Ethical positions and frameworks in contemporary philosophy

Ethical Position

The letter is addressed to Mr. Gross, founder of the Idealab Corporation and therefore one of the chief parties involved in the scandal being discussed. The writer of the letter is obviously displeased with the way that Mr. Gross handled his previous ventures, namely Jackpot.com. As an employee, I wrote this letter to express my anger and discontent with my personal experience and to point out that I strongly disapprove of Mr. Gross's gross negligence of the rights of his employees. Three main ethical issues are discussed in this letter. First, promises that Mr. Gross and his CEO made were not kept; Gross and the CEO violated trust and took advantage of employee loyalty. Second, Mr. Gross ostensibly embezzled company funds and stole investor's monies for personal use rather than re-investing in the company. As a result, the company folded and employees like me lost everything. Third, I write this letter to express disdain and disapproval at Mr. Gross's current business venture and find it appalling that he would consider asking a former employee of Jackpot.com to come on board with the new, probably equally as unethical, business venture. In all three of these cases, an important code of ethics was violated. The letter, while largely based in emotion rather than logic and angry in tone, is an attempt to alert Mr. Gross that not all people are willing to be fooled by or approve of his unscrupulous means of doing business.

As such, the letter is also an attempt by me, the writer, to save face in light of what happened at Jackpot.com. As I stated in the letter, I had quit a job specifically to work for Jackpot.com, which I had been told would provide me with a lucrative salary and benefits package including company stock options. Leaving my job was a certain risk, but Mr. Gross and his colleagues assured me that the move would be beneficial. While I admit that it is my fault for believing Mr. Gross without having any concrete proof, I nevertheless felt that he would honor a bond of trust. Mr. Gross fundamentally violated my trust in him and in the company. The letter is so angry in tone because I feel like a fool for having fallen for the plan in the first place. Nevertheless, because my ethical code rests firmly on a foundation of trust and promises kept, not broken, I feel that Mr. Gross's business practices are unethical.

Furthermore, it infuriates me that Mr. Gross could have been embezzling company funds, most of which were from investor capital. Although I note in the letter that the South Seas island hideaway is just a rumor, I can't help but wonder where the Jackpot.com investor capital was spent. Therefore, I assume that Mr. Gross acted unethically with regards to investors' money. I would not have had to clear out my office in 24 hours without a dime of severance pay or any sort of consolation had Mr. Gross treated his employees with respect and rightfully reinvested their money back into the company. I include the rumors as part of the letter as a means to express my anger and disgust and to show that regardless of what specific measures Mr. Gross took to help the company fold, he did not act with regard to the well-being of his employees.

Finally, the crux of the letter is the new company started by Mr. Gross and the former CEO of Jackpot.com. As I state in this letter, I feel that the new venture is "another scandal," implying that it too, will operate along similar, unscrupulous lines. The emotional tone of the letter continues as I am appalled that these men would even consider asking former Jackpot.com employees to fall for a similar scheme. Partly to save face and partly to assert the fact that I am aware of their questionable integrity, I write this letter specifically to turn down the new job offer on the grounds that I feel it will be another sham.

My dilemma as a writer centers on my inability to cite specific evidence for the actions or motives of Mr. Gross. Hence, the letter is emotional in tone, its rhetoric charged with passion more than reason. In this case, the writer has no choice but to resort to an emotionally-charged piece of writing; if I had obtained clear evidence of the things I write about I might have instead hired a lawyer. As it stands, my only recourse is to try and bring my ethical position to the table and try to persuade Mr. Gross to stop pursuing such potentially malicious business ventures. Moreover, if I can somehow scare Mr. Gross into believing that I could potentially take legal action against him and the company, then I would be doing his future employees a favor. I might in fact try to spread the word about Mr. Gross and his past so that he has difficulty hiring more people for his next business venture. Therefore, the letter expresses definite concern for the future employees of Mr. Gross. Because of my experience with him in the past, I have every right to believe that his newest venture will also prove to be a scheme rather than a legitimate business.