Research Questions and Methodology

General Problem Sentence

The General Problem to be addressed is whistle blowers are not given adequate incentives and protection resulting in the difficulty of reporting wrongdoing, misconduct and unethical behaviors.

· According to Andon, et al., (2018), Lack of whistle blower incentives and protection makes it difficult for whistle blowers to report wrongdoing, as they feel insecure.

· Ballan, (2017) stated that the current whistle blowing system is not effective and therefore does not provide the basis for investigation of corruption cases and any misconduct within a company.

· Keith, Todd & Oliver, (2016) supported these views by explaining that managers are not empowered to sanction employees involved in unethical behaviors because of lack of whistle blower incentives.

Specific Problem sentence

The specific problem to be addressed is the failure of finance department to provide adequate whistleblowers incentives and protection within the investment -banking sector in the United States.

· In a recent study, Keith, Todd & Oliver, (2016) stated that the finance department in any organization is a very critical area that can determine the overall performance of an organization. Failure to provide whistleblower incentives and protection to finance staff makes it difficult them to report unethical behaviors.

Annotated Bibliography

“Andon, P., Free, C., Jidin, R., Monroe, G. S., & Turner, M. J. (2018). The impact of financial incentives and perceptions of seriousness on whistle blowing intention. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(1), 165-178.”

· This article was published within the last five years and the authors involved have extensive experience in research in the field of finance whistle blowing. The article was also published in the journal of business ethics which is a credible source for research.

· The authors of this article conducted an experiment to determine whether financial incentives to whistleblowers encourage them to report illegal practices and unethical behaviors to the relevant authorities. The paper also examined the impacts of perceive significance of the illegal practice on the intention of accountants to whistle blow. The results of the experiment show that financial incentives encourage whistleblowers to report unethical behaviors. The authors also found out that the intention of whistle blowing is higher when the perceived significance of the illegal practice is also higher.

· This article appreciates that there are various barriers to whistle blowing by providing a strategy in which the challenges can be overcome. The paper provides significant insights on how the perception of the significance of a wrongdoing affects the reporting of illegal practices.

“Ballan, E. J. (2017). Protecting Whistleblowing (and Not Just Whistleblowers). Mich. L. Rev., 116, 475.”

· Ballan is an experienced researcher in the field of whistle blowing and has written numerous articles related to this topic. The article was also published within the last five years and therefore is credible.

· This paper aims to explore various frameworks that have been developed to combat fraud. One of the frameworks discussed in this paper is the federal false claim Act. The paper also discusses provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act. According to the article, the SEC program provides an opportunity for employees to whistle blow and prevents their employers from taking any disciplinary actions against them. The paper recommends that congress should look at the CES rule to determine cause of action for organizations that take disciplinary measures for employees who report fraud cases.

· This paper provides ways in which whist blowers and whistle blowing can be protected. This is very important in finance as many people engage in illegal practices in such a critical department. People who report such cases should be well protected.

“Keith, N., Todd, S., & Oliver, C. (2016). An international perspective on whistleblowing. Crim. Just., 31, 14.”

· The authors of this article are extensively experience researchers in the field of whistle blowing. The article was also published in the last five years hence is credible.

· This article explores various factors that affect whistle blowing. It also reviews various court cases on whistle blowing. The paper acknowledges that there are many employees who have had the intention of whistle blowing but have remained silent because of poor whistleblower protection I their organization. People fear being punished for whistle blowing. The paper recommends that better whistle blowing act should be developed to protect people who intent to whistle blow.

· By recommending that better policies should be developed to protect whistleblowers, this paper shows that there exists a problem of whistle blowing within organization especially in finance.

References

“Andon, P., Free, C., Jidin, R., Monroe, G. S., & Turner, M. J. (2018). The impact of financial incentives and perceptions of seriousness on whistleblowing intention. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(1), 165-178.”

“Ballan, E. J. (2017). Protecting Whistleblowing (and Not Just Whistleblowers). Mich. L. Rev., 116, 475.”

“Keith, N., Todd, S., & Oliver, C. (2016). An international perspective on whistleblowing. Crim. Just., 31, 14.”