A troubling result of the 2013 National Business Ethics Survey is:

• A. Increased witnessing of misconduct in the workplace
• B. Decline in pressure to compromise ethics
• C. Percentage of employees retaliated against for whistle-blowing is a problem
• D. Lessening of observed misconduct

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that protecting whistle-blowers is essential for an effective ethics program. When a substantial share of employees who report misconduct face retaliation, a chilling effect ensues: people become afraid to raise concerns, misconduct goes unchecked, and the organization’s governance and internal controls weaken. The 2013 National Business Ethics Survey highlighted that retaliation against those who speak up remains a troubling, persistent problem, because it directly undermines reporting, accountability, and trust in ethical processes. Other possibilities describe shifts that would imply more misconduct being seen or improvements in the ethical environment, which are less alarming than retaliation since they don’t directly deter reporting or erode the reporting mechanism.