In the modern age, whistleblowing is one of the most effective means of bringing corporate organizations to justice. It is hard to understand what is going on inside a giant organization from the outside. Modern corporations, have their own buildings, their own security systems, their own police forces (security), their own legal systems (company policy, administration and legal staff).
Corporations are hybrids, not quite businesses and not quite independent states. They are a monolithic stack of sole proprietorships and partnerships melded together. In organization they are most like municipalities. They have a certain resemblance to the city states of Ancient Greece, each city loyal to Greece but fiercely guarding its own independence and its own prerogatives.
Enforcing the law against these types of organizations is more a matter of espionage than criminal investigation. Detecting a corporation committing a crime is like trying to penetrate the security apparatus of a small foreign country.
Law enforcement can scan through newspapers and magazines, tap the rumor mill and watch the multiple civil suits filed for and against these organizations. But even then, what do they really know about an organization with thousands of members spread over three or four continents? Not much.
But take one individual inside the organization and combine that one person with just a little authority to access data and a computer work station, and you can gather more data about organizational crime in twenty minutes than independent sleuthing for weeks.
These individuals are a precious last line of defense against corporate wrong doing.
This society should welcome and protect these people. It has been said, “Let justice fall like rain.” It seems a garden hose sprinkle is more acceptable in the popular and business press. They don’t like whistleblowers, and could that be a surprise to anyone? Power and the money it brings may well be the biggest religion of the 21st century, the first truly international religion.
Against the religion of Power equals Money, the notions of law, duty and religious devotion probably appear a little quaint, more than a little obsolete.
Nevertheless, the whistleblower is important to maintaining some element of the rule of law in this country. And remember, the whistleblower is very close to the sole line of defense in discovering corporate wrong doing in other nations directed at the United States.
This article discusses how a whistleblower can use strategy to survive the inevitable fallout more successfully.
You may very well find yourself in the position of knowing what you should not and having to live with the decision of what to do. Read the article, put some knowledge on your plate, so you don’t have to start out cold when the crisis comes.
James Pilant
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 
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