Surprise! Pay Us Back

After reading the case Surprise! Pay Us Back, I can see that there is clearly an ethical issue at hand. The ethical issue that is present is whether or not I should pay back my former employer Angel Foods or not. There are several duties, rights, and interests at hand for all parties involved. It is my goal to present the most ethical form of business. I believe that it is my duty to do so after taking a Business Ethics course. My belief is that I need to communicate more with all parties in order to come to the correct decision, but in the end I believe that ethically I do not owe anyone any form of payment.

I have been a great employee to both Cromwell and Angel Foods, it is because of this that I am getting interest from various employers like Jefferson. There has not been any sort of contract between Angel Foods and myself that is binding me to paying them back for what they helped me with. Unlike with Angel Foods, I did have a contract with Cromwell that I was able to uphold with the help of Angel Foods. Angel Foods helped me do so because they wanted me to work for them, but they NEVER requested that I pay it back in any way shape or form. For the HR manager to tell me that they did not feel like they got a return on their investment of $5000 is not ethical because they never said that they had to get a return from me in terms of payment or a certain amount of time that I had to work for them. It is clear that Angel Foods has been looking out for their own interests because they only paid the $5000 in the first place to get me to work for them and now that I am leaving they are once again just looking out for their best interests by requesting I pay them back in full.

Although I do not agree with what Angel Foods is doing, I do want to resolve the issue in a fast and efficient manner so I can concentrate on beginning my career at Jefferson. In order to accomplish this I have a couple options: pay back angel foods in full, do not pay them back at all, or communicate and negotiate a deal that fits all. I want to pursue the third option because I think that ethically speaking I owe them a chance to work out some sort of deal. I know that I will not pay them back, but I do feel that I owe them some sort of explanation as to why I will not be paying them back. I also want to be a person who is respectful and by trying to communicate with them I will be showing the respect that they deserve. I will communicate my gratitude for the employment that they gave me and for the help with the payment of $5000. I will also apologize for leaving the company after only 6 months, but I will also point out that they never told me I had to pay back the $5000 to them. When looking at the "Golden Rule Principle" in terms of the duties I need to uphold, it is clear that I have. The golden rule states: "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself". I have done this in every aspect,