Communicating an Ethical Dilemma

Whistleblowers have been responsible for bringing many illegal or unethical situations to light. There are several modern examples of whistleblowers that we can examine. In this assessment, you are asked to identify the communication strategy used and analyze the ethical and communication issues surrounding one of these scenarios.

1. Erin Brockovich and PG&E – Erin Brockovich became a whistleblower when she spoke out against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) after finding widespread unexplained illness in the town of Hinkley, California while working as a legal assistant. PG&E had contaminated the towns drinking water with toxic chromium 6. She decided to expose the issue by gathering evidence, connecting with affected residents, and advocating for their rights.
2. Enron – The Enron corporation was a company dealing in energy resources based in Houston, Texas. Enrons scandal involved dubious accounting practices, leading to bankruptcy. Executives engaged in fraudulent transactions, hiding losses and inflating profits. These issues were exposed by Sherron Watkins, one of the executives in the company.
3. OceanGate – In June 2023, the OceanGate submersible Titan embarked on a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic with five passengers, including the CEO, on board. The submersible experienced a catastrophic hull failure, resulting in the loss of the vessel and all passengers. David Lochridge, the director of marine operations, expressed concerns about the safety of the ship years prior to the disaster.
4. Boeing – In 2017, The Boeing Company introduced a new generation of its venerable 737aircraft called the 737 Max, featuring design and equipment modifications which changed in-flight characteristics compared to previous 737 aircraft. These changes were not fully communicated to all airline customers in 737 Max training materials, leading to two high-profile fatal airline crashes in 2018 and 2019. These crashes caused significant ripples in the airline industry, and negatively impacted Boeings reputation as an aircraft manufacturer. Boeing had multiple whistleblowers that raised safety and quality concerns. One of these was John Barnett, a quality control manager at Boeing, who reported his findings to management and the FAA.
5. Nike – In 1991, fashion retailer Nike was faced with the fallout of an independent investigative report, by labor activist Jeffrey Ballinger, outlining unethical and unsafe working conditions in its overseas factories. This report caused widespread anti-Nike sentiment globally, and the company reacted by improving its working practices while communicating with the public about the changes.

In your research, you will find that there is a lot going on in these scenarios. However, it is clear that each of the whistleblowers was facing a difficult ethical situation and tried to find the best way to communicate their concerns. There are many questions that likely come to mind, such as:

• What was the ethical concern addressed by the whistleblower?
• Was the method of communication (channel, recipient, content) appropriate and ethical? Why or why not?
• How did the communication affect the outcome of the situation?
• What, if anything, should have been done differently?
• What lessons can be learned from this situation?

Consider the whistleblowers decision to expose the illegal or unethical activity, their motivation, the manner in which they communicated the issues, and the recipients of the communication. Complete both parts of this assessment in a single Word document and be sure to cite all sources using APA reference style.

Part 1: Analyze the Scenario

Using at least two of the provided scenarios:

• Analyze the ethical decision that the whistleblower faced as it relates to how they communicated.
• Consider the sender, receiver, message, and channel.
• Analyze the outcomes of the communication strategy.
• Make sure to consider how the communication was distributed, the possible intent, and the content of the communication.
• Describe the effectiveness of the communication in the scenario.
• Focus on how specific events were influenced by the communication.
• What were the primary failures and successes?

Part 2: Write a Communication

Imagine that you are working in the same industry as the whistleblower in your chosen scenario and have followed this sequence of events closely. Your research has provided you with a great deal that can be applied to your industry, and you are anxious to share your lessons learned from the situation.

• Write a communication to a colleague that conveys and reinforces the primary lessons learned from the incident.
• Be sure to focus on the actions of the whistleblower in your communication.
• The medium is your choice, but it is also very important, so state the medium you have chosen within your message and the reason you feel it is the most appropriate medium to use. Address possible reasons such as confidentiality, tone, and convention.