Perception Challenge
It was Marv Beth Clarke's twenty-secondyear
working for Millerton's Famous Fruit Company.
She started as an office clerk and worked her way up into the
middle management after years or dedicated service. Mary Beth was an avid advocate of Millerton's Famous Fruit, and not simply because she loved the fresh watermelons. Mary
Beth had some very personal reasons for being indebted To Millerion'S.
An unsavory Incident in her youth made
nearly impossible for Mary beth to find employment, and
she struggled to find work for over six months to no avail
When she went to interview with Milleron's she was upfront about her previous Criminal record, and was surprise she landed herself a meeting with the president,
who told her that he himself had made foolish choices in
his younger days and he was happy to provide her with
fresh star
Twenty-two years later Mary Beth sat staring at her
computer, thinking back on that fateful day and the second
chance she was offered
Mary Beth had taken it upon
Herself and recentlv hired kan
Weatherman. a bright young man with a black mark on his record
She had reassured him that his past would remain
confidential and helped him settle in
He quickly made
trends among his coworkers and seemed to be a good Millerton's, when
things
started
disappearing.
It began with a few unaccounted for reams
of paper, then several new ink cartridges. But last week a
significant amount of cash disappeared from the front desk
and Karl had been seen in the vicinity shortly before it was
reported
missing.
Mary Beth privately confronted Karl
about these missing items, which he vehementlv denied
takin, and she was inclined to believe him he
responded defensively,
but who wouldn't when being
accused of theft? And what Mary Beth couldn't get he
mind around was why he would jeopardize his second
Chance. Mary Beth trusted her gut and hoped it would all
blow over in a few days
To make matters worse, a recent office re-shuffle
unearthed everyone's confidential personnel files
Karl
being the company's most recent hire, was/right on top
the pile. One of the new office Clerks had accidentlv read
his information, including the information
about
his
conviction, and the gossip spread through the office like
wildfire. People who had only days ago been sitting with Karl at lunch were now coming up to Mary Beth and openly
accusing Kan of being a "bad
Seed” Mary Beth was worried.
If she staunchly defended
hiring Karl, would people begin to suspect her of being the
thief? What if her past became the subject of debate as well? But could she really let him go based circumstantial evidence and affice preiudice?