WHISTLE BLOWING - AN ACT OF HEROISM

Whistleblowing is an act of boldness by an individual, either it may be internal or external. This individual may be an employee or former employee of an organization or an outsider (may be public or media). Whistleblowers basically alert the higher officials or society about endanger in the environment. It is an act of boldness because it brings the corporate malpractice into light. Whistleblowing is considered as favorable in the view of the individual and the society but it is considered unfavorable by the organization as it creates bad reputation about them. Any act has its own consequences, in the same way; whistleblowing has positive and negative effect. Positive response may be, organization can stop the wrongdoing and negative response is organization’s retaliation against the whistleblower. This conceptual paper explains about whistleblowing, its types, how does it work in an individual’s mind. This paper also talks about whistleblowing in the context of an individual (employee) and organization, the legal framework of whistleblowing in India and some other countries.