Ethics of Whistleblowing

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Ethics Case Studies
Being caught up in a situation that requires one to make a decision that might compromise ethics is an experience that almost everybody has had in one way or the other. The odds become even high when one is in a management or leadership position. When there are two competing values to a decision bound to be made, one is considered to have encountered an ethical dilemma (McCartney and Parent). Values are what is instinctively considered right and not able to be proven scientifically but rather with the ethical theories available. This means that solving ethical dilemmas is a complex issue. The case studies provided depict some of the decision made by people in management position in Nationwide Insurance, American Airline, and JetBlue and this paper purposes to expound on the decisions from an ethical perspective as well as the whistleblower’s ethical dilemma.
Natural disasters happen with no certain cause and are likely to have mass casualties, requiring the public health systems to have an adequate and proactive response plan to counter or lower the damages. Other than the legal and medical frameworks used in response to the aftermaths and anticipation of natural disasters, ethical guidance has become a major fixture of the disaster recovery plan (Leider et al. par.8). Jeff Rummel’s action in response to the hurricane season that hit Florida is certainly a question of ethics. As an insurance company, Nationwide Insurance should have anticipated the massive claims from their customers following the destructive hurricane season. In that regard, Nationwide insurance had a role to play in settling the claims from the homeowners as per the role-based ethics as a show of responsibility to the community. The decision by Nationwide Insurance to cancel the homeowners' insurance had a devastating effect on the 40,000 homeowners and can inflict a lot of suffering in a case where disaster struck again. Nationwide Insurance demonstrated a lack of commitment to do the right thing for the greater good of the society by canceling the homeowner policies with the pretext of being a sound business decision. It compromised role ethics by absconding its responsibility to the homeowners.
Just as the insurance companies are susceptible to the devastating damages of natural disasters, the airline industry is equally impacted by the occurrences of natural disasters, and the key players are required to put in place measures that can help mitigate these impacts. Reckless conclusions and subjection to a particular state of mind can be a recipe for making unethical decisions in an organization. Being careful is one of the greatest values or principles that defines ethical decisions makin...