In 2007, four members of the RCMP went public with charges of fraud, misrepresentation, corruption, and nepotism against the leadership of the RCMP. The most senior member of the group was Fraser Macauley, a career Mountie who had worked his way up through the ranks to become a senior human resource officer. He said he had tried to alert his bosses to problems at the RCMP, but that he was lied to, shunned, and eventually pushed out of his job for his whistle-blowing activity. While it is very unusual to see Mounties talking publicly about fraud, nepotism, and other criminal allegations, the four Mounties testified that a senior group of managers at the RCMP had breached the organization’s core values and the criminal code. Macauley recognizes that the RCMP is taking a hit in its reputation, but he came forward because he felt that doing so would eventually make the organization a better place. Many Canadians are wondering how something like this could happen in our national police force. Macauley says that a small group of top managers used the RCMP pension fund to hire people who were related to senior members of the force and who were not even doing pension fund work. The four Mounties who testified said that when they reported this unacceptable activity to senior management, they were stonewalled and punished. When the allegations first emerged, an internal investigation was launched by the RCMP, but then cancelled by Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli. The Ottawa city police then conducted its own investigation, but no formal charges were laid. The Auditor General eventually confirmed much of what Macauley was saying, but by that time he had been transferred to the Department of National Defence (DND). Macauley says the DND was known as the “penalty box.” He is certain that he was transferred because he had been looking into pension fund irregularities. He also received a reduced performance bonus from his boss, Assistant Commissioner Barbara George. He was told that happened because he did not support the commissioner. During his last conversation with Commissioner Zaccardelli, Macauley was told “it was time to go.” This was an emotional conversation and Macauley felt terrible. He told Zaccardelli that he (Macauley) had never lied to the commissioner before, so why did Zaccardelli think he would start now? Zaccardelli called the accusations Macauley was making “baseless” and said that the pension fund was not at risk. Macauley points out that he never said that the pension fund was at risk, but that funds were being used in an unacceptable manner and relatives of top managers were being paid for work that was not pension fund related. Macauley says that now it’s about accountability for decisions that top managers made. After the public investigation, Macauley was reinstated in his former job. His boss, Barbara George, was suspended from her job for allegedly misleading the parliamentary committee that was looking into the allegations. Commissioner Zaccardelli is no longer with the RCMP.
1. List and briefly describe the bases of power which are available in organizations. Which bases were being used by the top managers at the RCMP?
2. Why were individuals like Macauley dependent on people like Barbara George and Commissioner Zaccardelli?
3. What is political behaviour? To what extent was it evident at the RCMP?
4. Consider the “Magnificent Seven” ethical principles listed in Chapter 3 of the text. Which of these do you think were violated by the top managers at the RCMP? Explain your reasoning.
5. How do power and politics influence whistle-blowing and the consequences whistle-blowers face?