Individuals are not only members of their organization; they also belong to internal social groups that affect behavior and influence decision-making.
In a new study, scientists from Carnegie Mellon University focused on these intraorganizational dynamics and theorized two ways group affiliations are likely to affect whistleblowing. They found that group cohesion decreased people’s propensity to report wrongdoers within the group but raised their tendency to report wrongdoers outside the group.
Scientists used information from the 2010 Merit Principles Survey, which asked federal employees in two dozen U.S. departments and agencies about actual and hypothetical wrongdoing. The study’s sample included almost 3,000 federal workers who knew of wrongdoing by another government worker who either reported it or didn’t. The researchers also conducted a vignette experiment using a separate sample of nearly 300 online respondents in the United States.
Due to the potential whistleblower’s increased loyalty to group members and desire to uphold the group’s reputation, the study discovered that when a wrongdoer was associated with a potential whistleblower’s group, more group cohesion decreased the likelihood of blowing the whistle. Higher group cohesion enhanced the likelihood of blowing the whistle when a wrongdoer was not associated with a potential whistleblower’s group because potential whistleblowers felt they had the backing of fellow group members, lowering their worries of...
The lawsuit alleges the CCRB’s online database, 50-a.org, unfairly harms officers by listing serious accusations including sexual misconduct, racial profiling and making false official statements ...