Some view whistleblowing — informing on illegal or unethical practices in the workplace — as being undesirable. However, if whistleblowing is incorporated as a natural part of the internal corporate communications system it can be transformed into an extremely valuable aid. Provides examples...

Corporate governance has emerged from obscurity into being a mainstream topic about which there is a need to know, as well as being incorporated into industrial and commercial training courses. There has been a plethora of reports starting in the USA and spreading to the UK, which has then...

Whistleblowing – the unauthorized disclosure of illegal or unethical conduct within an organization – has an ancient lineage, although the first known use of the term rather than the concept was in 1963. Far from being subversion, it is a vital, almost indispensable control device. This is...

Corporate governance has emerged from obscurity into being a mainstream topic which there is a need to know, as well as being incorporated into industrial and commercial training courses. There has been a plethora of reports starting in the USA and spreading to the UK, whose influence, example...

Participant observation, in which research is carried out through the direct participation of the researcher in the situation of interest, is a method of considerable interest to managerial psychologists, and others such as staff officers and other employees who carry out a similar role....

Computer hacking is discussed sequentially with respect to: social and business ethics, fraud legislation, computer misuse legislation and computer controls. Enacting computer‐specific statutes is the approach that is increasingly popular – UK, US and Canadian responses are described. But...

Discusses the BCCI scandal, with particular reference to the part played by auditors Price Waterhouse. Declares the IIA Position Paper on Whistleblowing to be inadequate and urges reform of corporate governance: the selection and training of non‐executive directors must be improved and their...

Practising internal and external auditors regularly find that crucial concepts governing how they operate are the twin terms of independence and objectivity. Part of the problem is that the two terms are often equated. The impact can be conflict with the auditee, misunderstanding with other...

All managers and directors are faced with real, or imagined, conflicts of interest or competing demands for time and resources, between shareholders and stakeholders. This has always been the case, but the contemporary emphasis on stakeholders has brought this to a head. Although the more astute...

A series of case studies of whistle‐blowers suggests that most suffer harm of one sort or another, however justified their cause. Research on whistle blowing shows that the average whistle‐blower in all other respects could be regarded as a model employee, and it is therefore a pity for the...