Former Employee Alleges TransCanada Unsafe Practices - Essay Sample

Introduction

The former TransCanada employee filed a complaint with the Canadian Government against his employer, alleging noncompliance. Before going public about it, he tried resolving the issue internally by relaying his concerns to various superiors in the company. He stated that the company ignored the legal regulation and codes by carrying out activities that had significant public safety risks. Vokes alleged substandard safety practices, citing the management pressure to withdraw welding code damage on a natural gas line. He also alleged the use of substandard materials that transported heavy molasses oil to the US. Morally, Vokes was right as the utilitarianism rule justifies that whistleblowing maximizes the human benefits and reduces the harm. Kant's theory directs people to act harmoniously with the universally accepted rules (Hill, 2013). This paper focuses on discussing the morality of the whistleblowing act.

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Kant's Moral Theory

Kant's moral theory is based on the perception that the best thing in action is goodwill. It also suggests that an action is right when it is a maxim. Ethics, in theory, are based on the notion of the categorical imperative, which claims that individuals should act per the rules that are beneficial to others (Hill, 2013). The duty ethics are also based on the categorical imperative, which Kant intended to be the basis of all the other rules. According to Kant's theory, the rightness and the wrongness of actions depend on whether people fulfill their duties. The theory also suggests that it is the intention behind an action that makes it right other than the consequences.

Additionally, Kant's moral theory emphasizes that duty is essential as it is the only reason for doing the right thing. Therefore when people do something because they know it is their duty, then they act morally. Kant also derived that the moral activities are those that the practical motive wills as the universal law (Hill, 2013). He stresses on the exceptional value of human life to deserve people's moral respect. When people act to protect the safety of other individuals, then they have acted morally.

Ways, the Kantian's Duty, Apply to the Case

In Kantian's duty, whistleblowing is viewed as an act of goodwill from a duty. The duty requires individuals to act in a way that protects the public. Therefore Voke's act of whistleblowing is in accordance with the duty as he intended to protect the safety of people from the company's noncompliance (Bellaby, 2018). Voke's act fits in the imperative of the duty to do the right thing. He reports practices that could cause harm to the public. The sole motive of his action is to report the noncompliance issues with no self-interests.

Moreover, according to Vokes, he became a whistleblower because the professional engineers have to protect society. His action also aims at protecting human dignity. Kant formulates human dignity as a status that puts the lives of people above everything (Bellaby, 2018). His action also passes the categorical imperative test as, despite the pressures that exist in the company to not report wrongdoing, he withstands the pressure as it is the moral thing to do. Kant also emphasizes autonomy, where he suggests that individuals dictate the moral law to themselves. Voke takes up the initiative to become a whistleblower of the noncompliance issues in the company.

The Rule of Utilitarianism

The rule utilitarianism suggests that an action is moral when it follows a rule that results in more positive consequences than the bad ones. Therefore, the rules are moral when they produce more good consequences. Following the rules that may lead to the good has better results than allowing acting on individual instances. It emphasizes on the consequences or the ultimate objective of an action rather than the whistle blower's motivation (Hooker, 2017). It is, however, universal as it appears in all the actions of the individual. It is also rational as it is not based on any foundation.

Applying Voke's action to rule utilitarianism, preventing the defective engineering that could lead to catastrophic failure, was morally right. His action was meant for the good consequences of the majority of people. The rule utilitarianism and Kant's ethics differ as Kant's theory is based on the intention of an action (Hooker, 2017). The rule utilitarianism, on the other hand, considers the consequences of the specific rules in morality.

Conclusion

Both the Kantian ethics and the rule utilitarian are useful tools when assessing whether an action is morally right. Kant's theory suggests that an action is ethical based on intention. The rule utilitarian, however, makes a decision on morality based on the consequences of specific rules. Vokes' action of whistleblowing was ethically right following the Kantian ethics because of his maxim that professional engineers have to care for humanity. His choice to communicate with the management before announcing in public is also under the categorical imperative. According to the utilitarian rule, the action was morally right as it led to a positive consequence. Therefore, Evan Voke's whistleblowing was ethically right under the Kantian and the rule of Utilitarian ethics.

References

Bellaby, R. W. (2018). The ethics of whistleblowing: Creating a new limit on intelligence activity. Journal of International Political Theory, 14(1), 60-84. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1755088217712069

Hill, Jr, T. E. (2013). Kantianism. The Blackwell guide to ethical theory, 311-331. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/b.9780631201199.1999.00016.x

Hooker, B. (2017). Feldman, rule-consequentialism, and desert. In The Good, the Right, Life, and Death (pp. 103-113). Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315239323/chapters/10.4324/9781315239323-6