Sample Solution

One example of a company where illegal actions caused an employee to whistle blow publicly within the last five years is Wells Fargo. In 2016, it was revealed that thousands of Wells Fargo employees had opened millions of fake accounts without customers’ knowledge or consent in order to meet internal sales quotas. This unethical behavior harmed not only customers who were affected by unauthorized charges on their accounts but also honest employees who felt pressure from the banking giant’s aggressive sales targets.

Using the four points of moral justification on page 346, this whistle blowing can be considered morally justified as it exposed harmful and illegal practices which would have continued if not for public awareness and scrutiny. Specifically, whistleblowing meets all four criteria: (1) It serves a just cause; (2) There is no other feasible way to serve this cause; (3) The benefits outweigh any harms caused by disclosure; and (4) The whistleblower believes they are doing the right thing.