LEGISLATIVE MEASURES FOR FACILITATING PROTECTED AUTHORISED DISCLOSURES ON WRONGDOING

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CHAPTER 5 MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL WHISTLE BLOWING: THE VARIABLES INFLUENCING ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANISATIONAL TRUST IN DISCLOSING WRONGDOING

Introduction

« In the history of the world and humanity, it is always men and women of courage who show the way others follow ». – Theresa Kufor
Although the body of knowledge of whistle blowing has been growing steadily during the past two decades, theorists (Glazer and Glazer 1989; Dworkin and Baucus 1998) have been focussing nearly exclusively on the individual whistle blower. It has become more and more important that the social context of whistle blowing should be scrutinised as well. In particular, it is necessary to look at whistle blowing from the point of view of the organisation in which the disclosure of organisational wrongdoing occurs. For whistle blowing to act as an effective deterrent to organisational misconduct, it is important that the disclosure of information be managed effectively. The unauthorised disclosure of information, which is what whistle blowing is (without whistle blower protection), should be transformed into authorised disclosure of information, following certain prescribed processes and procedures.
This chapter aims to understand the context where whistle blowing occurs in an organisational setting; the development of a whistle blowing organisational culture; and organisational trust; in order to determine how trust may develop as a result of an individual’s interactions with the organisation as a whole. This chapter attempts to place organisational trust in the context of whistle blowing in order to imagine how it could influence whistle blowing behaviour as a means to encourage internal reporting, avoid external whistle blowing, and reduce the chances of non-reporting. Questions that can be raised are whether organisational trust increases the chances of internal whistle blowing or whether a lack of trust increases the chances of non-reporting (especially keeping quiet and discussing with colleagues) and external whistle blowing. The research questions “to what extent does organisational trust versus fear of retaliation affect the decision to blow the whistle?” and “what are the factors constituting organisational trust and could the effectiveness of whistle blowing as constructive correctional action be increased through the internal reporting of wrongdoing built on relationships of trust in the organisation (as opposed to keeping quiet or external reporting)?“ (see section 1.6) are posed in an attempt to provide answers through the application of research.
In order to understand the relationship between organisational trust and whistle blowing, the relevant terminology in terms of dealing with whistle blowing within an organisation needs to be understood. In this regard, policy, strategy, hotlines, the organisational response toward whistle blowing and the various forms that negative organisational responses could take are all aspects which will be explored in this chapter. Attention will be paid to the effects of whistle blowing on the organisational image, how whistle blowing can be managed, and the effectiveness of whistle blowing. This chapter attempts to fulfil the objective to provide answers for the research question: “How can whistle blowing policies that will not cause any harm to the whistle blower be managed effectively and efficiently and be encouraged in public organisations in order to address the concern about personal and professional retaliation?” (see section 1.6).

The context where whistle blowing occurs in an organisational setting

The climate of the whistle blower’s place of work will determine how wrongdoing and whistle blowing will typically be dealt with (Near and Miceli 1996:511). Some organisational variables put the emphasis on the organisation as a whole, while others may focus more on analysing subunits of the organisation (Greenberger et al. 1987:530).
For the time being, it is assumed that there is some homogeneity across subunits of the organisation and that organisations vary in their responses to attempts to change. In particular, some public officials resist change, whereas others seem to embrace it. This partly reflects the perspective of the dominant coalition toward change and the appropriateness of whistle blowing (Mbatha 2005:191).
Beyond this, the organisation’s overall climate and its structure both reflect and influence its members’ resistance to change. At the most basic level, variables are concerned with the organisation itself. Characteristics of the wrongdoing, described previously, also influence members’ resistance to change. The organisation’s environment may also play a role in influencing organisational variables and wrongdoing variables. For example, norms associated with the organisation’s task domain and social norms may affect the organisation’s climate for wrongdoing and whistle blowing. Economic variables such as global competitiveness may affect the dominant coalition’s perception of the organisation’s dependence on the wrongful activity (Mbatha 2005: 191).
However, the primary aim of a whistle blowing culture is that concerns about illegal, criminal and irregular conduct, thus wrongdoing should be properly raised and addressed in the workplace or with the person responsible. In essence, the whistle blower is seen as a witness and not as a complainant. Where communication channels in organisations are designed for grievances and complaints that is how they are used by the workforce. In the context of concerns about abuse, it is important to keep in mind that malevolent and aggrieved people make damaging disclosures when there is no recognised whistle blowing policy. Recognising this, a whistle blowing culture should be concerned with the silent majority – people who think that it is not in their interests to blow the whistle on corruption or serious wrongdoing. A whistle blowing policy (see section 5.5.1) will help public sector organisations and societies deter corruption and wrongdoing where some of those who now remain silent could be encouraged to see internal whistle blowing as a viable, safe and accepted option (Dehn and Borrie 2001:9).
The main beneficiaries of a culture that disapproves of and penalises people who blow the whistle in good faith are those few corrupt organisations and individuals. Knowing that the alarm will not be sounded, they are confident that their wrongdoing (especially if it is corruption or bribery) will go undetected and unpunished. In any case, when the successful investigation and prosecution of criminal activity outside of the workplace depend overwhelmingly on the information the police receive, it is not clear why the communication of information about wrongdoing in organisations is generally assumed to be undesirable. Quite apart from people with a predisposed criminal intent, the current culture adversely affects the conduct of the great majority of people. For them the strongest deterrent is the fear of being caught and the shame and embarrassment that go with it. Where a culture of secrecy and silence exists, otherwise reasonable people may be tempted to engage in criminal and irregular behaviour because they believe they will not be caught. Equally, if such a culture exists in a society, then otherwise responsible organisations may feel they will be at a competitive disadvantage if they do not also pay bribes or engage in illegal practices (Dehn and Borrie 2001:9).
There is a strong undercurrent in the literature of public administration that suggests the existence and importance of a workplace environment that is hospitable to whistle blowing activities. To that end, cautious employers should take steps to minimise risks and negative exposures by establishing a positive culture of whistle blowing. Whistle blowing can also be an effective early warning system. Employees in the front line know better than anyone what is going on in their area. All kinds of benefits may accrue from listening to them. But not doing so may cause a local difficulty to grow into a crisis. Not knowing where to turn in a crisis can also be extremely stressful for employees who may, as a result, feel cornered into acting in a way that is in the interest of neither the employer nor the employee (Mbatha 2005:192-193). Near and Miceli (1996:511-513) states that internal whistle blowing is more likely to take place where organisations support whistle blowing and that external whistle blowing is associated with a culture where reporting is associated with retaliation.
Under the PDA, the absence or ineffectiveness of whistle blowing mechanisms within an organisation may well be enough to protect an employee against sanctions for having disclosed confidential information to a third party. However, this is not conducive to effective long-term damage limitation. It would be more desirable if effective whistle blowing can be incorporated into the organisational culture of public sector organisations.

The development of a whistle blowing organisational culture

The concept organisational culture refers to the heart of the organisation and the organisation should do everything possible to foster their organisational culture and to make sure that every employee knows about and is able to identify with the organisational culture. This can be done by way of stories, rituals, symbols, language and terminology. Of course there are also subunits within organisations … subgroups with their own unique subcultures (Holtzhausen 2004:9).
It should be noted that organisational culture and organisational climate are not the same thing. Forehand and Gilmer (1964:362) describe the organisational climate as –
« … the set of characteristics that describes an organisation and that –

• distinguishes the organisation from other organisations;
• is relatively enduring over time; and
• influences the behaviour of people in the organisation ».

Meyer (1967:14) is of the opinion that the organisational climate is the result of management style, organisational policies and general functioning procedures. Moran and Volkwein (1992:22-35) and Clapper (1995:73) explains the differences between organisational culture and organisational climate as follow:

• Resistance: Organisational climate shows relatively low resistance, while organisational culture shows relatively high resistance.
• Development: Organisational culture is much stronger than organisational climate when it comes to perseverance better because it developed over a longer period, while the organisational climate develops more rapidly.
• Change: Because the organisational climate develops faster than the organisational culture, it can be changed more quickly.
• Manifestation: The organisational climate manifests on the basis of attitudes, values, and assumptions. Culture refers to group interaction and climate to the reaction to that group interaction.
• Existence: Climate can be seen as a component or an element of culture.

Thus, organisational culture influences the establishment of climate. Organisational culture is more implicit and hidden, while organisational climate develops from organisational culture and is more visible and obvious. A discussion regarding organisational culture will facilitate the understanding of the differences between culture and climate.
Organisational culture connotes a system of common values … patterns of beliefs, rituals, myths and practices, which developed over years, helped to develop the organisation, and cause groups of people to have the same understanding of what constitutes acceptable behaviour which could increase whistle blowing if employees understand what constitutes wrongdoing. Daffue (1989:144) argues that organisational culture is a process through which the members of that organisation bond and which give meaning to their day-to-day lives. The main difference between culture and climate is that climate can change overnight (a new political party takes over, for instance, and dismiss existing or hires new staff members).

CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background and rationale for the study
1.3 Motivation for the study
1.4 Significance of the study
1.5 Statement of the problem and research question
1.6 Research problems/questions
1.7 Hypothetical points of departure
1.8 Approach to the study
1.9 Research objectives
1.10 Research method and literature information gathering
1.11 Terminology
1.12 Overview of chapters
CHAPTER TWO LEGISLATIVE MEASURES FOR FACILITATING PROTECTED AUTHORISED DISCLOSURES ON WRONGDOING
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Background and rationale for whistle blower protection legislation
2.3 Legislative measures to combat corruption and facilitate whistle blowing -the Protected Disclosures Act 2000 (Act 26 of 2000)
2.4 Other legislative measures concerned with whistle blowing
2.5 Summary and conclusions
CHAPTER THREE THE VARIABLES INFLUENCING THE ETHICAL MILIEU IN PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Clarification of relevant terminology
3.3 The ethical community
3.4 Ethical dilemmas
3.5 Public service ethics
3.6 Materialisation of unethical conduct
3.7 Establishing an ethics infrastructure
3.8 Strategies to promote ethics
3.9 Statutory guidelines and codes of conduct
3.10 Principles for the promotion of ethical behaviour
3.11 Summary and conclusions
CHAPTER FOUR THE VARIABLES INFLUENCING THE WHISTLE BLOWER IN DISCLOSING WRONGDOING
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Contextualising whistle blowing/whistle blower
4.3 Individual characteristics that underlie the whistle blowing process
4.4 The whistle blowing process
4.5 Cases of whistle blowers who disclosed acts of wrongdoing
4.6 Consequences of whistle blowing
4.7 Ethical concerns in the whistle blowing process
4.8 Summary and conclusions
CHAPTER 5 MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL WHISTLE BLOWING: THE VARIABLES INFLUENCING ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANISATIONAL TRUST IN DISCLOSING WRONGDOING
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The context where whistle blowing occurs in an organisational setting
5.3 The development of a whistle blowing organisational culture
5.4 Organisational trust
5.5 Dealing with whistle blowing in the organisation
5.6 Effects of whistle blowing on the organisational image
5.7 How can whistle blowing be managed?
5.8 Effectiveness of whistle blowing
5.9 Summary and conclusions
CHAPTER 6 EVALUATION, CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Synthesis and findings of the research objectives
6.3 Hypothetical synopsis
6.4 Concluding proposals
6.5 Concluding remarks
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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WHISTLE BLOWING AND WHISTLE BLOWER PROTECTION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SECTOR