There are a number of key, inter-related factors that together determine how organizations and the people who work in them behave and either participate in wrong-doing or resist and report it.  They are:

• the extent to which reprisals occur for speaking up
• the strength of whistleblower protection laws
• the organizational culture - is it healthy or dysfunctional?
• attitudes/ideologies in the courts
• political culture in governmental standing committees with oversight responsibilities – is it healthy or dysfunctional?

The functioning of courts and parliamentary standing committees in whistleblowing cases is important as these are normally the mechanisms that we expect will provide checks on organizational abuses of power.