Business Law

Resolving Ethical Business Challenges Chapter One 1. What are the potential ethical issues faced by Acme Corporation? Acme is essentially bribing buyers to purchase their products. This could backfire on them if the buyers company gets wind of it. The reaction of the company may be to fire their buyer and cut off Acme all together. This of course could be potentially fatal for Acme in two ways, one by damaging their infrastructure though lost revenue and two by damaging their corporate reputation. 2.

What should Acme do if there is a desire to make ethics a part of its core organizational values? Acme needs to developed a new strong internal business ethic code of conduct and see to it the its present corporate culture is abolished. This may require a turnover of its present staff, but at the very least they need an agreement of all current and future employees to abide by new ethical conduct codes as outline 3. Identify the ethical issues of which Frank needs to be aware. There are several ethical issues that Frank needs to by aware off, the first is his own personal integrity.

Frank needs to understand that ultimately his reputation is as much at risk as Acme’s. While Frank is acting as an agent for Acme, he is also always acting as an agent for himself. Frank’s participation in Acme’s bribery could come back to him in the form of a reputation in his industry, which could impede his future employability. Frank also needs to be aware that he is setting a precedent in the way he sells. This could be a future problem for Frank in that he will not develop he necessary skills he needs for ethical sales, which will mean that he will most likely have to revert to a “bribery technique” to get the job done, thus stunting his future potential. 4. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each decision that Frank could make. Frank could have chosen not feed into the bribery offer of Otis. This may have resulted in Otis placing sales anyway. Frank could have confronted Otis directly, but softly stating that he knows Otis would never suggest something as blatant as bribery in exchange for orders.

Going on to build up Otis and praise him for being above reproach when it came to business and certainly living up to the great reputation that Frank had heard he had. The advantages choices would be that Frank and Acme would maintain a correct ethical position in business. The only disadvantage may be a short-term loss of a sale. Chapter Three 1. What are Joseph’s ethical problems? Joseph has to decide whether to enforce a no kickback rule that his company has in place. If he decides to enforce it, it may cost him his job. Should he look the other ay and not enforce it he may most likely gain in at least the short term. 2. Assume that you are Joseph and discuss your options. My first option is simply to do nothing. This method of operation predates my employment. I may choose to do something later but only after I have a stronger foot hold in the company. My personal and professional life is too precarious to risk any boat rocking currently.

My second option is to have a hypothetical conversation with Kathryn asking her what she would expect if one of her up and coming sales managers were to discover their sales persons aying kick backs. In this way, I will find out in advance what her reaction is likely to be. This would give me more information by which to formulate my options more clearly. 3. What other information do you feel you need before making your decision? As I discussed previously, I would want to know what is more likely to be the expectation of management for their sales managers. 4. Discuss in which business areas the ethical problems lie. The areas of business affected by paying kickbacks are its internal corporate ulture, its customer relations, its industries fair trade, and finally its own product cost. The company will develop an internal acceptance to bribing customers; this will lead to a degrading of its honest potential. Costumers will come to believe that the company is dishonest and may determine at some future point that business with them is too risky. If the industry, which the company participates in, has governing rules then this company could be risking its future ability to participate. Kickbacks ultimately add to the cost of a product.

Jane Roe a resident of Dallas in Texas fell pregnant and decided to have an abortion.  The Texas laws however had outlawed abortions except in cases where the life of the mother was in danger. Roe however sued the district attorney of Dallas country Henry Wade in order to be allowed to proceed with the operation.

Roe’s wanted to terminate her pregnancy because she was too poor to raise the child and did not have money to cross over to countries where abortion was legal.  The issue of determination before the court was how constitutional the Texas laws were in as far as prohibiting and outlawing abortion was concerned.  The court ruled the case in favor of Roe arguing that the statute violated a woman’s right to privacy and the rights were interpreted broadly even to cover a woman’s choice to undergo abortion. (Wardle, 1980)  The court in reaching this decision put into consideration the provisions of the constitution, which is the supreme law of the land.  The statutes contravened the rights of a woman to privacy as provided for in the constitution and thus had to be declared null and void. Roe Vs Wade is now a landmark decision and is widely used in courts in regards to abortion.  The relevance of this case to business is that although it permits abortion, it has however set conditions as to who qualifies to procure an abortion.  This is so because before the deciding of this case even unqualified medical practitioners would procure abortion, putting the life of the women at risk in order to get money.  This cause has however put regulations to prevent exploitation of women by unqualified medical practitioners.

Legally speaking real property is land and its attachments. Buildings, machinery together with the benefits arising from the land such as profits and interests therein are also part of the land.  Dolan Vs City of Tigard was a Supreme Court case where Dolan the claimant had applied for permit to expand her store.  The permit was granted by the commission of city planning on condition that Dolan would donate part of her land for public use. She however appealed this decision and the court held that there was no relationship between the permit and the state interest and was thus unconstitutional to ask Dolan to donate part of her land for public use.  The business relevance of this case is the fact that it has prevented organizations from exploiting individuals where there is no relationship between a person’s rights to property and discretionary benefits.

Intellectual property refers to works of arts and the rights therein.   Intellectual is derived from the word intellect, an idea or a creation of a person’s mind.  Examples of intellectual property include trademarks, symbols, copyrights, names, designs and patents.  In Blizzard Vs BNETD, the auction for determination was whether three different software programmers who had created a similar game server were in violations of the copyright laws.  It was held that the companies had acted contrary to the intellectual properties law and specifically the copyrights law. (Gordon, 2005)  This case is relevant to business in that it ensures that the author of an invention enjoys sole possession of that invention.  It thus prevents people from stealing other people’s ideas for their benefit.

Just like with people every business has its own bill of rights. The bill of rights of a business ensures that fundamental rights of a business are not in violated. It ensures that businesses are provided with conducive environment in order to thrive and make profits as is their goal. I n a certain decided case a business had been taken to court over tax allegations. The Supreme Court held that a business had a right against harmful lawsuits that could prevent the business from growing. (Robert, 1977)

Administrative agencies are in most cases creation of the constitution or the government and their purpose is to address social crisis or expertise matters that are beyond the lawmakers.  Their major role is to oversee the activities of expertise areas.  In Londoner Vs City and country of Denver the petitioner was given a notice of assessment but was never given a deadline for hearing.  He therefore sued the council for not giving him an opportunity to be heard.  The Supreme Court held that the rights of an individual as provided in the constitution are paramount and thus administrative agencies must pay attention to that fact.  The relevance is clear in that it prevents the agencies from imposing rules that interfere with individual rights.

Business torts include deliberate disturbance to prevent implementation of a contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unhealthy competition that interfere with potential business advantage.  In Zagami Inc Vs James Crove Inc the plaintiff brought an action against the defendant for compensation of missing equipment.  The defendant however refused claims of ever receiving the equipment.  The court however decided the suit in favor of the plaintiff interpreting that fraud is a business tort that defendant was guilty of.  This is relevant in business as it helps to stop scrupulous businessmen0 from engaging in malpractices.

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that has a legal binding between the parties.  The legal agreement gives parties in the contract rights and duties in the contract.  In every contract all parties must have the intention to be legally bound.  In Balfour Vs Balfour, a promise by a husband to his wife of a certain amount of money while they were living apart because the husband was working in another country did not amount to a contract.  This is because parties did not intend to be legally bound because of the domestic context.  Contracts are important in business as they ensure every person performs their portion of obligation accordingly.

The following are the answers to the follow up questions of the case topics already discussed.

The classical landmark case of Roe Vs Wade has its origin in the state of Texas. Roe who was the plaintiff instituted the case in 1970. The final verdict abolishing abortion laws was given in 1973.  Therefore this case had been in litigation for three years.  Jurisdiction is the power, authority and extent imposed on a body or person to exercise particular powers.  In this case it is clear that the jurisdiction of abortion statutes was limited up to the limit of their inconsistency with the constitution.  They could not be interpreted beyond their contrast with the constitution.  In real property ownership although the owner has exclusive rights to that property, sometimes the rights are limited.  This is mainly done through police powers where the government acquires private property for public use.  For instance the government can acquire a person’s land for the construction of the road.  However the government usually compensates such individuals.  In eminent domain the government imposes conditions that the will allows the public to continue using a certain feature for instance road for their benefit. The principle here is that public interests override person’s interest.  Easements can be created in various ways.  They include necessity, prescription which is the continued use of a land over a long time.  They can also be created expressly in a similar manner with any interest in land.  Easements run with the land.  Servitudes are created by conveyance during transfer.  To protect servitude the owner should give it equal treatment as a contract.  An easement on the other hand is protected giving it an equal status as interests in land so that they are not easily lost by abandonment or otherwise.  Servitudes are very important as they determine the use and value of a piece of land by their very contractual nature.  Easements are considered important due to their effect on the servient tenement.  They actually determine value of the servient tenement.

In intellectual property a patent is the property right in any invention.  This property is conferred upon the owner or inventor by the patent and Trademarks office.  A trademark on the other hand is a symbol, a name or word that is used on trade goods to distinguish them from goods of a similar kind but from a different source.  A copyright is some form of protection on works of arts granted to original authors.  This protection therefore prevents any other person other than the original owner from reproducing that work in any manner.  The title to real property is considered permanent since even after the death of the owner the title can pass to the beneficiaries however in intellectual property it is limited to the lifetime of the original author since it can’t be passed to the beneficiaries.  The major difference between business speech and political speech is that business speech is majorly marketing ones products and services while political speech involves marketing oneself. From the case examined previously business rights had been violated by as the business would have been adversely affected in terms profitability. Administrative agencies are majorly created to oversee expertise matters beyond the scope and knowledge of lawmakers. They have limited law making powers. They are also charged with the responsibility of arbitrating minor disputes. (Gilboy 1994) The administrative agencies report either to the president or specific officials. The legislative and judicial branches play a major role in enforcement of administrative agencies sine the agencies have to report or sometimes refer some matters to them.

The major torts involved in business are majorly fraud and misrepresentation or failure to fulfill ones obligations in a contract. (Michael 1996) Warranties are common in sale transactions where the seller gives an undertaking that the products or services offered are of standard quality. There are three main types of warranties namely express, implied and lifetime warranties. Warranties are applied in such a manner that when a given period lapses the warranty ceases to be in effect. Liability is imposed to ensure that businessmen especially take responsibility of their actions. Warnings by companies on packets of their products is not enough to protect them from liability as a duty is imposed on them by law requiring to provide the public only that which is harmless.

In the contract case examined above Balfour vs. Balfour the element in dispute was the intention to be legally bound. This conflict has been avoided by establishing the intentions of the parties. Other elements that could have made the contract illegal include lack of consideration, threats and duress and lack of capacity to enter the contract. Remedies available to an aggrieved party in this case the plaintiff include damages, injunctions and specific performance. The following contracts must be in writing to be legally enforceable. A contract for the sale of land, a bill of exchange and a promissory note. (Macdonald, 2007)

Social Media plays a vital role in all aspects of businesses nowadays. It has helped in turning communications into interactive dialogues among organizations, communities and individuals which has led to a much proper propagation of information. It may include web based or mobile based technologies and the existence in multiple forms has made it all the more tempting and has become a necessity today in the business world.

The four characteristics of a legally astute manager, include an acceptance of how important the law is to the success of the organization, a proactive attitude toward legal issues and regulations the ability to use informed judgment when faced with decisions involving legal implications, and having the knowledge of specific laws, regulations, tools and resources. A social media marketing manager must be specific in these qualifications due to the fairly new concept of social media when comparing it to other avenues of marketing like television, print and radio (Franklin, B. ). Most company’s main goal is to keep its costs low.

Companies do so by creating their own logistics and distribution of their products. They have managed to reduce costs by demanding high productivity from their employees, but wages paid do not meet the demand. They have also pushed many of their suppliers to outsource their products so they can produce more at a lower cost. Wal-Mart as an example attempts to conduct business practices by the law, but over the years have been subjected to over 5,000 lawsuits ranging from discrimination to unfair labor practices, which means that members of the corporation may not be following the laws as stated.

There are also problems with suburban sprawl and lost jobs from outsourcing. List and analyze methods of alternative dispute resolution and determine which would be most effective in resolving genuine disputes that arise with consumers who may make purchases from businesses that provide links via social media. Resolving a dispute should always be thought out before any approach is attempted. The effect could sometime be more damaging than the initial problem. One should always consider the “what ifs” and the “if this, then what.”

I personally have always been the type to give thought before reacting. Always begin to solve a dispute through negotiation. The dispute being between two people in a group, the first step will be: negotiate before the issue has to come up again. If the dispute is still unresolved then we will move to the next step. The second approach will combine negotiation and mediation. Always pick a team leader and rely on the team leader to be the mediator for the dispute between the two team members, so that they can negotiate their dispute.

If the team leader is one with the dispute, then we will rely on the next appointed leader to mediate the situation. If there is no progress with the dispute, always follow-up try to resolve it through mediation or arbitration. This step dictates that: The leader of the group will take the dispute to the appropriate leader; there the leader will take the proper course of action needed for this dispute to be resolved. If the dispute is manageable, the leader will be able to mediate and will not need to take forceful action. Mediation is also an informal alternative to litigation.

Mediators are individuals trained in negotiations, who bring opposing parties together and attempt to work out a settlement or agreement that both parties accept or reject. Mediation is used for a wide gamut of case-types ranging from juvenile felonies to federal government negotiations with Native American Indian tribes. Mediation has also become a significant method for resolving disputes between investors and their stock brokers. Since consumer transactions on social media can occur across state lines, determine how the federal government can best control these transactions.

It has often been seen that social networking sites such as Facebook, MMS, Twitter, and etc. become a media in spreading propaganda through video clippings and messages of incidents with communal overtones – instigating hatred among various communities leading to flaring up of the communal situation. In the present legal framework, control of such social networking sites is required to be done by central government. We are extremely lucky to live in a country where we have the freedom of speech.

I can’t even begin to fathom the thought of the government being able to control our right of free speech. The government definitely does not have the right to control social media; social media is a way to freely express your thoughts, opinions and ideas. One of the primary issues with how the state seeks to control social media, or technologies overall, is that they are coming at it in the wrong direction. It seems that existing policies are simply being updated to be made to apply to social networking, when in fact what is needed is a complete overhaul of the system when it comes to concepts such as copyright and privacy.

The fact is that these concepts will never be the same again. It is almost difficult to imagine that these concepts will exist at all in the future, as social technology has turned everything on its head. We’re seeing this come into fruition in the music industry right now, which is in a complete mess because old copyright laws that came into existence in the 1700’s are largely still expected to apply today. The issue of government control of data and users’ privacy is coming into the fore now because of the increasing amount of data that social networks hold on us.

And not only is this growing in volume, but also in type. It is no longer just about browsing history, but social platforms contain varying forms of data that give a complete make-up of our person. While this contributes to things such as targeted demographic advertising, which I am an advocate of overseeing irrelevant banner ads, the government of course needs to step in here. Social networks, as privately owned companies will naturally be motivated by what gives them the best profit margin. While this may occur alongside a desire to unite people.

We can only trust our governments to develop policies which don’t have this capitalist desire in mind. Yet what we’re seeing are policies that could seriously hinder the growth of the social networking industry (Pearson). Examine the three (3) branches of government and discuss which can effectuate the most significant impact on regulating consumer transactions via social media outlets. Support your decision. Our federal government has three parts. They are the Executive, (President and about 5,000,000 workers) Legislative (Senate and House of Representatives) and Judicial (Supreme Court and lower Courts).

The President of the United States administers the Executive Branch of our government. He enforces the laws that the Legislative Branch (Congress) makes. The Legislative part of our government is called Congress. Congress makes our laws. The Judicial part of our federal government includes the Supreme Court and 9 Justices. They are special judges who interpret laws according to the Constitution. (Brinkmann, R. , & Garren, S. ) I personally see the judicial court as being the most important and having the biggest impact toward social media.

If someone is getting sued by another individual about a post or picture that they may have posted on their personal social media site, the judicial court would oversee the case if the individual puts forth the freedom of speech fight. This being a constitutional right, the other individual would have to prove to the Supreme Court that what was written or posted was in fact un-constitutional and not just freedom of speech. Explain the agency relationship that exists on social media sites between the social media provider and businesses that utilize the site for advertising.

Online advertising, uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing, social media marketing, many types of display advertising (including web banner advertising), and mobile advertising. Like other advertising media, online advertising frequently involves both a publisher, who integrates advertisements into its online content, and an advertiser, who provides the advertisements to be displayed on the publisher’s content.

Other potential participants include advertising agencies who help generate and place the ad copy, an ad server who technologically delivers the ad and tracks statistics, and advertising affiliates who do independent promotional work for the advertiser. Social Media is a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service (Zeff, R. , & Aronson, B. ). Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks.

A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. I know the advertising works on social media sites, because I have seen something on the side and visited that particular site and actually purchased an item. I may not have even been thinking about purchasing that item, but after seeing it advertised or either on sale I was persuaded to go to the site and take a look.