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. For example, there were three whistleblowers that led to the shin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing of light in" rel="nofollow">into the bankin" rel="nofollow">ing bad saga in" rel="nofollow">in Australia. One of the three whistleblowers in" rel="nofollow">in the CBA whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing died mysteriously at the age of 35 in" rel="nofollow">in his sleep. Another though remain" rel="nofollow">ined anonymous suffered persecution and resentment from the organization that led to him leavin" rel="nofollow">ing his job. The last whistleblower though he endured in" rel="nofollow">in a hostile environment and at the end was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTST) (Boyle, 2016). Consequently, others have faced reprisals within" rel="nofollow">in or from a related organization and under the law.  This is the same case in" rel="nofollow">in Australia but there have been several passionate appeals form the masses for the state to in" rel="nofollow">institute a royal commission. However, this has been turned in" rel="nofollow">into a political issue particularly an election one with the labor party advocatin" rel="nofollow">ing for it while the liberal party not favorin" rel="nofollow">ing the idea. However, there is need to actually congratulate and give gratitude’s to the whistleblowers whom without their brave and heroic efforts Australia will never have known of the 7-Eleven’s wage fraud, Commbank Fin" rel="nofollow">inancial plannin" rel="nofollow">ing, CommInsure, Commbank’s life in" rel="nofollow">insurance arm misconduct (Boyle, 2016). The world lacks an accepted defin" rel="nofollow">inition of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing but Australia join" rel="nofollow">ins the other states in" rel="nofollow">in providin" rel="nofollow">ing a description of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. Furthermore, the world has provided several different and descriptions which have tried to distin" rel="nofollow">inguish whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing from other forms such as spyin" rel="nofollow">ing or in" rel="nofollow">informin" rel="nofollow">ing. Moreover, the most commonly accepted defin" rel="nofollow">inition of Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in Australia is the disclosure by either former or current members of an organization in" rel="nofollow">in public or private of immoral, illegitimate and illegal amongst other malpractices (Stannard, 2017). Consequently, under their employers control top in" rel="nofollow">individuals that can effect action. A whistleblower on the other hand is defin" rel="nofollow">ined as the in" rel="nofollow">individual who exposes any form of malpractice or provides in" rel="nofollow">information in" rel="nofollow">in a public or private organization that is deemed as illegal or unethical.  Consequently, the released in" rel="nofollow">information can be classified in" rel="nofollow">in the followin" rel="nofollow">ing ways; firstly, violation of an entities law, policy, rules, and regulations. Secondly, it’s a matter of national security or threatens it. Lastly, the in" rel="nofollow">information can be classified as corruption or fraud. Australia journey in" rel="nofollow">into the acknowledgement of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing can be traced back to the last 15 years (Stannard, 2017). This was due to the challenges that whistleblowers faced as a result of their actions. Furthermore, the difficulties were as a result of the common law bein" rel="nofollow">ing ill-equipped to handle the issue as it was unable to safeguard employees’ confidential or non-confidential in" rel="nofollow">information disclosure rights about the place of work. Moreover, under common law the contractual employee relationship implied the duty of trust. Therefore, the employees felt that revealin" rel="nofollow">ing any work-related in" rel="nofollow">information would contravene this which would lead to an employer takin" rel="nofollow">ing legal action again" rel="nofollow">inst them. i.    1989 to 2000: Durin" rel="nofollow">ing the late 80’s and early 90’s Australia had a number of highly publicized corruption in" rel="nofollow">inquiries which meant that the whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing and corruption were political agendas. The commission in" rel="nofollow">inquires also held that whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing at an early stage was a highly effective measure in" rel="nofollow">in the exposin" rel="nofollow">ing any admin" rel="nofollow">inistrative or corporate misconduct. For example, the Queensland Commission of Inquiry (1989) brought in" rel="nofollow">into light the hardship that the whistleblowers faced in" rel="nofollow">in disclosin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">information in" rel="nofollow">into the possible illegal activities and police misconduct. Additionally, the in" rel="nofollow">inquiries resulted in" rel="nofollow">into states adoptin" rel="nofollow">ing some forms of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. However, most of the state legislation covers the public sector and is in" rel="nofollow">inapplicable to the private sector. In the end parliament could not in" rel="nofollow">instigate whistleblower legislation. ii.    2000 till date: Lookin" rel="nofollow">ing at many of the world countries, most of their whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing legislations were deficient at the time in" rel="nofollow">in protectin" rel="nofollow">ing whistleblowers. Australia states on the other hand had been busy tryin" rel="nofollow">ing to come up with a legislation thus were reviewin" rel="nofollow">ing their effectiveness. For example, the New South Wales Committee on the Ombudsman Office and the police in" rel="nofollow">integrity commission which due to this, led to the protected disclosure act 1994 second review. Consequently, it led to the establishment of an Independent Protected Disclosure Unit. Later, the Public Interest Disclosure bill 2002 was in" rel="nofollow">introduced in" rel="nofollow">in the senate at the federal level thus whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in the public sector. In 2004, the Corporations Act 2001 saw the in" rel="nofollow">insertion of part of 9.4AAA which provided retaliation protection and immunity to any enterprise employee that reported any suspected violation of the act. Additionally, parliament in" rel="nofollow">in the same year passed the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2004 thus in" rel="nofollow">introducin" rel="nofollow">ing protection of whistleblowers in" rel="nofollow">in the Workplace Relations Act 1996.  The followin" rel="nofollow">ing year (2005) would see the Australian government announcin" rel="nofollow">ing changes to the Trade Practices Act aimin" rel="nofollow">ing to encourage whistleblowers to expose cartels. c.    Internal and External Disclosure Structure: Australian state jurisdictions in" rel="nofollow">in most situations depict that for a whistleblower to be protected then the in" rel="nofollow">information has to be disclosed in" rel="nofollow">internally or to an in" rel="nofollow">investigatin" rel="nofollow">ing or proper authority. The authorities in" rel="nofollow">included are the Police Integrity Commission, Police Complain" rel="nofollow">ints Authority and the Anti-Corruption Branches, the Media or Member of Parliament where it is permitted and the Auditors-General. Internal whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is where the whistleblower reports of any malpractice or provides in" rel="nofollow">information to a superior regardin" rel="nofollow">ing a fellow employee through a provided anonymous reportin" rel="nofollow">ing mechanism. The Australian Standard AS 8004 Whistle-blower protection program for corporations (AS 8004) has provided a template for the implementation of in" rel="nofollow">internal disclosure structures within" rel="nofollow">in an enterprise. Therefore, it has provided for the establishment, implementation and management of effective whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing programs that are applicable for the government agencies and corporations and not the profit enterprises. Internal disclosure structures may in" rel="nofollow">include a whistleblower disclosin" rel="nofollow">ing the in" rel="nofollow">information to a superior or director of a company whom are authorized to receive such disclosures. In 2004, the amendments to the Corporations Act made entities in" rel="nofollow">in agreement with the legislation to result in" rel="nofollow">in both the external and in" rel="nofollow">internal disclosure structures. External disclosure is where the whistleblower reports the misconduct to an outside entity or person. External disclosure structures may in" rel="nofollow">include the company’s auditor or its member, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. 2.    Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing Theories: Several theories have been advanced about whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. Some of the advanced theories are the ethical theories and the morality theories that try to justify whistle blowin" rel="nofollow">ing.  In Australia, whistleblowers are highly disregarded particularly in" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">institution such as the government and the police force (Brown, 2013). Moreover, in" rel="nofollow">in the bankin" rel="nofollow">ing and in" rel="nofollow">insurance sector also whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is also disregarded as evidenced in" rel="nofollow">in the fin" rel="nofollow">inancial saga where three whistleblowers that led to the shin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing of light in" rel="nofollow">into the bankin" rel="nofollow">ing bad saga in" rel="nofollow">in Australia. One of the three whistleblowers in" rel="nofollow">in the CBA whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing died mysteriously at the age of 35 in" rel="nofollow">in his sleep. Another though remain" rel="nofollow">ined anonymous suffered persecution and resentment from the organization that led to him leavin" rel="nofollow">ing his job. The last whistleblower though he endured in" rel="nofollow">in a hostile environment and at the end was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTST). The morality theory has been advanced but is faced by several paradoxes. The justification of whether whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is justified or not has created a dilemma as in" rel="nofollow">in one hand it is viewed as a betrayal of the organization or employee while in" rel="nofollow">in another the consciousness of a person is willin" rel="nofollow">ing to let them see a wrongful act bein" rel="nofollow">ing committed (Pascoe, and Welsh, 2011). The ethical approach states that whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is the right or the universally accepted code of conduct.  One of the main" rel="nofollow">in hurdles in" rel="nofollow">in advocatin" rel="nofollow">ing for whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in Australia is the mateship concept. In this regards the whistleblower is viewed as a sellout hence the outcomes of the three in" rel="nofollow">individuals that whistleblow in" rel="nofollow">in the case. 3.    Controversies in" rel="nofollow">in Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing: The aspect of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing has led to three central aspects namely; the scope of legislation. Secondly, the encouragement of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. Lastly, the protection of whistleblowers. 4.    The Scope of Legislation: Australia whistleblower legislation is only limited to the public entities and state agencies. However, there are two exceptions that are notable. Firstly, the whistleblower legislation extendin" rel="nofollow">ing to the private sector. Lastly, the in" rel="nofollow">included Corporations Act part 9.4AAA extendin" rel="nofollow">ing the whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing protection to employees and officers’ throughout Australia of various entities and subcontractors. Australia has a limited scope of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing legislation which is highly criticized and masses are championin" rel="nofollow">ing for its expansion and application to all sectors (charitable, unin" rel="nofollow">incorporated and private sectors). However, this is difficult to achieve because of firstly, commonwealth constitutional constrain" rel="nofollow">ins that prevent the implementation of a nationwide comprehensive legislation. Lastly, some professions have already raised their reservations as whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is regarded to be in" rel="nofollow">in conflict with the client-professional relationships. 5.    Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing Encouragement: The state is encouragin" rel="nofollow">ing the people to blow the whistle on any misconduct but encouragement and the afterwards reprisals are two connected issues. An in" rel="nofollow">increase in" rel="nofollow">in protection encourages in" rel="nofollow">individuals to disclose malpractice however there must be measures set to prevent reprisals or provide compensation in" rel="nofollow">in situations where reprisals may occur.  Firstly, the government should have fin" rel="nofollow">inancial in" rel="nofollow">incentives that guarantee in" rel="nofollow">in safeguardin" rel="nofollow">ing the fin" rel="nofollow">inancial in" rel="nofollow">interests of the whistleblower which also encourages the people to disclose in" rel="nofollow">information. However, the offerin" rel="nofollow">ing of fin" rel="nofollow">inancial in" rel="nofollow">incentives has been criticized as whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is regarded as a public good and not for personal gain" rel="nofollow">in (Mazerolle, and Cassimatis, 2009). Moreover, any scheme to provide fin" rel="nofollow">inancial in" rel="nofollow">incentives cannot be hidden in" rel="nofollow">in the public sector. Lastly, there should be a distin" rel="nofollow">inction between providin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">incentives for retaliation and payment for whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. The best form of in" rel="nofollow">incentive is the constitution of a legal framework that protects the whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. Furthermore, the motive of the whistleblower is questionable. In most of the organizations the whistleblowers are seen as loners who whistleblow out of spite or malice. The motive behin" rel="nofollow">ind most of the whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing is the need to see a just and put an end to the malpractices in" rel="nofollow">in the organizations. However, in" rel="nofollow">in some in" rel="nofollow">instances conflict between workers or malice can result in" rel="nofollow">in an in" rel="nofollow">individual makin" rel="nofollow">ing allegations of malpractices which may have detrimental consequences if not properly in" rel="nofollow">investigated. Australian states do not in" rel="nofollow">include in" rel="nofollow">inquiries in" rel="nofollow">into their legislation; therefore, do not provide that the motive of the whistleblower must have reasonable ground to believe that the disclosed in" rel="nofollow">information is true. Consequently, the provision of false in" rel="nofollow">information is deemed an offense. 6.    Whistleblowers Effective Legal Framework Protection: Australia has come a long way in" rel="nofollow">in formin" rel="nofollow">ing a legislation that protects whistleblowers. However, the legal framework should constitute the followin" rel="nofollow">ing to make it more effective. Firstly, anonymity where the identity of the whistleblower is kept a secret.  Secondly, the legal framework should provide immunity protection from any legal action of the whistleblower. The corporations act provides that where the whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing was made in" rel="nofollow">in good faith then the in" rel="nofollow">individual is protected from any legal action. Lastly, the legal framework should also protect the whistleblower again" rel="nofollow">inst reprisal. In this it should be a crimin" rel="nofollow">inal offense in" rel="nofollow">in takin" rel="nofollow">ing action again" rel="nofollow">inst an in" rel="nofollow">individual who disclosed in" rel="nofollow">information. Moreover, the specification that any action again" rel="nofollow">inst a whistleblower is regarded as victimization that may result in" rel="nofollow">in a crimin" rel="nofollow">inal action bein" rel="nofollow">ing taken. 7.    Conclusion: Australia has come a long way in" rel="nofollow">in legitimation of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing. Much has been done but there is need for more improvement so as to eradicate some of society vices. Australia journey in" rel="nofollow">into the acknowledgement of whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing can be traced back to the last 15 years. Hence, the fifteen years shouldn’t be wasted for the betterment of a better society. 8.    Bibliography: (i)    Boyle, P., 2016. We need an in" rel="nofollow">inquiry in" rel="nofollow">into the bankin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">industry. Green Left Weekly, (1087), p.6. (ii)    Brown, A.J., 2013. Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in the Australian public sector: Enhancin" rel="nofollow">ing the theory and practice of in" rel="nofollow">internal witness management in" rel="nofollow">in public sector organisations (p. 333). ANU Press. (iii)     Lee, G. and Fargher, N., 2013. Companies’ use of whistle-blowin" rel="nofollow">ing to detect fraud: An examin" rel="nofollow">ination of corporate whistle-blowin" rel="nofollow">ing policies. Journal of Busin" rel="nofollow">iness Ethics, 114(2), pp.283-295. (iv)     Matthews, A., 2016. The fin" rel="nofollow">inancial services in" rel="nofollow">industry: Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing and calls for a royal commission. Precedent (Sydney, NSW), (136), p.35. (v)    Mazerolle, P. and Cassimatis, P., 2009. Whistlin" rel="nofollow">ing while they work: Some fin" rel="nofollow">indin" rel="nofollow">ings from a large study in" rel="nofollow">into public sector whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in Australia. In International conference on whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing legislation and research. (vi)     Pascoe, J. and Welsh, M., 2011. Whistleblowin" rel="nofollow">ing, ethics and corporate culture: theory and  practice  in" rel="nofollow">in Australia. Common Law World Review, 40(2), pp.144-173. (vii)    Stannard, J., 2017. 2017-Changes and challenges ahead. Superfunds Magazin" rel="nofollow">ine, (420), p.10.