$2,500

Abstract

This case present the dilemma of an employee who, having been terminated in a manner he deems unfair, has to decide whether to cash or return a $2,500 check.

Excerpt

UVA-E-0251

Rev. May 30, 2019

$ 2,500

Sorting through the day's mail—various catalogs, bills, and Christmas cards—I came across the letter I was expecting from American Express. It contained a $ 2,500 check made out to me. Now I was faced with a dilemma I was dreading: Should I cash the check or not?

Severance

Up until several weeks ago, I was part of the Asian Equity Sales Group at Global Investment Banking. One morning, the managing director asked us to meet in the bank's main auditorium. We had heard rumors that the bank was going to close its Asian Investment Banking division, and the managing director's request indicated that there might be truth to the rumors. Soon after we filed into the auditorium and took our seats, members of the human resources staff handed out severance packages in manila envelopes. Standing at the podium, the managing director announced that the bank was heading in a different direction and, as a result, was drastically reducing its Asian exposure. Sitting there, I thought back to a year ago, when the same managing director had stood at the same podium and told us how excited the bank was to be expanding its presence in Asia.

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Keywords: ethical issues, termination, severance package