ERP at the Colorado department of transportation: The whistle blower's dilemma

Abstract

The case takes place in the Information Technology Office (ITO) of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) from 2001 to the present. Driven by the wishes of CDOT's executive director, and in a response to aging information systems, CDOT decided to install an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP). The case focuses on Bill Cron, an employee in the CDOT ITO, who was very concerned about not only the need for an expensive ERP, but also about the way the project was being executed. He voiced his concerns using as many channels as he could identify, but they seemed to fall on deaf ears. The decision focus of the case concerns which of three options Bill should pursue: being quiet and falling in line as directed, continuing to voice his concerns internally (internal whistle blowing), or going public and divulging his concerns in the local press (external whistle blowing).