Kelly Jenkins has been with First Union National Bank of North Carolina for six years. When Kelly started working at First Union National, she was in high school and worked as a drive-in teller during the summer months. Kelly joined First Union National for a number of reasons. First, she was offered a job. More important, the bank would pay for her college courses—as long as she worked at least twenty hours per week. Working her way through college, she has made many friends with both employees and customers. In fact, many of her customers know her so well, they ask for her when they bank at First Union National. Kelly has taken every opportunity for training that the bank has offered. Whenever a new process was implemented or a new technology was installed at the bank, Kelly was one of the first to sign up for training classes. Additionally, she has carried fifteen credit hours each semester to ensure that she would achieve her goal of graduating with a degree in economics in four years. Kelly has so impressed the bank officials that she has been offered the opportunity to enter into the bank’s branch management program. Surprisingly, shortly after graduating from college, she has accepted a similar position with a competing bank at a comparable salary. In retrospect, this was the bank Kelly wanted to work for all along, but it didn’t offer college tuition reimbursement. Now in her new position, Kelly has inadvertently let her boss know that she has material she collected while an employee at First Union National. He has let her know that he is interested in seeing it. The information concerns the direction in which First Union National is moving over the next five years. In fact, one piece of data in the information packet Kelly has provided indicated that First Union National is establishing plans to offer several unique and innovative electronic banking services. Hearing this, top management at Kelly’s bank has decided to forge ahead immediately with services similar to those First Union National is planning to offer. Kelly’s bank simply does not want to lose its competitive position.

Write a paper that explains your thoughts and ideas on each of the following questions:

1. Do you believe it is unethical for Kelly to join first union national bank solely because the bank will pay for her education? Support your position.

2. In the case, Kelly inadvertently lets her new employer know she has information about some first union national plans. is it ethical for this employer to request that information and use it in an attempt to beat first union national to the market with new electronic banking services? Why or why not?

3. Would your response to the above question change if you knew that Kelly was hired because she was known to have been privy to such information and this was a way to obtain it? Explain. If this is the case, would Kelly be acting ethically in providing the requested information?