Unless internal codes are drafted and punitive actions are taken against the culprits exposed by whistle-blowers, unethical and illegal activities will be difficult to curb. "I am incredibly nervous that we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals" reads the back cover of a book co-authored by Sherron Watkins and published in 2003. Does it ring any bell? If you guessed Enron, you are bang on target. This was part of Enron's vice-president, corporate development, Sherron Watkins' internal memo in 2001 to Kenneth Lay, CEO of Enron. This act of whistle-blowing, however, came too late. The words proved prophetic when the firm collapsed in 2001, after its accounting hoax was revealed. Watkins' book, co-authored with Mimi Swartz, was titled Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a whistle-blower as "a person who tells someone in authority about something illegal that is happening." Ralph Nader was credited with popularizing the term way back in early 1970s, by using it in the title of his book, Whistleblowing: The Report of the Conference on Professional Responsibility.¹ Codes of conduct and rules are frequently violated by businesses in spirit, if not in letter. It is only when clear violations take place that organizational and individual value systems come into play. In fulfilling orders from above in the corporate hierarchy, most staff members execute their tasks unquestionably, even when they seem fishy. Very few volunteer to point out legal transgressions. Whistle-blowing occurs when an employee feels very strongly that people higher up the hierarchy are unaware of the wrong practices being perpetrated or that the illegal activity is on too large a scale.

Whistle-blowing : The Crying Need of the Hour, Whistle-blowing, Crying Need Hour, illegal activities, difficult curb, whistle-blowers, organizational individual value, incredibly nervous.