ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the early literature on whistleblowing that gives us the same answer but also points at a dilemma in disclosing information: the public has a right to know but organizations require loyalty and secrecy. Researching good reasons' to protect whistleblowers cannot be carried out without putting it into the context of globalization. Today, business, non-profit organizations as well as government agencies are expected to explicitly address their relation with the societies they operate in. They need to be clear on their Organizational Social Responsibility, whether they are corporations or charities. Thus, the methodology of this research is able to screen a social phenomenon within its proper context, and to evaluate that screening without getting stuck in ethical relativism. The ethical problem in whistleblowing is that whistleblowers get retaliated against by the organization, even when blowing the whistle was the justified thing done.
