Presentation of the Findings

Summary

In summary, the process of incentives and protection of the whistleblowers entails the interrelationship of the various theories, which regards the motivation of the workers who are specifically the whistleblowers in this case. It is from the theories that the various variables, concepts as well as actors do interact with each other to achieve the best conditions for the whistleblowers. An environment that encourages whistleblowing can best be created by implementing laws, policies and rules that are considerate of all factors and stakeholders involved.

A variable refers to a specific factor that is being observed for changes in the variable itself or its influence on a different factor in research. Some of the variables to be considered in the critical analysis of this study include the financial value of the incentives offered to whistleblowers as well as the type of protection services extended. The study hopes to identify the financial value of an incentive that is more captivating for whistleblowers. The critical analyses will also involve an evaluation of the identified value compared to the financial resources being recovered from corruption or fraud in various finance departments.

The investment banking incentives for Whistle blowing: In the US, the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act grants the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission the power to pay financial awards to whistle-blowers as long as the information provided leads to criminal cases or successful regulatory cases that results in the recovery of funds. Unfortunately, less than 1 percent of whistle blowing cases result in financial penalties. In addition, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act grants the US Department of Justice the power to provide financial compensation to whistle-blowers. Section 922 of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requires the government to award 10-30 percent of over one million recovered funds by the SEC to the whistle-blowers. However, like the Dodd-Frank Act, it does not often become applied. Perhaps the most opportune time when the statute could have been applied in American history was against Toyota Motor’s during the unintended breaking malfunction. However, no employee reported the malpractice to the authorities and none of the people who reported the design flaw in the floor mats.

The False Claims Act requires the whistle-blower to act as a government agent where the individual presents a Qui Tam lawsuit on behalf of the government to the organization. However, there must be formal allegations explaining how the company is committing fraud against the government. Combined, these statutes represent the primary legislative incentives for whistle blowing that yield financial rewards. Unfortunately, the only similarities they share are the clear declaration that the statutes shall not provide any form of support in situations where the information does not lead to criminal cases. Fortunately, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at the United Nations functions as the neutral agency for whistle-blowers victimized for their acts and firms subject to accusations made by whistle-blowers.

From a banking perspective, few cases of whistle blowing involve financial companies since their operations often involve innovative circumventing of legal statutes and sometimes-reprehensible financial decisions. For instance, several insurance and investment companies move their clients’ financial holdings and manipulate their investment portfolios to make the company considerable returns while providing the expected returns to the clients. In essence, they pool client funds to invest and make returns that may or may not yield monetary compensation to their clients. Even though the law requires them to discuss every investment decision with their clients, many individual investors and departments in investment banks operate side operations under the table as evident in the number of cases of collapsed companies having made unauthorized trading decisions without the clients’ awareness such as Enron. The collaboration to manage funds often fails due to the principle agency theory, where the investment bankers operate as independent agents with limited concern for the risk exposure to the principle, in this case, their clients.

Some research has been conducted in the past on the applicability and effectiveness of government-provided incentives. A study conducted by Lee & Turner, (2017) analyzes the effect of government-administered rewards whistleblowing in various companies. Federal laws on incentives and protection for whistleblowers have not effectively promoted whistleblowing in private corporations.

In another research by Andon et.al (2018), it was discovered that employees have varied perceptions about whistleblowing and the incentives offered to promote whistleblowing. The majority of employees in various companies are concerned about the kind of reward they receive and whether it is worth taking a risk. As such, it is necessary to revisit the incentives policies to ensure that the rewards promised to whistleblowers are relevant to them.

According to Gundlach, Martinko, & Douglas (2008), the issue of whistle blowing protection especially the incentive programs for whistle blowing in organizations is relatively new in the corporate world. Due to this, not much academic research has been done regarding the matter. The recently researched costs of corporate fraud have been shocking (Bouville, 2007). With the recent business globalization, security laws breeches and broken regulations, most organizations have been incurring numerous numbers of losses.

Sweeny (2011) in his articles has considered some of the current concerns regarding the whistleblowers, organizations and regulators since the launch of the SOX and Dodd Frank Act (Rocha & Kleiner, 2005). His articles have managed to provoke various thoughts that bring about questions and startling facts. Both private and public organizations, the nonprofit and governmental companies have attributed about 5 percent of their annual losses to fraud (Sweeny, 2011). When put together, this figure could amount to about 2.9 trillion dollars in losses annually. However, since the confirmation of the SOX Act, numerous cases of financial statement frauds declined from about 10.8 percent in 2008 to about 4.8 percent in the year 2010

(Bowen, Call, & Rajgopal, 2010).

Robert Sexty (2011) confers about three kinds of ethical thinkers. His model approaches to ethical thinking describes different types of thinkers and their motivations to acting when confronted with any kind of wrongdoing (Dworkin, M & Near, P, 1997). While sexty’s book focused on the Canadian ethics, there have been some general truths that go beyond the geographical borders and can be applied to all kinds of people. The deontological theories usually focus on the goodness or righteousness of a particular act rather than consequences of the said act (Hauseman, 1986). During such times the obligations, duties and rights are usually very important (Earle & Madek, 2007). The rules in a particular organization tend to guide an individual behavior and their decision making (Grundlack, et al, 2008) The consequential theories on the other hand focus on the goals, results and results of the outcome with emphasis of maximum benefit or minimum harm (Carson, Verdu & Wokutch, 20017).

Some of the themes that are anticipated in the study include ethical leadership, mutual trust, and social welfare. Ethical leadership manifests through the kind of action taken by leaders to support whistleblowing in their organizations. Mutual trust must be developed among all stakeholders in the finance sector to ensure that whistleblowers understand its relevance from a common perspective. Finally, the main goal of encouraging whistleblowing is to safeguard and promote social justice and social welfare in society.

In summary, the process of incentives and protection of the whistleblowers entails the interrelationship of the various theories, which regards the motivation of the workers who are specifically the whistleblowers in this case. It is from the theories that the various variables, concepts as well as actors do interact with each other to achieve the best conditions for the whistleblowers. An environment that encourages whistleblowing can best be created by implementing laws, policies and rules that are considerate of all factors and stakeholders involved.

Some of the key terms that may be affected by ambiguity in this study include;

Whistleblower; Refers to the person who raises concerns about an unethical practice in the finance department. Whistleblowers serve as primary sources of information about a certain issue that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Incentive; an incentive is a form a reward, mostly monetary, promised to any person who takes an initiative to perform a specified task. In this study, an incentive refers to the monetary reward promised to whistleblowers who report fraudulent activities and corruption.

Protection; Protection refers to extra security services offered as a reward and surety to whistleblowers as a reward for their bold actions of reporting unethical practices.

Variable; the term variable in this study has been used to refer to motivation, leadership style and the demographic factors of the whistleblowers. These variables are the specific aspects that will be analyzed to identify how a change in each affects the implementation of incentives and protection laws in finance departments.

Framework; the term framework in the context of this study has been used to refer to the theoretical map that portrays the relationship between theories, variables, concepts, and actors analyzed in the research process.

Demographic; Demographic factors include the age and gender of the whistleblowers in the context of this study. Such factors can affect the reception of different rewards offered as incentives.

This study is not without several assumptions; some of the assumptions made include;

1. The interviewees engaged in the study provided accurate information that is not affected by personal bias. The information captured from the interviews, therefore, is accurate and reliable for the study.

2. The specific company that is used for the case study has organizational structure that is common for all companies. As such, the findings and conclusion made from the case study would be similar even when a different company is used for the case study.

3. The study is based on the assumption that the sample size selected is neither small nor large for the research process. It is assumed that the sample size is a true representation of the general population; finance departments in various companies.

This study is also affected by several limitations and delimitations. Some of the limitations and delimitations encountered include;

1. Insufficient financial resources limited to this study. The research was conducted based on a case study of one company and a few interviewees to avoid incurring high costs. As such, lack of enough finances limited the scope of the study.

2. The study was delimited to only finance departments of companies based in highly populated cities. This delimitation limited the study to a particular set of demographic factors and excluded some that are not found in the cities.

3. Some level of bias arising from the flexible study approach may limit the accuracy of the findings and conclusions made in this study.

The study will be very useful to policymakers as well as individual employees, especially finance professionals in various companies. The existing laws on incentives and protection for whistleblowers are not effective in the finance departments. Most of the studies that have been conducted in the past have not comprehensively captured the aspect of implementing incentives and protection laws in the finance sector. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the factors that affect the effectiveness of the laws in various companies. In addition, the study will be useful to finance employees as well as leaders who seek to promote whistleblowing in their companies.

This study will effectively reduce the knowledge gaps that are currently affecting the formulation and implementation of relevant incentives and protection policies and laws. Currently, there are no laws formulated to be exclusively implemented in the finance sector. This study will shed some light and recommend an action that should be taken to fill the existing gaps in literature. Many companies lack incentives and protection policies for whistleblowers because they do not understand the relevance.

The Bible is used by Christians to teach good morals and doing what is right. Corruption and fraud are vices that even the bible rebukes and calls upon Christians to act as whistleblowers. According to Leviticus 19:17, “Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so that you will not share in his guilt,” This biblical phrase supports whistleblowing to eliminate the guilt that arises from a failure to take action. This study builds more on this analogy to inform the general public, corporate leaders, as well as the government on the need to implement incentives and protection laws across all sectors.

Fraud and corruption activities are common in the finance departments in various companies. Various measures that have been implemented in the past have had little or no effect on these vices leading to massive losses of financial resources. As such, it is important to consider a different approach that motivates the perpetrators to behave differently. Offering incentives and protection to whistleblowers can attract even the corrupt and fraudulent employees. This means that a small portion of the financial resources that would be lost is used to ensure the finance professionals operate ethically.

In summary, it is essential to identify the key terms, limitations and delimitations, biblical integration and significance of the study to the public as well as key stakeholders in the finance sector. This study highlights the various ways in which relevant policies and laws can be implemented to promoted whistleblowing in various companies, especially in the finance departments. Whistleblowing is not only justified in the bible but it must also be justified by its goal to promote social welfare and justice in society.

In conclusion, the work of the whistleblowers is very fatal in the fight against corruption as well as grabbing the public resources in all the private and public sectors. However, for the whistleblowers to effectively do their work, they must be rewarded accordingly in comparison with the work they do. They endanger their life to expose fatal information concerning wrongdoings which requires a good motivation strategy to them. They must also be guaranteed the security of their life as the exposed individuals may revenge by taking their life or even that of their family members, (Keith, et.al., 2016).

Whistle blowers incentives are very important in organizations to prevent unethical actions. However, few financial organizations have provided adequate whistleblowers incentives making it difficult for them to report such actions. As a result, corruption has become a serious concern in the general finance sector. Most organizations lose considerable resources annually due to unethical practices in their finance departments. This section provides detailed descriptions of the role of the researcher, the actions s/he will take to complete the study and discussions about bracketing. In addition, the section provides research methodology that will be used in the paper. Finally, a concise summary is provided detailing the main points of this section.

The purpose of this study is to come up with a reliable approach that can be utilized to apply incentives and protection laws in finance departments. This can be achieved by critically analyzing the applicability of the existing incentive and protection laws in the financial sector, specifically in investment banking. This study will attempt to fill the existing knowledge gaps by analyzing the factors that affect the applicability of incentives and protection laws in finance departments. The financial sector is very complex and any change can have a significant effect on the global economy. As such, it is necessary to formulate effective laws that can deter vices such as money laundering and other fraudulent activities within the investment-banking sector, (Gupta & Chaudhary, 2017). The analysis will focus on identifying the role of whistleblowers in the investment-banking sector. This study hopes to build on the existing information about the incentives and protection laws and their applicability in various sectors.

The researcher plays the central role in this study. Without the researcher, it is not possible to have the study. One of the most critical roles of the researcher in this study is to attempt to obtain and critically assess the thoughts, feelings and experiences of the participants. This will be achieved by collecting data from the participants and analyzing data from interview. The researcher will also obtain informed consent from the participants. This will ensure that the participants understand the reason the study is being conducted, the information that they will need to provide and the benefits that they may get for providing the required information (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

Since the researcher will be the primary instrument of data collection, it is highly likely that there will be biasness. However, the researcher will take various actions to reduce this biasness. Various people will be invited to take part in the data coding process. Consistency between the interpretations of the researcher will show that there is some truth. The researcher will also request the participants to review the findings to ascertain that the results represent their beliefs. In addition, the researcher will review findings with peers. This will help the researcher to identify gaps in his/hr findings of affirm the results.

The researcher will also use bracketing to avoid personal bias. Bracketing refers to a technique that is used widely in qualitative studies to mitigate the negative impacts of personal bias that could affect the validity of the study. The researcher will use the concept of bracketing throughout the research process. Reflexivity will be used to help the researcher realize honest evaluation of beliefs and values of the participants. This will help the researcher to identify areas prone to bias and bracket them. Reflexivity will help the researcher develop bracketing skills and apply them throughout the research process. The researcher will use reflective diary to write the perceptions, thoughts and feelings to bring reflexivity to consciousness (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

Once the study has been concluded the researcher will verify the results and report the findings. This concerns the validity, reliability and generalization of the study. This is very important throughout the research process. Reporting will involve the researcher writing down the findings of the study. The researcher will determine how respondents will be given voice. The researcher will also judge how understanding the context will be to the remarks of the respondents. The researcher will also make a choice regarding the amount of context presented in relation to a specific situation or respondent.

The researcher is responsible for communicating the findings if the study and to transfer the knowledge developed to the society. In addition, the researcher is responsible to behave ethically and honestly in the course of the study. The researcher must behave in such a way that respects the principles of research. The researcher will also ensure that information obtained in the study can be easily accessible by the public (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017). Finally, the researcher must oversee the implementation of the findings of the study. The study will have less use if the findings cannot be used to reduce unethical practices in financial institutions (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

This study aims to evaluate the factors that affect the implementation of incentives and protection laws in finance departments. The study will finally provide detailed recommendations on how financial institutions can implement whistleblower incentives and protections laws to reduce unethical actions. Consequently, it is imperative to develop are effective research methodology to achieve the objectives of the study. Therefore, a qualitative approach to research will be used for this study. Qualitative data will be collected through interviews. Bank employees in the finance department will be engaged in the interviews to ensure that the study captures all the necessary information. The research will adopt the most appropriate approach to ensure that the research questions are answered in the findings.

The single case study approach allows extensive, multifaceted explanation of various issues in the real life situation. This approach has been widely used in a wide range of filed including business, healthcare and finance among others to conduct studies. This approach is particularly beneficial as when a study aims to obtain detailed explanation of a phenomenon or issues in the real life setting. The approach has been used widely to evaluate complex and infrequent phenomena that are significant in a specific filed. Unlike other research approaches, case study provides a more detailed explanation of an event or issue (Gustafsson, 2017).

The key element in this approach is that the researcher focuses on evaluating a specific phenomenon separately. This approach provides a way in which the research can provide delve deeper into understanding the respondents’ feelings, thoughts and experiences. This research aims at analyzing the failure of the finance department to provide incentives and protection for whistleblowers. This could therefore, be best described as an explanatory case study since it aims at answering the question 'why?' This research will be carried out in a selected company; the researcher will conduct a deep study on the problem stated. The researcher will collect data on the failure of the finance department in providing incentives and protection for whistleblowers in the selected company.

Any research that adopts more than one approach requires an appropriate triangulation method. Triangulation involves harmonizing the findings obtained from several sources that were analyzed using different research methods, (Walliman, 2017). While triangulation cross validates data, its main role is to capture different dimensions of the same concept. This approach also deepens the researchers understanding of the phenomenon being studied. By standing the phenomenon from different standpoints, the researcher is able is able to explain more fully the complexity and richness of human behavior. As a result, triangulation, explains, confirms, refutes and enriches.

This study will mainly be qualitative thus, numerous triangulation methods are not necessary. However, the research findings and conclusions will be based on interviews and observations from the selected company. This means that more than one set of data will be available for analysis in the research. The first analysis will be conducted on the exiting theoretical information that is available for review. A second analysis will be conducted to deduce crucial information from the interviews and the specific case study. Therefore, this study will adopt interpretivist and critical theory methods as the most appropriate triangulation methods.

In the interpretivist approach, the researcher will interpret elements of the study. This will help the researcher integrate interests of the participants into the study. Based on this approach, access to reality is only through instruments, share meanings, consciousness and language. This approach emphasizes the use of qualitative approaches in evaluating human behaviors. The researcher will use this approach to understand and appreciate differences among the participants. By using this method, the researcher will be able to bring out the thoughts and beliefs of people on the issue of whistle blower incentives and protection (Turner, Cardinal & Burton, 2017).

In the critical theory approach, the researcher will compare the accounts of participants with well known theories. This will allow him/her to analyze the present phenomenon from different perspective. According to Gustafsson (2017), “the goals is to form a theory that rings true at the subjects’ level, while conforming with accepted sociological rules concerning how a theory should be grounded”. This theory will allow the researcher evaluate the phenomenon from some general theory of norms and values.

The two methods will effectively enable the researcher to triangulate the findings from different sources to come up with a reasonable conclusion as well as appropriate recommendations. It would be difficult for the researcher to come up with a conclusion from different sources without using these triangulation approaches. When the researcher finds convergence of data from different participants and methods then a clear conclusion can be developed based on that data. Contradicting data will show that more studies need to be conducted to determine the cause of the inconsistency.

Quantitative methods focus on objective measurement and the numerical, statistical and mathematical analysis of data collected through surveys, polls and questionnaires or by using other computational techniques to manipulate existing statistical data. These methods involve collecting data and generalizing it across various groups to expound on a certain issue or event. After careful analysis of the data collected, researchers are able to predict the future of services or products and make appropriate changes. Quantitative methods templates are investigational, objective and elaborate. The results obtained from these methods are unbiased, objectives and elaborate.

The main aim of using quantitative methods is to determine the relationship between to variables within a population. Quantitative research designs are either experimental or descriptive. An experimental study basically establishes causality while an experimental study establishes the relationship between different variables. Quantitative methods deal with objective stance, numbers and logics. One of the main characteristics of quantitative methodology is that structured research instrument are used for data collection. In addition, these methods involve large sample sizes since the results obtained are generalized. The overarching aim of these methods is to construct statistical models to explain relationships between various variables to explain a phenomenon.

There are numerous strengths associated with quantitative methods. One of the strengths of these methods is that is allows researchers to have a larger sample size. As a result, they allow researchers to generalize the results to represent the larger population. In addition, the methods allows researcher to use randomized sample. These helps researchers to reduce personal bias associated with the respondents which may arise when participants suspect that the study aims to attain a certain objective. Results can also be duplicated. These methods to not rely on opinions and therefore results point on actual data. This eliminates the problems of substituting facts with opinion.

Quantitative methods ensures that the privacy of the participants is respected as there is no need to provide their essential information. This makes it a good approach for data collection because people are not afraid that their information will be given to third parties. As a result they are more likely to provide honest responses. Additionally, this approach does not require the researcher to make direct observations to be useful. This increases the response rate as participants provide their responses in the comfort of the environments they are used to. These methods also allow researchers to obtain detailed data that can be useful in the study (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

However, there are various weaknesses associated with quantitative methods that make it inappropriate for this study. One of them is that the methods do not capture changing attitudes within a certain population such as attitudes in the workplace or consumers of a service or product. Quantitative methods do not consider the meaning behind social phenomena. The methods do not address the motives participants will have when making decisions or making opinions. In addition, all answers provided by using these methods must stand independently. The response provided by the participants must stand by them even if they are invalid and confusing.

These methods are also not appropriate for this study because sometimes they create unnatural environments. Participants can decide to provide falsified answers. In the same way the researcher can attempt to provide falsified results by influencing the study design. In addition, randomization may not always create usable information. It approach does not look for the reasons why some variable exists in a certain phenomenon. Quantitative methods also do not have access to specific feedback. While the data obtained by these methods can be generalized, the method does not allow researcher to obtain feedbacks that drive positive changes of the phenomenon being studied (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017). As a result, qualitative methods will be used for this study.

In summary, the purpose of this study is to come up with a reliable approach that can be utilized to apply incentives and protection laws in finance departments. The researcher plays a significant role in ensuring that the study is successful. He/she will be responsible for obtaining informed consent from the participants before the study begins. Since the researcher will be the primary instrument of data collection, it is highly likely that there will be biasness. However, the researcher will use bracketing to mitigate personal bias.

A qualitative approach to research will be used for this study. Qualitative data will be collected through interviews. Bank employees in the finance department will be engaged in the interviews to ensure that the study captures all the necessary information. Triangulation will be used to harmonize information obtained from the different technique used in this study to obtain data. This study will adopt interpretivist and critical theory methods as the most appropriate triangulation methods. The two methods will effectively enable the researcher to triangulate the findings from different sources to come up with a reasonable conclusion as well as appropriate recommendations. There are numerous weaknesses associated with quantitative methods that make them inappropriate to be used in this study.

Whistleblower incentives and protection has become a significant issue of concern in the field of finance. Numerous financial organizations are struggling to eradicate corruption and other unethical acts due to the lack of adequate whistleblower incentives and protection. This section provides a detailed description of individuals who are eligible to be included in this study. The sample to be included in the study and the reasons for that will be detailed in this section. The section also describes how the researcher will gain access to the sample after field study. Finally, a succinct summary will be provided detailing the main points of this section.

This study will be conducted in one of the Wells Fargo bank branches in California. Bank employees in the finance department will be engaged in the interviews to ensure that the study captures all the necessary information. Not all employees in the finance department will be included in the study. Only those who have served for more than five years in the bank and gained extensive experience in the field will take part in the study. The study is gender sensitive and will include an equal number of male and female participants. The participants will be draw from for various subsections of the finance department including credit department, cash section, financial planning and budgeting, audit section, cost account section and accounting section.

To ensure that reliable information is gathered from the financial department, an interview will be scheduled with the head of the finance department in Wells Fargo bank. The company's policymakers will also be interviewed to this effect. Policy makers can provide critical information concerning the protection laws implemented by the organization to encourage whistle blowing. This is because there are not many people involved here. Interviews will enable the researcher to probe further in case the information given is not satisfactory. Interviews will also be scheduled with the participants selected for the study (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

The individuals who qualify to be included in this study must be 30 years and above. This is important as people who have attained that age are mature and understand the importance of providing honest responses. In addition, individuals above thirty years have had enough experience on the importance of whistle blowing in the finance departments. Younger people may be new to the field and may not have enough knowledge on the importance on the existing whistle blowing policies in the organization. People who meet the criteria for inclusion will be requested to participate in the study through writing.

This study will be conducted in one of the Wells Fargo Banks in California. Participants of the study will be drawn from the various subsections of the finance department in the bank. The finance department in the bank is made up of sex subsections including credit department, cash section, financial planning and budgeting, audit section, cost account section and accounting section. Other target populations for this study include the management of the organization and policymakers. This population is well versed with the dynamics of the banking organization and can provide extensive information concerning the issue of whistle blower incentives and protection.

People working in the finance department have high intellectual curiosity that drives them to advance in their career. As they do so, one of their main interests is to maintain ethical standards in the organization. If there are factors that hinder them from doing so, they are well positioned to share those factors with the researcher. In addition, they can be able to tell whether their organization provides incentives for whistleblower particularly because they work in a very critical working environment. The target population for these study are solution oriented and therefore could provide significant insights on how better policies can be developed to protect whistleblowers in financial organizations.

Employees working in various subsections of the bank are business partners. This implies that the organizations require them to help the management in making strategic decisions. As a result, the target population for this study provides significant insight to the management of the organization on how effective whistleblower incentives and protection is. In this study, this population will be very helpful as it will provide detailed information on the various whistleblower incentives and protection policies that have been implemented in their organization. They will also help the researcher have a direct observation of how these policies are implemented in the workplace setting.

The target population for this study is part and parcel of the leadership of the organization. Staff members in the finance departments help their leaders to make critical decisions affecting the organization. As such they understand the culture, values and the principles of the organization. They understand the goals of the organizations and employ strategies developed by the organization to achieve the expected outcomes. As such, employees working in the finance department are highly knowledgeable on issues to do with whistle blower incentives not only in their departments but on the entire organization.

The study will have a total of seven participants drawn from the different subsections of the finance department in the well forge bank in California. The head of the finance department together with one policy maker in the organization will take part in the study. In addition, the researcher will have an interview with one employee from each of the five subsections. As indicated earlier, the five subsections of the finance department in the bank include credit department, cash section, financial planning and budgeting, audit section, cost account section and accounting section. These sample size is small enough and will make it easy for the researcher to obtain substantial information within a short period of time.

The study will have a small sample size because of the practical economic advantages associated with it. One of the benefits associated with the small sample size is that it increases the efficiency of the study. In a small sample size, results can be obtained from with a much lower expenditure of money time and other resources for the study. For this study, every subsection in the finance department is well represented in the study. Including more respondents in each department will not affect the final results of the study. It also makes it easier for the researcher to obtain detailed information from the respondents without any hurry.

Another significant advantage that makes this study use a small sample size is that the features will allow the study to be conducted with a lower level of disruption. This is particularly important because the study will be conducted in the workplace environment. It can be difficult to access more employees in the bank since they have their normal task that they need to accomplish. In such situations where the commercial partner is required, a small sample size is ideal to ensure the buy-in of the organization and reduce the disruptions in the commercial environment.

A small sample size presents significant technical benefits for the study. The responses provided by the participants are compared to each other to establish consistencies or variations in beliefs, thought and experiences. The larger the sample size increases, the difficult it becomes to analyze and draw themes from the responses. As such an increased sample size reduces the reliability of the overall study. Using a small sample size in this study will allow the researcher explore the concept of whistleblowers incentives and protection effectively. In addition, the time required to draw themes from the responses is also less as compared to a larger sample size (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

This study will also be conducted in one financial organization. This makes it easier for the researcher to obtain institutional and ethical approval easier when having a small sample size. The researcher does not have to request numerous approvals from different organizations which can be hectic, labor intensive and time consuming. A small sample size will also help the researcher to save a lot of research resources that could have otherwise have been used to collect the same information obtained from having a small sample size. This will also reduce the number of errors made in the study increasing its reliability.

The researcher will request the bank to allow him conduct the study in the bank. In writing, the researcher will clearly indicate the main purpose of the study and what the bank will benefit from the study. Once the study has been approved by the organization, the researcher will provide forms requesting employees to participate in the study. Once the employees have been filed, the researcher will review them and identify employees who qualify to take part in the study. Those employees who have been identified for the study will be informed on the specific dates when the study will take place.

One of the most important activities that will be conducted after the study is discussion of the results. This will involve evaluating the responses of the participants and comparing them. This will help the researcher to develop themes from those responses. These themes will be compared with the theoretical foundation for this study. The theory will help the researcher interpret the results and develop more knowledge on the field of study. The results obtained from the study will be analyzed to provide answers to the research questions. The researcher will also connect the findings of the study to the existing literature.

One of the main objectives of this study is to advance knowledge on whistleblowers incentives and protection. The researcher will therefore show points of agreement and disagreements between the results of the study and those of other researchers. The study will also consider the strengths and weaknesses of diverse interpretations of the results. The researcher will also draw implication of the study to the field in this section. This will be base on its contribution in professional practice, current theory and technical application. The findings of the study will be used to improve the existing theories or develop new theories (Cox, 2017).

Visualization of the results will also be done after the study. This will involve presenting the data obtained from the study in a way that communicate the meaning clearly. Table will be used to facilitate better understanding of the themes developed in the discussion section. These tables with help the researcher exclude the unnecessary information. In addition, visualization will allow the researcher to identify patterns communicate stories quickly and facilitate comprehension. This will help readers understand the findings of the study and what they mean to the field of finance.

This study will be conducted in one of the Wells Fargo bank branches in California. Bank employees in the finance department will be engaged in the interviews to ensure that the study captures all the necessary information. The head of the finance department will also take part in the study. The study will have a total of seven participants drawn from the different subsections of the finance department in the Wells Fargo bank in California. The researcher will request the bank to allow him conduct the study within the organization. After field study will involve various activities including discussion, data visualization and implementation of the outcomes.

Data collection refers to the process of gathering information from the study participants in a systematic way to enable the researcher test the hypotheses and answer the research questions. This section will provide a detailed description of the data collection plan and research instruments to be used in the study. In addition, interview, guides, surveys and archive data will be clearly outlined in this section. Data organization will also be discussed extensively in this section. Finally, a succinct summary will be provided detailing the main points of this section.

Data collection plan refers to an approach to gathering data in a research study. It includes where data will be collected, when it will be collected, who will collect it and how it will be collected. In this study, data will be collected in one of the branches of Wells Fargo banks in California (Cox, 2017). The data will be collected in the first week of July. During this time most employees in the bank will have come from their leave and therefore it will be easy to get participants who meet the inclusion criteria for this study. This study will be collected by a professional researcher assisted by two doctorate students from the University (Cox, 2017).

Data will be collected using interviews and observations. Semi-structured interview will be used to collect the required information from the respondents. In this approach, the researcher will prepare a set of questions for the interview. Nevertheless, more questions may be asked during the interview to expand or clarify certain comments. This approach will allow the researcher clarify some issues that may not be clear to the respondents. The researcher will have an open mind when administering these questions to the respondents. In addition, the researcher will schedule the interview at a time when the respondents will be able to respond effectively (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

Interview Guides

An interview guide refers to a list of important topics that the researcher plans to cover in the interview. The following is the interview guide for the present study.

Part 1: Background and real life cases

1. Identify two cases where you have involved I reporting unethical practices in the organization

2. If you have any documents that you can share supporting your arguments will be highly appreciated.

3. All the data obtained will be used anonymously for this study.

Part 2: Reporting unethical practices in the finance department

1. Means in place in the finance department to encourage whistle blowing

2. Does the finance department have strategies for protecting those reporting unethical practices?

3. What has happened to employees who have reported wrongdoing in the finance department before?

4. Which resources are provided by the finance department to encourage whistle blowing?

5. What role do whistleblowers play in preventing unethical practices?

Part 3: Effectiveness of Existing policies

1. The frequency in which the management launches investigation after an unethical practice has been launched?

2. Are there employees who have been found guilty for wrongdoing in the finance department?

3. How do whilst blower protection laws protect them from retaliation?

4. Strategies developed by the finance department to address this issue

Part 4: General Questions

1. Open discussion with respondents

2. Closing remarks from the respondents

3. Completion of any paperwork

Surveys

A personal interview survey will be used in this study to gather information about whistleblowers incentives and protection from the participants. This approach will be used because it will allow the researcher to probe the responses and at the same time observe the behaviors of the respondents. This approach has various advantages that make it the most appropriate for this study. It will help the researcher conduct tolerable longer interviews as the participants will be able to provide their responses orally. The approach will also provide an opportunity for the researcher to observe the attitudes of the respondents. The following questions will be included in the survey.

1. What role do you think whistleblowers play in curbing unethical behavior?

2. Does your department provide whistleblowers incentives?

3. Why has your department failed to provide these incentives and protection for the whistleblowers?

4. What strategies have been developed to encourage reporting unethical practices in your department?

5. Does your department have policies for whistle blowing?

6. How do staff members in your department treat employees who have reported unethical behaviours?

Archive data

Data archiving refers to the process of keeping data in a storage device for future use. Archive data must be retained for regulatory compliance and future reference reasons. The data obtained from the study will be archived in a flash disk that will be kept by the researcher in a safe location. This is very important as it will ensure participants’ data is kept confidential. This mode of storage will also help the researcher to retrieved the data easily whenever need be. Once the time that has been agreed to keep the data expires, the data in the flash disk will be deleted and the flash disk destroyed.

Data archiving is important particularly for the researcher as it can help to increase visibility through downloads and citations. This can help the researcher get new cooperation for conducting future studies on the same topic. In addition it makes it easier for researchers to validate the data by comparing it to existing studies. Without archiving data, it could be difficult to obtain it in future for comparison. Since the data is kept confidential, the participants of the study would be more willing to take part in future studies conducted by the researcher. People value privacy and if accorded to them they may appreciate in unprecedented ways (Whitlock et al., 2016).

For the data collected in this study to be effective, it needs to be organized. The importance of data organization cannot be ignored in the study. Data can easily be lost if not well organized. In this study, the instrument of research is interviews. As a result, the responses provided by the participants will need to be recorded accordingly. The researcher will write information about each participant in a spread sheet. This will help the researcher track who is being interviewed at a certain period of time. In addition, this will help the researcher when logging in data from each interview session.

The research questions will be well recorded so that the researcher can follow the flow of the selected method of data collection as close s possible. A recording device will also be set up I the interview room so that the researcher can be able to follow the conversation after the interview. Advanced technology will be used to keep the recording safe during the interview. In addition, the interviewers will transcript the responses on paper. The transcription and audio files will be well recorded to avoid confusion when logging in data. It is easier to organize the data with the transcripts and recorded data.

In this study, data will be collected in one of the branches of Wells Fargo banks in California. The data will be collected in the first week of July. This study will be collected by a professional researcher assisted by two doctorate students from the University. Data will be collected using interviews and observations. Semi-structured interview will be used to collect the required information from the respondents. A personal interview survey will be used in this study to gather information about whistleblowers incentives and protection from the participants. Data collected from the respondents will be archived in a flash disk (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

Data analysis refers to the process of converting raw data into information that can be used in decision making. Data will be analyzed to answer the research question and prove the theories used in the study. This section will provide a detailed discussion about qualitative analysis particularly case study tools. In addition, this section will provide analysis for triangulation and quantitative analysis. Finally, a concise summary will be provided detailing the main points of this section.

Qualitative analysis involves the interpretation of nun-numeric information such as text, documents, audio recordings, notes and interview transcripts (Queirós, Faria & Almeida, 2017). The main aim of qualitative analysis is to find relationships, patterns and connections. Qualitative analysis is the most important part in qualitative research studies is it allows the researcher to make the findings usable. This section will allow the researcher to get meaningful information from the data that has been collected. The researcher will familiarize himself/herself with the data before h/she starts the process of data analysis.

There are various methods that will be used for qualitative analysis in this study including content analysis, narrative analysis, Discourse analysis and Grounded theory.

Content Analysis

This method involves categorizing behavioral or verbal data from interviews to find relationships. Since the researcher will have a lot of content to analyze, s/he will begin by sampling a selected set of information from the interviews. The next step will involve dividing this text into separate units for analysis. The next step will involve coding the information obtained. Various coding schemes will be applied based on the themes that are anticipated in the study. The data that has been coded will finally be analyzed to determine the frequency of the themes and their relationships.

This method is very appropriate for this study as it will help the researcher examine communication using text directly. In addition, it will provide cultural and historical insights about the phenomenon being studied (Harding, 2018). Content analysis will also provide significant insights into complex models of language use and human thoughts. This is very important as this study aims to gather the beliefs and perceptions of finance department employees on the issues of whistleblowers incentives and protection. In addition, content analysis is a very powerful tool for analyzing cultural material obtained from observation and interviews.

Narrative Analysis

This method is normally used to analyze contents obtained from different research methods such as observations and interviews. It mainly focuses on the experiences and stories told by the respondents to answer the research questions. This study uses interviews and observations as the instruments of research. As a research, narrative analysis is appropriate to shade more light on the relationships and connections that exist between the themes that emerge from this study. This method will allow the researcher to examine how beliefs, values and morals of the respondents interact to shade more light on the concept of whistleblower incentives and protection.

This method appreciates the constant changes that occur from one respondent to the other. It will allow the researcher evaluate how the different components of an individual’s context including beliefs, values and morals interact to provides a bigger picture of an individual’s life. In addition, it will allow the researcher to a more comprehensive view of the factors that influence financial organizations not to provide whistleblowers incentives and protection. This is very critical as it will help to increase the knowledge in the field of study. Finally, it will allow the researcher to explore the social and personal aspects influences individual’s behaviors.

Discourse Analysis

This method is used to evaluate interactions between people. However, the method focuses on the social context of the interaction between the respondent and the researcher. This method will allow the researcher to look on the respondents’ day to day environment and use that information to provide insights on the present topic. This approach will reveal hidden motivation as to why certain individuals within the organization being studied behave in a certain way. It will also provide cultural and historical information about the organization concerning whistleblowers incentives and protection. It will help the researcher view the themes obtained from different perspectives.

By understanding the relationships between individuals in the finance department, the researcher will be able to get insights on the applicability of whistleblowers incentive and protection policies in the organization. Additionally, it will provide cultural and historical insights about the phenomenon being studied. Content analysis will also provide significant insights into complex models of language use and human thoughts. This is very important as this study aims to gather the beliefs and perceptions of finance department employees on the issues of whistleblowers incentives and protection. In addition, content analysis is a very powerful tool for analyzing cultural material obtained from observation and interviews (Harding, 2018).

Grounded Theory

This involves using the responses provided in the interviews to explain why certain behaviors happen. This will be done by evaluating similar cases studied in different environments. The researcher will alter the explanation until he arrives at one specific explanation that fits all cases. This method is very effective and appropriate in the preset study as it will allow the researcher determine what actually happens in the organization concerning whistleblowers incentives and protection. It will also provide extensive insight on areas of contradiction concerning the present topic (Queirós, Faria & Almeida, 2017).

In this study, the researcher will be interested in the behavior of individuals in the finance department of the elected organization. As a result, grounded theory will enable him to analyze the different perceptions in which individuals have on the present topic of study. By analyzing each case independently, the researcher will be able to obtain significant insights concerning whistleblowers incentives and protection. In addition, it will help the researcher to respond as behaviors of the participants change. Basically, it will help the researcher understand what happens in the organization.

Triangulation involves using different approaches of data analysis to enhance the validity of the findings of a study. The approach aligns different perspectives and results in a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon being studied. The research findings and conclusions for this study will be based on interviews and observations from the selected company. As a result, more than one set of data will be available for analysis in the research. Consequentlty, triangulation will be appropriate for analyzing the response provided.The first analysis will be conducted on the exiting theoretical information that is available for review. A second analysis will be conducted to deduce crucial information from the interviews and the specific case study. Therefore, this study will adopt interpretivist and critical theory methods as the most appropriate triangulation methods.

In the interpretivist approach, the researcher will interpret elements of the study. This will help the researcher integrate interests of the participants into the study. Based on this approach, access to reality is only through instruments, share meanings, consciousness and language. This approach emphasizes the use of qualitative approaches in evaluating human behaviors. The researcher will use this approach to understand and appreciate differences among the participants. By using this method, the researcher will be able to bring out the thoughts and beliefs of people on the issue of whistle blower incentives and protection (Turner, Cardinal & Burton, 2017).

In the critical theory approach, the researcher will compare the accounts of participants with well known theories. This will allow him/her to analyze the present phenomenon from different perspective. According to Gustafsson (2017), “the goals is to form a theory that rings true at the subjects’ level, while conforming with accepted sociological rules concerning how a theory should be grounded”. This theory will allow the researcher evaluate the phenomenon from some general theory of norms and values.

The two methods will effectively enable the researcher to triangulate the findings from different sources to come up with a reasonable conclusion as well as appropriate recommendations. It would be difficult for the researcher to come up with a conclusion from different sources without using these triangulation approaches. When the researcher finds convergence of data from different participants and methods then a clear conclusion can be developed based on that data. Contradicting data will show that more studies need to be conducted to determine the cause of the inconsistency (Turner, Cardinal & Burton, 2017).

Quantitative analysis is an approach that is used to interpret data that has been collected through statistics and numeric variables. Quantitative analysis helps to establish correlation and causality between various variables based statistical approaches. However, this study has used a qualitative methodology and data has been collected using interviews and observation. Statistical and computational methods of data analysis are therefore not required to interpret the data collected. Since the data has not been collected in numerical form, quantitative analysis is not appropriate for this study.

In addition, quantitative analysis focuses on narrow data set and as a result does not help the researcher to understand the beliefs and thoughts of the respondents on the phenomenon being studied (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017). Results only provide numerical descriptions which do not provide a detailed account of human perceptions. The results obtained in a quantitative analysis do not reflect the general feelings of the participants. In addition, false representation by the researcher can lead to bias that can affect the validity of the study. These drawbacks associated with the qualitative analysis makes it inappropriate for the present study (Mertens, Pugliese & Recker, 2017).

In summary, various methods of qualitative analysis will be used in this study to allow the researcher get meaningful information from the data that has been collected. The researcher will use content analysis to categorize behavioral or verbal data from interviews to find relationships and correlations. Grounded theory will be used to explain why certain behaviors exist in the finance department. Triangulation involves using different approaches of data analysis to enhance the validity of the findings of a study. This study will adopt interpretivist and critical theory methods as the most appropriate triangulation methods. Quantitative analysis will not be used in this study since the data has not been collected in numerical form.

Reliability and validity are very important in research studies, yet they are normally ignored in most qualitative studies. Evaluating the quality of this study is essential if the findings are to be used in practice and further knowledge concerning whistleblower incentives and protection. This section will provide detailed explanations of reliability and validity and strategies that the researcher will use to ensure the findings of the study are trustworthy. The use of bracketing in reducing personal bias will also be discussed in this section. Finally, a concise summary detailing the main points of the section will be provided.

Reliability refers to the concept of attaining similar results time after time. To ensure this study is reliable, the researcher needs to make sound judgments of the methods used for data collection and analysis. In this study, reliability will be assessed based on credibility, transferability and dependability of the study. The researcher will evaluate the results and compare them to the existing literature. This will help in determining whether the findings of the current study are consistent with those of previous studies focusing on the same topic (Cypress, 2017).

The researcher will measure the extent in which participants in the study provided consistent responses. Similar response from the participants indicates reliability of the research findings. The researcher will also evaluate whether participants provide consistent responses when their attitudes or experiences have changed. The researcher will also vary the question to determine whether he will get the same responses from the participants. Finally, internal consistency of the responses provided will be evaluated (Rose & Johnson, 2020).

Validity of a study indicates the trustworthiness of the events and activities associated with the phenomenon being studied. In this study, triangulation will be used to promote validity. The research will be done from multiple perspectives to achieve this. Various strategies will be used to ensure the validity of the study (Rose & Johnson, 2020). The researcher will account for bias that may have influenced the results of the study. The researcher will also engage other experienced researcher to help in reducing bias in the study. A comparison case will also be established to ensure that differences and similarities across accounts are well represented (Cypress, 2017).

Different methods of data collection and analysis will be used to ensure the researcher evaluates the phenomenon being studied from different perspectives. Validity will also be checked by respondent validation (Cypress, 2017). This will involve giving the respondents the findings of the study to establish whether they can still recognize the results. Respondents should be able to recognize the results as authentic in this stage. The researcher will also seek alternative explanations to what seems to be the findings of the study. This will involve excluding certain scenarios to determine if the findings are consistent will existing literature (Cypress, 2017).

Bracketing will also be used to address the issue of biasness in the study. Bracketing refers to a technique that is used widely in qualitative studies to mitigate the negative impacts of personal bias that could affect the validity of the study (Weatherford & Maitra, 2019). The researcher will use the concept of bracketing throughout the research process. Reflexivity will be use to help the researcher realize honest evaluation of beliefs and values of the participants. This will help the researcher to identify areas prone to bias and bracket them. Reflexivity will help the researcher develop bracketing skills and apply them throughout the research process. The researcher will use reflective diary to write the perceptions, thoughts and feelings to bring reflexivity to consciousness.

In summary, the researcher will make sound judgments of the methods used for data collection and analysis to ensure the validity of this study. Validity of a study indicates the trustworthiness of the events and activities associated with the phenomenon being studied. Various methods will be used to ensure validity in this study including triangulation, respondent validation, and alternative explanations and bracketing. Reflexivity will be used to help the researcher develop bracketing skills and apply them throughout the research process (Weatherford & Maitra, 2019). The researcher will also engage other experienced researcher to help in reducing bias in the study.

In conclusion, whistleblowers are very important within an organization to help in curbing rampant unethical practices. However, whistleblowers need to be rewarded accordingly and protected from retaliations for them to work effectively. Organizations must abuse that they are well secured for them to play their role. This study will use a quantitative approach to develop a reliable approach that can be utilized to apply incentives and protection laws in finance departments. The findings if this study will be very important in expanding the existing knowledge on the topic.

Acevedo, A. (2018). A personalistic appraisal of Maslow’s needs theory of motivation: From “humanistic” psychology to integral humanism. Journal of business ethics, 148(4), 741-763.

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.

Edmonds, W. A., & Kennedy, T. D. (2016). An applied guide to research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage Publications.

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

Banks, G. C., McCauley, K. D., Gardner, W. L., & Guler, C. E. (2016). A meta-analytic review of authentic and transformational leadership: A test for redundancy. The leadership quarterly, 27(4), 634-652.

Cox, V. (2017). Data Collection. In Translating Statistics to Make Decisions (pp. 33-46). Apress, Berkeley, CA.

Cypress, B. S. (2017). Rigor or reliability and validity in qualitative research: Perspectives, strategies, reconceptualization, and recommendations. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 36(4), 253-263.

Gaus, N. (2017). Selecting research approaches and research designs: A reflective essay. Qualitative Research Journal.

Gupta, K. P., & Chaudhary, N. S. (2017). Prioritizing the factors influencing whistleblowing intentions of teachers in higher education institutes in India. Procedia Computer Science, 122, 25-32. Gustafsson, J. (2017). Single case studies vs. multiple case studies: A comparative study.

Harding, J. (2018). Qualitative data analysis: From start to finish. SAGE Publications Limited.

Jaquays, B., & Thompson, D. (2018). MOTIVATION McClelland’s Needs Theory.

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

Lee, G., & Turner, M. J. (2017). Do government-administered financial rewards undermine firms' internal whistle-blowing systems?. Accounting Research Jo

Mertens, W., Pugliese, A., & Recker, J. (2017). Quantitative data analysis. A companion.

Queirós, A., Faria, D., & Almeida, F. (2017). Strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research methods. European Journal of Education Studies.

Ridder, H. G. (2017). The theoretical contribution of case study research designs. Business Research, 10(2), 281-305.

Rose, J., & Johnson, C. W. (2020). Contextualizing reliability and validity in qualitative research: toward more rigorous and trustworthy qualitative social science in leisure research. Journal of Leisure Research, 1-20.

Turner, S. F., Cardinal, L. B., & Burton, R. M. (2017). Research design for mixed methods: A triangulation-based framework and roadmap. Organizational Research Methods, 20(2), 243-267.

Walliman, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.

Weatherford, J., & Maitra, D. (2019). How Online Students Approach Bracketing: A Survey Research Study. Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 30(2), 91-102.

Whitlock, M. C., Bronstein, J. L., Bruna, E. M., Ellison, A. M., Fox, C. W., McPeek, M. A., ... & Ritchie, M. G. (2016). A balanced data archiving policy for long-term studies. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(2), 84-85.