Case 1-3 Unintended Consequences

Veronica Betterman, a fifth-year accounting major at Anywhere University, wakes up in a cold sweat. Like many accounting majors, Veronica did an internship in public accounting the previous spring resulting in a full-time job offer with Anywhere CPAs to start after she graduates this spring which she readily accepted.

Now in her fifth and final year, Veronica decided she wanted to see what other job opportunities might be out there. So, she went through her universitys career fair just two weeks before and was invited to participate in six on-campus interviews. Five of those potential employers then invited her to their offices for another round of interviews. She received full time job offers from four of the five and has yet to hear from the last. Her deadline for deciding on the first of those offers is two days away and she does not know what to do.

While everyone tells her that she should be excited, she is not. She is scared. Worried she may make the wrong decision, she seeks advice from her academic advisor. Her advisor listens to Veronicas dilemma and to Veronicas surprise the advisor tells her that she should never have gone through the career fair, done any of those recent inter- views or be contemplating anything other than starting at the firm she interned with.

The advisor stated that she has made a commitment with that company that she has to honor. To do otherwise would be a breach of ethics and is not only an indication of a lack of integrity on Veronicas part, but could cause irreparable harm to the university. He requests that Veronica meet with him again the next day after she prepares a list of all the potential consequences that could happen (to her, the internship program, the other employers, the university, other students) should she take a job with one of the other potential employers.

Veronica gets out of bed, opens up her laptop, and starts working on the list of consequences.

Questions

1. What potential consequences are there for Veronica, the internship program, the other employers, the univer- sity, and other students should Veronica not honor her commitment?

2. Analyze Veronicas actions using the Six Pillars of Character. What do Veronicas actions tell you about her character? Do you think her advisor handled the situation appropriately?

3. Assume Anywhere CPAs is in an employment-at-will state, which allow employers to fire an employee under most circumstances and this law is generally applied to employer rescinded job offers as well. Should that affect Veronicas decision to take a job with one of the other potential employers? Why or why not?

4. If Veronica decided to accept one of those other job offers, and that employer subsequently learned about her backing out of her previous commitment, how might they react?