Time Magazine named three women who were “whistle-blowers” -- at Enron, WorldCom and the FBI -- as its Persons of the Year. The women were praised for being ordinary people who did extraordinary things -- in this case, alerting the public to significant problems at their prospective organizations.
Sherron Watkins, a vice president at Enron Corp, and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom Inc., revealed massive accounting frauds at their companies, which both went bankrupt.
Coleen Rowley, an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, wrote a 13-page memo to FBI Director Robert Muller detailing how supervisors at an FBI field office refused to investigate one of the September 11 hijackers weeks before the terrorist attacks occurred.
Sherron Watkins, a vice president at Enron Corp, and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom Inc., revealed massive accounting frauds at their companies, which both went bankrupt.
Coleen Rowley, an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, wrote a 13-page memo to FBI Director Robert Muller detailing how supervisors at an FBI field office refused to investigate one of the September 11 hijackers weeks before the terrorist attacks occurred.
- KC's View:
- This is worth mentioning because it suggests that a culture of whistle blowing could emerge in the US. This won’t be an issue to companies and organizations that behave correctly or admirably; but to those cutting corners and not doing things the right way, such a cultural shift could cause problems. And those problems could have further repercussions.
