Dr. Jeffery Wigand

Dr. Jeffery Wigand Jeffrey Wigand's contribution to business ethics is two-fold, and one in which his name has become synonymous with as a noted whistle-blower. In many ways, the biographical information regarding this personage is intrinsically related to his exposure of the ills conducted by the tobacco industry in its greedy attempts to make money and capitalize on the poor health of others.

What is interesting about this man and his work in regards to the tobacco industry is the fact that the ethical principles he embraced seem to both condemn and celebrate the general regard for business ethics held by most people. Wigand was born in the state of New York in 1942, and spent some of his formative years in the Bronx. After completing high school he enrolled in the military and was active during the Vietnam War.

His life of scholasticism would begin in earnest, however, when he obtained a degree from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. He would also go on to earn a master's degree in Secondary Education while enrolled at the University of Louisville. Initially, Wigand's professional career was centered less on education and more on working within the health care industries.

He spent some time overseas in Japan working within the technical industry, but also was positioned at several notable health care companies domestically including the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and most notably as a "top researcher" (Hwang and Geyelin) of Research and Development at the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation. Williams worked in this capacity from 1988 to 1993; he eventually left the company under less than desirable circumstances due to company policy regarding its creation of its tobacco product after which he worked as a high school teacher (Brenner).

Specifically, Wigand's departure with Brown & Williamson pertained to the company's practice of adding addictive levels of known poisons (some of which were carcinogenic) to its cigarettes. For the next several years Wigand would prove to be a principle player in a situation in which his influence on business ethics was the greatest. The former Brown & Williamson employee cooperated with federal authorities from the Food and Drug Administration in a lengthy investigation the latter had related to the "long-standing" (Levin) tobacco industry.

In terms of business ethics, then, Wigand's involvement in such an investigation (in which he was one of the chief witnesses and even involved himself in a prominent interview on national television denouncing the actions of his former employers and, by extension, the rest of the tobacco industry as well) can be interpreted as he disregarded his loyalty and ethically responsibility for the company he worked for by publicly denouncing them and using his intimate knowledge of the proceedings there to assist in the company's prosecution.

Individuals at Brown & Williamson certainly interpreted his actions in this way, as indicated by the fact that it sued him. The more widely accepted view of Wigand's actions, however, contends that the aforementioned company was engaging in unethical business, and that Wigand was compelled to cooperate with federal authorities to terminate such behavior on the part of Brown & Williamson and the tobacco industry in general. Ultimately, however, it appears as though Wigand's ethical contribution to business ethics was best denoted by the court ruling in both lawsuits he.