Book contents
- Qualitative Studies of Silence
- Qualitative Studies of Silence
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: A Turn to Silence
- 1 Literal and Metaphorical Silences in Rhetoric: Examples from the Celebration of the 1974 Revolution in the Portuguese Parliament
- 2 Seeing Silenced Agendas in Medical Interaction: A Conversation Analytic Case Study
- 3 Listening to the Sound of Silence: Methodological Reflections on Studying the Unsaid
- 4 Social Silences: Conducting Ethnographic Research on Racism in the Americas
- 5 Intimate Silences and Inequality: Noticing the Unsaid through Triangulation
- 6 Silence in the Court: Moral Exclusion at the Intersection of Disability, Race, Sexuality, and Methodology
- 7 Silencing Self and Other through Autobiographical Narratives
- 8 Gendering the Unsaid and the Unsayable
- 9 The Language Ideology of Silence and Silencing in Public Discourse
- 10 Propaganda by Omission: The Case of Topical Silence
- 11 Silencing Whistleblowers
- 12 Between Sound and Silence: The Inaudible and the Unsayable in the History of the First World War
- 13 Affect and the Unsaid: Silences, Impasses, and Testimonies to Trauma
- 14 The Unsaid and the Unheard
- 15 Conclusion: Topographies of the Said and Unsaid
- Index
- References
11 - Silencing Whistleblowers
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 June 2019
Book contents
- Qualitative Studies of Silence
- Qualitative Studies of Silence
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: A Turn to Silence
- 1 Literal and Metaphorical Silences in Rhetoric: Examples from the Celebration of the 1974 Revolution in the Portuguese Parliament
- 2 Seeing Silenced Agendas in Medical Interaction: A Conversation Analytic Case Study
- 3 Listening to the Sound of Silence: Methodological Reflections on Studying the Unsaid
- 4 Social Silences: Conducting Ethnographic Research on Racism in the Americas
- 5 Intimate Silences and Inequality: Noticing the Unsaid through Triangulation
- 6 Silence in the Court: Moral Exclusion at the Intersection of Disability, Race, Sexuality, and Methodology
- 7 Silencing Self and Other through Autobiographical Narratives
- 8 Gendering the Unsaid and the Unsayable
- 9 The Language Ideology of Silence and Silencing in Public Discourse
- 10 Propaganda by Omission: The Case of Topical Silence
- 11 Silencing Whistleblowers
- 12 Between Sound and Silence: The Inaudible and the Unsayable in the History of the First World War
- 13 Affect and the Unsaid: Silences, Impasses, and Testimonies to Trauma
- 14 The Unsaid and the Unheard
- 15 Conclusion: Topographies of the Said and Unsaid
- Index
- References
Summary
Whistleblowers speak out about illegal or unethical actions at work. One of most striking aspects of listening to whistleblowers is how they feel silenced. As one whistleblower put it, "They wouldn't talk about it, and they wouldn't talk about not talking about it." Silence does not just mean the absence of speech. Silence means that one party to the dialogue refuses to engage the other. Whistleblowers try to talk about what the organization is doing. Their bosses will only talk about the whistleblowers and their problems. "Nuts and sluts" is the name given to this strategy by experienced whistleblowers, in which the goal of the organization is to turn the issue into one of the mental health or morality of the whistleblower. What is unsaid, what cannot be spoken, is almost always the moral and ideological corruption of the organization. Corruption means the loss of an organization's mission. Society is a conspiracy of silence against those who cross an invisible boundary that most of us will not recognize, for to do so would establish our willingness to do almost anything to belong.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Qualitative Studies of SilenceThe Unsaid as Social Action, pp. 206 - 222Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
References
Alford, C. F. (1999). Think no evil: Korean values in the age of globalization. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Alford, C. F. (2001). Whistleblowers: Broken lives and organizational power. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Alford, C. F. (2016). Whistleblower protection policy. In Schechter, S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of American governance (vol. 5, pp. 295–299). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference.Google Scholar
Bal, M. (1997). Narratology: Introduction to the theory of narrative (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Bjørkelo, B., Ryberg, W., Matthiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2008). When you talk and talk and nobody listens: A mixed method case study of whistleblowing and its consequences. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 13(2), 18–40.Google Scholar
Blanchot, M. (1995). The writing of the disaster. (A. Smock, Trans.) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Culiberg, C., & Mihelic, K. M. (2017). The evolution of whistleblower studies: A critical review and research agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 146, 787–803.Google Scholar
Douglas, M. (1966). Purity and danger: An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.Google Scholar
Dworkin, T. M., & Baucus, M. (1998). Internal vs external whistleblowers: A comparison of whistleblower processes. Journal of Business Ethics, 17, 1281–1298.Google Scholar
Foucault, M. (1979). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. (A. Sheridan, Trans.) New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. (1984). The theory of communicative action, 2 vols. (T. McCarthy, Trans.) Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Harper, J. (2013). The silence of shunning: A conversation with Kipling Williams. Psychology Today. Retrieved from www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-bullying/201309/the-silence-shunning-conversation-kipling-williamsGoogle Scholar
Hazzard, A., Celano, M., Gould, J., Lawry, S., & Webb, C. (1995). Predicting symptomatology and self-blame among child sex abuse victims. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(6), 707–714.Google Scholar
Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kish-Gephart, J. J., Detert, J., Trevino, L., & Edmondson, A. (2009). Silenced by fear: The nature, sources, and consequences of fear at work. In Staw, B. M. & Brief, A. P. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 29, pp. 163–193).Google Scholar
Langer, L. (1991). Holocaust testimonies: The ruins of memory. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Miceli, M., & Near, J. (1992). Blowing the whistle: The organizational and legal implications for companies and employees. New York: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Miethe, T. (1999). Whistleblowing at work: Tough choices in exposing fraud, waste, and abuse on the job. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Rothschild, J., & Miethe, T. (1996). Keeping organizations true to their purposes: The role of whistleblowing in organizational accountability and effectiveness. Aspen Institute.Google Scholar
Siler, K., Kirby, L., & Bero, L. (2015). Measuring the effectiveness of scientific gatekeeping. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Vol. 12, pp. 360–365). Retrieved from www.pnas.org/content/112/2/360.fullCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skivenes, M., & Trygstad, S. (2010). When whistleblowing works: The Norwegian case. Human Relations, 63(7), 1071–1097.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R. J. (1997). “The general’s conscience: Why nuclear warrior George Lee Butler changed his mind.” Washington Post Magazine, December 7. Retrieved from www.timeshighereducation.com/news/most-cited-authors … /405956.articleGoogle Scholar
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown
and may be updated in the future.
- 1
- Cited by