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1.) Identify two(2) whistle-blowers and briefly discuss the nature of theirwhistle-blowing activities.

(i) Harry Markopolos-

Unprecedented and mathematically impossible returns may have kept BernardMadoff's investors more than happy, but Harry Markopolos knew something

was amiss. As early as May 2000, the independent financial fraud analyst

began raising red flags to the Securities and Exchange Commission, calling

attention to the Ponzi scheme. At around the time of Markopolos's first report

to the SEC, the size of the Madoff fraud was roughly $5 billion. By the time

the financial crisis peaked in 2008 and investors began asking for their money,

the figure had grown to $65 billion. When Madoff couldn't meet the

redemption requests, he turned himself in on Dec. 11 of that year. In the prior

eight years, Markopolos had filed four further submissions to the SEC,

highlighting the fraud. Markopolos says that when he first looked at the ratesof return, which consistently ranged between 12 to 20 percent, he knew

within five minutes the operation was a fraud. The whistleblowing activity

indicated that the operations fraud where Madoff couldnt meet the

redemption requests.

(ii) Thomas Drake- As an executive in the National Security Agency, Thomas Drake grew

disillusioned over the agency's post-9/11 warrantless surveillance programs.

He felt that they violated the citizen's right to privacy and were also a source

of tremendous waste. After repeatedly trying to address his concerns

internally, Drake turned to a reporter, who was later determined to be Siobhan

Gorman, then of the Baltimore Sun. Her series on management shortcomings

at the NSA earned her a Pulitzer Prize in 2006. The revelations also led to an

indictment of Drake on charges of espionage and obstructing justice. His trial

begins on June 13th in a federal courthouse in Baltimore. This whistleblowing

activity revealed the company has violated the citizens right to privacy and it

proved that the company did not mean to address Drakes concerns.

2.) Discuss the similarities between them in terms of their motivation.- In Markopoloss case, his motivation behind his whistleblowing activity was

to report the financial fraud to the Securities and Exchange Commission

(SEC). He found out that it was an unethical conduct as the size of Madoff

fraud getting bigger and the investors are unaware of that. Besides that, in

Drakes case, his motivation was to terminate the warrantless surveillance

programs that violated citizens right to privacy. He repeatedly tried to

address his concern within the company but unsuccessful as he realized that it

was immoral and it was his responsibility. The similarities between these two

cases in terms of their motivations are to uncover the fact about the

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companies and lead the companies to the right path. Both had involved in

whistleblowing because they have the intentions to enable the companies to

perform in ethical manner and protect peoples rights as in investors rights in

Markopoloss case and citizens rights in Drakes case.

3.) Discuss why not many people choose to be whistleblowers.- There are reasons that many people choose not to be whistleblowers. One of

them is due to the fear of retaliation. Whistle-blowers may face hostility and

resentment from peers and superiors. The federal government has ramped up

legal protection for whistle-blowers. Still, a whistle-blower may get the cold

shoulder or be treated like a "rat" or "snitch." This culture of retaliation

creates a hostile workplace for the whistle-blower and distracts employees

from their tasks.

For an example, David Weber, a former internal investigator at the Securities

and Exchange Commission who claimed he was fired for trying to blow the

whistle on possible misconduct has reached a $580,000 settlement with the

SEC, his lawyer said on Monday. Weber believes he was fired for trying to

blow the whistle about numerous problems at the SEC, including allegations

that former Inspector General David Kotz had inappropriate personal

relationships with people that may have tainted his investigations into the

SEC's handling of the Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford Ponzi schemes.

4.) Do you think whistle-blowing regulations will encourage greater transparency inbusiness. Why or why not?

- It will encourage greater transparency in business because whistle-blowingenables the employees to reveal the truth about the wrong doings or

misconducts of the company. It creates an honest and harmony workplace as

the employees do not need to worry about whether it is ethical to blow the

whistle due to the protection of the law. Also, with the whistle-blowingregulations, there will be an effective and clearer communication within the

company. With the support of the whistle-blowing regulations, employees can

have their own stand to speak out their voices against the misconducts and

thus lead the company to the right path from misconducting.

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5.) Critically evaluate whether whistleblowing is an ethical business conduct.- Whistleblowing can be considered as ethical when:

Whistleblowing involves an intentional disclosure of information to which thewhistleblower has privileged access. Whistleblowers reveal information by

their own will, selfless (without any personal interest), and because of their

commitment to public interest and public good. Another initial requirement of

whistleblowing is that any kind of disclosure has to be made in good faith.

- Whistleblowing can be considered as unethical when:Whistleblowing involved in some sort of unethical affairs, and use disclosure

for clarifying their own role, or reduce their liability. Whistleblowing is

unethical if his/her motivation is the opportunity for financial gain or mediaattention and if he/she is carrying out a vendetta against the company.