I Was Just Doing My Job! Evolution, Corruption, and Public Relations in Interviews with Government Whistleblowers


Abstract


This paper addresses public sector communication by exploring the role of government whistleblowers. It argues for the need to reconnect voices by creating platforms from which whistleblowers can speak without fear of retribution for the betterment of society. The paper presents 13 in-depth interviews with whistleblowers who worked for governmental entities in the United States or who worked as contractors to U.S. government entities. The goal was to understand their stories, including why they blew the whistle, how they blew the whistle, how whistleblowing affected their relationships with their employers, what role public relations executives and practitioners played in their whistleblowing experience, and how public relations executives and practitioners could interact more productively with whistleblowers. Four of the five theories explained some of the dynamics of whistleblowing: Resource dependence perspective explained the role of upper management in relying on wrongdoing; normalization of corruption theory explained attempts to conscript new employees into corrupt practices; justice theory explained the sense of betrayal felt by employees who tried to correct wrongdoing; and relationship management further explained the negative impact of retaliation on the relationships between whistleblowers and their employers. However, evolutionary theory explained all aspects of whistleblowing in terms of Darwinian natural selection.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i20356609v13i2p1042

Keywords: Evolutionary Theory; Justice Theory; Normalization of Corruption; Organization-Public Relationships; Public Relations; Relationship Management; Resource Dependence Perspective; Whistleblower; Whistle-blower; Whistleblowing

References


a. Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

b. Inspector General Act of 1978.

Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989.

Whistleblower Protection Act Amendments of 1994.

Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998.

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012.

Anand, V., B. Ashforth, and M. Joshi 2005. Business as Usual: The Acceptance and Perpetuation of Corruption in Organizations. The Academy of Management Executive, 19, 9-23.

Anand, V., B. E. Ashforth, and M. Joshi 2004. Business as Usual: The Acceptance and Perpetuation of Corruption in Organizations. Academy of Management Executive, 18, 39-53.

Ashforth, B. E.V. Anand 2003. The Normalization of Corruption in Organizations. In: Kramer, R. M. and B. M. Staw (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior: An Annual Series of Analytical Essays and Critical Reviews. Oxford, England: Elsevier.

Baltacı, A.A. Balcı 2017. Reasons for Whistleblowing: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Educational Sciences Research, 7, 37‐51.

Berger, B. K. 2005. Power over, Power with, and Power to Relations: Critical Reflections on Public Relations, the Dominant Coalition, and Activism. Journal of Public Relations Research, 17, 5-28.

Berger, B. K.B. H. Reber 2006. Gaining Influence in Public Relations: The Role of Resistance in Practice, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Brown, A. J., D. Lewis, R. E. Moberly, and W. Vandekerckhove (eds.) 2014. International Handbook on Whistleblowing Research, Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Byrne, R. W.A. Whiten 1988. Machiavellian Intelligence: Social Expertise and the Evolution of Intellect in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans, Oxford, England, Clarendon Press

Byrne, R. W.A. Whiten 1997. Machiavellian Intelligence. In: Whiten, A. and R. W. Byrne (eds.) Machiavellian Intelligence Ii: Extensions and Evaluations. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Carroll, A. B.K. M. Shabana 2010. The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Concepts, Research and Practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12, 85-105.

Cords, M. 1997. Friendships, Alliances, Reciprocity and Repair. In: Whiten, A. and R. W. Byrne (eds.) Machiavellian Intelligence Ii: Extensions and Evaluations. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Culiberg, B.K. K. Mihelič 2017. The Evolution of Whistleblowing Studies: A Critical Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 146, 787-803.

Devine, T. 1997. The Whistleblower's Survival Guide: Courage without Martyrdom, Washington, DC, Fund for Constitutional Government.

Gallicano, T. D., P. Curtin, and K. Matthews 2012. I Love What I Do, but…a Relationship Management Survey of Millennial Generation Public Relations Agency Employees. Journal of Public Relations Research, 24, 222-242.

Greenwood, C. A. 2010. Evolutionary Theory: The Missing Link for Conceptualizing Public Relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22, 456-476.

Greenwood, C. A. 2011. Killing the Messenger: A Survey of Public Relations Practitioners and Organizational Response to Whistleblowing after Sarbanes-Oxley. Doctoral dissertation.

Greenwood, C. A. 2015. Whistleblowing in the Fortune 1000: What Practitioners Told Us About Wrongdoing in Corporations in a Pilot Study. Public Relations Review, 490-500.

Greenwood, C. A. 2016. Golden Handcuffs in the Fortune 1000? An Employee-Organization Relationship Survey of Public Relations Executives and Practitioners in the Largest Companies. Communication Research Reports, 33, 269-274.

Greenwood, C. A. Forthcoming. Public Relations and Whistleblowing: Golden Handcuffs in Corporate Wrongdoing, New York, Routledge.

Grunig, J. E. 1993. Image and Substance: From Symbolic to Behavioral Relationships. Public Relations Review, 19, 121-139.

Grunig, J. E.Y.-H. Huang 2000. From Organizational Effectiveness to Relationship Indicators: Antecedents of Relationships, Public Relations Strategies, and Relationship Outcomes. In: Ledingham, J. A. and S. D.

Bruning (eds.) Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hon, L. C.J. E. Grunig 1999. Guidelines for Measuring Relationships in Public Relations. Gainesville, FL: The Institute for Public Relations.

Huang, Y.-H. 1997. Public Relations Strategies, Relational Outcomes, and Conflict Management Strategies. University of Maryland, College Park.

Kang, J.-A.B. K. Berger. The Influence of Organizational Conditions on Public Relations Practitioners' Dissent. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, August 2009 Boston.

Kang, J.-A.B. K. Berger 2010. The Influence of Organizational Conditions on Public Relations Practitioners' Dissent. Journal of Communication Management 14, 368-387.

Kang, J.-A., B. K. Berger, and H. Shin 2012. Comparative Study of American and Korean Practitioners' Dissent with Perceived Unethical Management Decisions. Public Relations Review, 38, 147-149.

Keenan, J. P. Communication Climate, Whistle-Blowing, and the First-Level Manager: A Preliminary Study. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, August 1988 Anaheim, CA.

Kim, H.-S. 2007. A Multilevel Study of Antecedents and a Mediator of Employee-Organization Relationships. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19, 167-197.

Lindlof, T. R.B. C. Taylor 2002. Qualitative Communication Research Methods, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, Inc.

Marsh, C. 2013. Social Harmony Paradigms and Natural Selection: Darwin, Kropotkin, and the Metatheory of Mutual Aid. Journal of Public Relations Research, 25, 426-441.

Marsh, C. 2017. Public Relations, Cooperaton, and Justice: From Evolutionary Biology to Ethics London, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Marsh, C. 2018. Indirect Reciprocity and Reputation Management: Interdisciplinary Findings from Evolutionary Biology and Economics. Public Relations Review, 44, 463-470.

Men, L. R. 2012. Revisiting the Continuum of Types of Organization-Public Relationships. Public Relations Journal, 6.

Merit Systems Protection Board 1981. Whistleblowing and the Federal Employee: Blowing the Whistle on Fraud, Waste, and Mismanagement—Who Does It and What Happens, Washington, DC, Government Printing Office.

Merit Systems Protection Board 1984. Blowing the Whistle in the Federal Government: A Comparative Analysis of 1980 and 1983 Survey Findings, Washington, DC, Government Printing Office.

Merit Systems Protection Board 1993. Whistleblowing in the Federal Government: An Update, Washington, DC, Government Printing Office.

Mesmer-Magnus, J. R.C. Viswesvaran 2005. Whistleblowing in Organizations: An Examination of Correlates of Whistleblowing Intentions, Actions, and Retaliation. Journal of Business Ethics, 62, 277-297.

Miceli, M. P.J. P. Near 1985. Characteristics of Organizational Climate and Perceived Wrongdoing Associated with Whistle-Blowing Decisions. Personnel Psychology, 38, 525-544.

Miceli, M. P.J. P. Near 1994. Relationships among Value Congruence, Perceived Victimization, and Retaliation against Whistle-Blowers. Journal of Management, 20, 773-794.

Miceli, M. P., J. P. Near, and T. M. Dworkin 2008. Whistle-Blowing in Organizations, New York, Routledge.

Ni, L. 2007. Refined Understanding of Perspectives on Employee-Organization Relationships. Journal of Communication Management, 11, 53-70.

Ni, L. 2009. Strategic Role of Relationship Building: Perceived Links between Employee-Organization Relationships and Globalization Strategies. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21, 100-120.

Nothhaft, H. 2016. A Framework for Strategic Communication Research: A Call for Synthesis and Consilience. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 10, 69-86.

Nothhaft, H. 2017. Disagreement About the Therapy, Not the Diagnosis: A Reply to the Rejoinders. Interational Journal of Strategic Communication, 11, 189–193.

Peters, K., L. Luck, M. Hutchinson, L. Wilkes, S. Andrew, and D. Jackson 2011. The Emotional Sequelae of Whistleblowing: Findings from a Qualitative Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20.

Pfeffer, J.G. Salancik 2003. The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press.

Rehg, M. T., M. P. Miceli, J. P. Near, and J. R. Van Scotter. Predicting Retaliation against Whistle-Blowers: Outcomes of Power Relationships within Organizations. Academy of Management, August 2004 New Orleans, LA.

Rehg, M. T., M. P. Miceli, J. P. Near, and J. R. Van Scotter 2008. Antecedents and Outcomes of Retaliation against Whistleblowers: Gender Differences and Power Relationships. Organization Science, 19, 221-240.

Saldana, J. 2009. The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers, Sage.

Scott-Phillips, T. C., T. E. Dickins, and S. A. West 2011. Evolutionary Theory and the Ultimate Proximate Distinction in the Human Behavioral Sciences. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 38–47.

Seiffert-Brockmann, J. 2018. Evolutionary Psychology: A Framework for Strategic Communication Research. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 12, 417-432.

Seiffert-Brockmann, J.K. Thummes 2017. Self-Deception in Public Relations. A Psychological and Sociological Approach to the Challenge of Conflicting Expectations. Public Relations Review, 43, 133.

Trivers, R. 1971. The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism. Quarterly Review of Biology, 46, 35-57.

Whiten, A.R. W. Byrne 1997. Machiavellian Intelligence Ii: Extensions and Evaluations, Cambridge, England, Cambridge University Press.

Yang, S.-U. 2007. An Integrated Model for Organization-Public Relational Outcomes, Organizational Reputation, and Their Antecedents. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19, 91-121.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.