Whistleblower Policy Research Articles

A Commissioners’ History of Cartel Enforcement in Europe: Multidimensional Comparison of Administrations

Since the appointment of Karel Van Miert as Commissioner for Competition in 1994, the EU’s Directorate General for Competition (DG-Comp) has gained a reputation as having more vigorous competition enforcement than most other regulatory authorities around the world, including the US Department of Justice (DOJ). This perception is even stronger when it comes to cartel enforcement under Article 101 of the European Commission Treaty. For example, one of the current authors’ previous analysis comparing DOJ fines to EU fines showed that the EU had imposed more than twice as many fines on cartels than the DOJ over the 1994–2014 period. Our data also showed that, over the same period, the EU had issued more than five times as many zero-amount fines than the DOJ (for companies that cooperate with investigations), likely due in part to the strong whistleblower policy adopted in the EU in 2004.1 In this paper, we apply a quantitative approach to assess the EU’s cartel enforcement activity over the terms of its last five Commissioners for Competition, drawing on data publicly available from the EC website starting in 1994.

Combatting economic crimes in Nigeria through whistleblowing: a shift from policy to legal framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is a holistic assessment of the impact of whistleblowing policy adopted by the Nigerian Government in fighting corruption and an evaluation of the whistleblowing and witness protection bill. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a critical analysis of the whistleblowing policy and the draft whistleblowing and witness protection bill. The paper combines both qualitative and quantitative methods. It is conducted through the study of the policy and the draft bill and the critical examination of the data released by the federal Ministry of Finance. Moreover, the personal experience of the authors in the civil service and in formulating and implementing the whistleblower policy account significantly. Findings The whistleblowing policy adopted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria is promising in controlling corruption and other economically motivated crimes. However, while efforts to give whistleblowing a legal backing will strengthen the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the National Assembly must subject the bill to rigorous debate to avoid having many lacunas in would be act. Research limitations/implications The use of whistleblowing in combatting corruption in Nigeria is still at its infancy. A policy document backs implementation of the policy – there is no legislation or case law to consider. Thus, analysis is based on the policy document, the bill, statistics from the FMF and personal experience of the authors. Originality/value There is no comprehensive study on the adoption of and efforts to give legal backing to, the whistleblowing policy adopted in Nigeria. This paper is of value to the Nigerian Government and the National Assembly considering the latest efforts to institutionalise whistleblowing in Nigeria.

The problem with a murky whistleblower policy.

The problem with a murky whistleblower policy.

Corruption and anti-corruption strategies in Iran

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the various anti-corruption strategies used to fight economic and financial crimes in both the public and private sectors in Iran. Design/methodology/approach This paper relied essentially on a secondary source of information. Materials used were collected in an eclectic manner from published outlets such as journal publications, books, online sources and newspaper reports. Also, official documents and statutes were also used. This study’s scope is limited to issues and analysis relating to measures adopted to combat corruption in Iran. Findings The legal and institutional frameworks analysed indicated that Iran has a robust anti-corruption scheme. However, there is no adequate measure available to gauge the effectiveness of these measures. Practical implications The paper concludes that conventional anti-corruption methods are not enough to fight corruption in this present time, thus, the implementation of whistle-blower policy and allowing freedom of operation of the civil society organisations and media would assist in the fight against corruption in Iran. Originality/value The paper provides the legal and institutional anti-corruption frameworks in Iran. It explores the three major approaches or methods of combating corruption and other corrupt practices in Iran.

Need of the Hour: Reformation in the Scope of Whistleblower Policies and Protection

Need of the Hour: Reformation in the Scope of Whistleblower Policies and Protection

Corporate Governance Mechanisms, Whistle-Blowing Policy and Real Earnings Management

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the mechanisms of corporate governance (CG) in firms that have a policy of whistle-blowing (WBP) are more effective in mitigating real earnings management (REM) than those without WBP. To achieve this objective, the sample of the study, 288 Malaysian firms for the years 2013 to 2015, have been grouped into firms with and without WBP. In addition, the Roychowdhury Models were used to determine the abnormal levels of the REM. The results show that most of the CG mechanisms, i.e., audit committee (AC) size, AC meetings, AC independence and auditor size in firms with WBP are found to be significantly associated with low level of REM which supporting agency and resource dependence theories. However, only board independence and ownership concentration are found to be significantly associated with high level of REM. Regarding firms without WBP, most of the CG mechanisms, i.e., AC size, women in the AC, AC accenting expertise and ownership concentration, are found to be significantly associated with high level of REM. However, only board meetings, AC multiple directorships and auditor size are found to be significantly associated with low level of REM. The finding of this study suggests that having WBP in a firm could improve the monitoring role of the CG mechanisms towards mitigating REM. However, strengthening the role of WBP is still necessary to improve the efficiency of the monitoring role of CG mechanisms. Hence, there is a need for more policy and law that could encourage whistle-blowers to disclose any misconducts in firms and at the same time, prevent management from undermining the effectiveness of the whistle-blowing policy. The findings of this study will enrich the body of literature where there is no previous study has been done in respect of REM.

Enhancing Financial Inclusion Using Telecommunications Companies and Anti-Money Laundering Policies: The Case of Nigeria

Enhancing Financial Inclusion Using Telecommunications Companies and Anti-Money Laundering Policies: The Case of Nigeria

A Content Analysis of Organizations’ Internal Whistleblowing Policies

Section 406 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) requires that U.S. public firms disclose their adoption of a code of ethics that includes formal whistleblowing procedures. Public companies listed on NYSE or NASDAQ are also required to prepare this disclosure. Formal whistleblowing policies guide employees through the ethical decision-making process and promote reporting unethical behaviors. Authoritative bodies have prescribed whistleblowing guidelines, such as the Council of Europe Resolution 1729 (COER) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Guidelines on Whistleblowing. However, there is no conclusive evidence of the effectiveness of firms’ whistleblowing policies on reporting behavior, and prior research calls for further investigations into the design and implementation of effective internal whistleblowing policies. Through a whistleblowing procedures framework, we performed a content analysis of 50 whistleblowing policies to analyze the content characteristics and linguistic characteristics of public firms’ whistleblowing policies. Results of this study identify trends and patterns within whistleblowing policies. Key findings include that firms prefer employees to report to their supervisor. However, there is little discussion of supervisors’ responsibilities after receiving reports. Also, the use of words expressing uncertainty is highest when companies describe disciplinary actions in response to wrongdoing. Further, readability analysis suggests that companies’ whistleblowing policies are difficult to read, and sections relating to investigation procedures, wrongdoer disciplinary actions, and anti-retaliation policies are relatively more difficult to read than the rest of the policy content. We discuss implications for firms with the aim of improving the effectiveness of stated whistleblowing procedures.

The Role of Whistle Blowing Policy as an Anti-Corruption Tool in Nigeria

The Role of Whistle Blowing Policy as an Anti-Corruption Tool in Nigeria Sylvester Anya, Gabriel Iwanger Abstract The menace of corruption has bedeviled Nigeria over the years. Several statutory and policy attempts have been devised to arrest this ill, with hardly a positive result. The present administration tackles corruption in Nigeria through the whistle blowing policy. Although the policy was received with mixed feelings, it recorded tremendous success at the initial stage. However, the story subsequently changed. The decline may be attributed to the number of problems the policy created more than it sought to solve. One of the major challenges associated with this policy is lack of legislation facilitating it. Similarly, the policy is more interested in recovering funds than in punishing the actors behind the act thus vitiating the punitive objective of the criminal justice system which serves as deterrence. The whistle blower seems inadequately protected. This paper seeks to examine the law and practice of whistle blowing policy in Nigeria vis-a-vis what is obtainable in some jurisdictions. It submits that the current legal practice is inadequate to strengthen the policy in Nigeria. This work finds that unless some global standards and practices are adopted, the fight against corruption in Nigeria through the whistle blowing policy may be counterproductive. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jlcj.v7n1a4

Role of Whistle Blowers in Health Care Industry: An Empirical Study

This research paper is moving around malpractices reported in health care industry in 21st century, quantum of corruption has increased and especially people from the same organization found indulging. Although detection of such problems is difficult to control for the authorities in health care industry. Research question in this study is associated with the problems identified, until and unless on what extent it difficult to judge this concept or mere practice of Qui Tam or Whistle-blower in organisation. This is quite subjective and required more effort to explore motives behind the problems existing in health care industry. In this research paper we will try to analysis how the whistle-blower policy adopted by healthcare industry in India which are playing crucial role so for. This is a quantitative study where researchers used exploratory research design to analyse various factors required for whistleblowing.

Establishing an anti-doping internal whistleblower policy in China

Establishing an anti-doping internal whistleblower policy in China

Wokół sporu o kryteria odpowiedzialności uniwersytetu

Badania podjęte w niniejszym artykule podzielone zostały na dwie części. Ich pierwszym celem jest ustalenie, czym jest społeczna odpowiedzialność uniwersytetu. Wynikiem tego postępowania jest definicja obejmująca zobowiązania uniwersytetu wobec interesariuszy i demaskatorów (sygnalistów). Wybór wymienionych aktorów nie jest przypadkowy. Tak skonstruowana definicja uwzględnia wymóg transparentności uniwersytetu oraz jego otwartości na społeczną krytykę. Po drugie, artykuł zmierza do ustalenia, czy polski uniwersytet – jako dominująca instytucja wiedzy – jest zarządzany w sposób społecznie odpowiedzialny. Posiłkując się zasadami odpowiedzialnej edukacji menedżerskiej (PRME), przyjąć należy, że miarą jego poprawności jest jego stosunek do społecznego otoczenia. To stwierdzenie wiedzie do pytania o jakość relacji polskiego uniwersytetu z interesariuszami i demaskatorami postrzeganymi jako oczy i uszy społeczeństwa obywatelskiego.

Words and deeds. Corporate Social Responsibility in higher education institutions

The purpose of the paper is twofold. Firstly, to formulate a definition of University social responsibility (which takes into account social expectations towards this institution and its internal determinants as well). The final result of this research is the definition built on two concepts. On one hand, it is a stakeholder policy, on the other hand, a whistleblower policy. These are the criteria of responsibility, that is to say, rules which make the institution transparent and open to social criticism. Secondly, the article tends to establish whether a university in Poland (treated as a dominant institution of knowledge) is rightly seen as an irresponsible partner of civil society. Form the business ethics perspective the university is the more responsible, the more intensive are its relations with the social environment represented by stakeholders and whistleblowers. When they do not play their parts properly, the relations must be considered dysfunctional. Additional explanation of this problem is provided by the theory of management. In a use of the concept of the final customer, public opinion can find out if it—really—is the main interlocutor of the university. Social partners of this institution focus their attention on politicians and public administration taken as the alternative final customer of the academic product.

The Relationship Between Sarbanes–Oxley Policies and Donor Advisories in Nonprofit Organizations

This study examines the impact of Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) on the nonprofit sector. Focusing on three key SOX policies applicable to charities—conflict-of-interest policies, records retention policies, and whistleblower policies—this study tests the relationship between the existence and addition of these policies on subsequent ethical and governance lapses as reflected in the issuance of “donor advisories” by the large third-party ratings agency Charity Navigator. The findings suggest that, controlling for other relevant organizational factors, the three SOX-inspired written policies are related to a reduced likelihood of donor advisories in the organizations rated by Charity Navigator.

The Anti-corruption Fights: Perescoping the Whistle Blower Policy in Nigeria

The Anti-corruption Fights: Perescoping the Whistle Blower Policy in Nigeria

Whistleblowing as a Tool to Corporate Good Governance-An Indian Perspective

Whistleblowing is one of the top mechanisms which are important for implementing better and effective corporate governance in any institution or organization. Whistleblowing advances good corporate governance, which is essential to a corporation's growth and development. Whistleblower policy has been recognized as one of the basic features of corporate governance. As whistleblowing promotes good corporate governance, it is enviable that a clear and specific definition and procedure of whistleblowing should be established in every corporation's whistleblower policy. Whistleblowing is an important tool in any organization's corporate governance strategy as it empowers employees to act on incidences of misconduct and help maintain a safe workplace, while protecting profits and reputation of the company. Further, the whistleblowing is an essence of conscience keeping and the whistleblowers are the conscience keepers. A conscience keeper has an obligation to blow the whistle i.e. raise an alarm whenever he finds anything which is not as per standards of conscience. Thus, in order to protect corporate conscience, it is necessary to protect conscience keepers, i.e. whistleblowers. This paper will provide an overview of how whistleblowing is related to good corporate governance, highlight the importance of whistleblowing policy in corporations and provide details of Indian legal provisions promoting whistleblowing policy in corporations.

Disclosure of Whistle Blowing Policy Among Malaysian Listed Companies

This paper reports on the adoption of whistle blowing policies among Malaysian listed companies following the introduction of the Whistle Blower Protection Act 2010 and the formal recognition of having a whistle blowing policy as part of good corporate governance practice as contained in the revised Code of Corporate Governance, 2012. Based on a matched pair of 22 PN 17 companies and 22 non- PN 17 companies the study finds that only 53% of sampled firms in both categories disclosed they have a whistle blowing policy. The policies were examined using the lens of organizational justice framework. Disclosures indicate a formal whistle blowing policy was put in place in direct response to The Whistle Blower Protection Act 2010 and elements of procedural, distributive and interactional justice were evident in the items disclosed suggesting the institutionalization of an effective whistleblowing policy.

PENGUNGKAPAN ANTI KORUPSI DAN KINERJA KEUANGAN PERUSAHAAN: STUDI KASUS PERUSAHAAN TERDAFTAR DI INDEKS SRI KEHATI

Corruption within the corporation has become an important issue in the academic and public debate. The negative consequences caused by companies that engage in corruption are enormous, such as market distortion and incentives, resource allocation inefficiencies, as well as the increased of poverty and social inequality. Companies have the opportunity through a corporate responsibility (CSR) to prevent the problem of corruption. As important as labor, human and environmental rights, corruption mitigation is an important aspect in promoting CSR. CSR can be profitable in sales revenue and market share by improving the perception of ethical corporate customers. However, with the involvement of corruption, it can reduce the confidence of investors and the public against the company which may result in reduced financial performance. The purpose of this study is to determine empirically the correlation of anti-corruption disclosure reported by the companies listed in the Sri Kehati Index and FTSEGoods Bursa Malaysia Index on their financial performance, both the short and long term. The results showed that only the whistle blowing policies were fully disclosed by all companies in the sample of this study. The results also show that the disclosure of anti-corruption has significant influence on the company's profitability only in the long term for companies registered in Sri Kehati Indonesia index. As for the sample of companies registered in Malaysia FTSEGoods Index, the results showed that the disclosure of anti-corruption affect the company's financial performance both in the short term and in the long term. This implies that investors were responding to the anti corruption issues disclosed by the companies and companies should keep the disclosure practice in the future.
 Keywords: anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility, disclosure, financial performance.

The Consequences of Whistle-blowing: An Integrative Review.

Whistle-blowing provides an avenue for healthcare workers to express their concerns when there is a breach of patients' safety. Most healthcare organizations have policies in place to prevent reprisals on whistle-blowers. Despite these protective measures, whistle-blowing often leads to negative consequences. A search of articles on whistle-blowing was conducted on MEDLINE (PubMed). Articles were included if they described the consequences of whistle-blowing in the following 3 areas: medical, nursing, and research/pharmaceutical research (Fig. 1). The initial search criteria retrieved 1168 articles, 670 of which were identified for full-text review. A total of 82 studies were included in the final set of literature. Negative consequences to whistle-blowers include occupational, legal, financial, socioemotional, and other (e.g., physical health, character assassination) effects. Positive consequences to clinical services include improvements to patient safety and in successes of employment tribunal claims, settlements, and court injunctions. Positive consequences in research include retraction of articles (with fraudulent data) and changes to medical journal publication rules. Consequences of no whistle-blowing include investigations of individuals for not reporting and negative emotions such as guilt. Whistle-blowing is an avenue to improving patient safety in healthcare. The findings from this integrated review will help shape new whistle-blowing policies. Future whistle-blowing policies must minimize negative consequences to whistle-blowers while enhancing levels of patient safety and quality of care rendered.

Słowa i czyny. O społecznej (nie)odpowiedzialności uniwersytetu

-