The literal meaning of 'whistleblowing' refers to the
act of raising the alarm, to alert others about a dangerous
situation. In a corporate context, it refers to the act of
reporting urgent concerns to persons within an organisation who can
act upon them. Therefore, it is imperative that whistleblowing
reports be channelled to the right person, who is normally someone
with the authority to intervene appropriately and decide how to
escalate or resolve the reported issue. The concerns raised by a
whistleblower would be those which, due to sensitivity, magnitude
or urgency, cannot be reported through the ordinary channels, and
which risk backlash upon the person reporting them. Such concerns
include fraud, abuse, harassment, undisclosed conflict of interest,
corruption and related matters.
