Business Law and Ethics

Business Law

body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and businesses engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales

Law

a system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior

Ethics

a set of moral principles

Injunction

a court order forbidding someone from carrying out an act

Legislative Branch

makes the laws (Congress)

Executive Branch

carries out the laws (President)

Judicial Branch

interprets the laws (Supreme Court)

Corporation

an independent legal entity owned by shareholders

Open Corporation

or public, stockholders invest money to share opportunity of growth and possible profits of corporation

Close Corporation

owned by a few people and does not offer its shares for sale to the general public

Sole Proprietorship

owned by one person

General Partnership

owned by two or more partners

Civil lawsuit

personal complaint in which one party believes that another party has violated his/her rights by acting in a negligent way

Appeal

a request to a higher court to review a lower court's decision

Compensatory Damages

payments that the court orders a wrongdoer to pay a victim

Fraud

deliberate deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain

Embezzlement

fraudulent use of another
person's or a business's property, usually money

Liability

the state of being responsible for something

Insurance

contractual agreement in which one company (insurer) will pay for specified losses incurred by the other company (insured) in return for installment payments (premiums)

Liability Insurance

reduce risk of extreme financial losses due to certain circumstances

Commercial Property Insurance

protection against property loss

Credit Insurance

protects manufacturing or wholesale businesses from losses due to it customers' debt

Disability Insurance

provides a person with payment in the event the person is unable to work

Affirmative Action

an effort to give special employment consideration to disadvantaged groups

Whistle-blower

an employee who reports his/her employer's illegal or unethical business activities

Theft

one person takes someone else's property without his/her knowledge and consent

Price Fixing

an illegal business agreement in which competing businesses agree on prices
of their products, resulting in little choice for the consumer

Monopoly

one supplier controls a market and there are
no substitute goods or services readily available

Antitrust Laws

protect customers and businesses from monopolistic activities

Bribe

an illegal payment intended to secure business or products in return

Organizing

the management function of setting up the way the business's work will be
done

Directing

the management function of providing guidance to workers and work projects

Controlling

the management function that monitors the work effort

Planning

the management
function of deciding what will be done and how it will be accomplished

Code of Ethics

an established set of guidelines that
people are expected to follow in regard to behaviors and actions while representing a group or
organization

Consumer Protection

all efforts to safeguard consumers from any kind of
injury to themselves, their property, or their rights as a result of the negligence, failure to act, or unlawful
act of others

Full Warranties

cover the entire product

Limited Warranties

cover certain repairs or specific parts

Predatory Pricing

an aggressive pricing strategy that sells goods below cost in an effort to put the competition out
of business, leaving fewer choices for consumers

Promotion

marketing function that communicates information about goods, services,
images, and/or ideas to achieve a desired outcome

Pricing

determining and adjusting prices to maximize return and meet
customers' perceptions of value

Distribution

moving, storing, locating, and/or transferring
ownership of goods or services

Contracts

Agreements between two or more parties stating that one party is to do something in return for something provided by another party. Something must be offered then the offer must be accepted. Can be written or verbal.

Plaintiff

the accuser or alleged victim of a crime

Public Defender

the attorney that represents the defendant or the accused

Probate Courts

deal with cases involving wills and estates

Remedy

an action that a governing body imposes to correct a wrongdoing

Tort

Private wrongdoing against another person

Copywright

the legal protection of books and other artistic works that the government grants, and it gives the owners sole rights to the artistic works for a certain time

Civil Litigation Process

1. Pleading Stage 2. Pretrial Stage 3. Trail Stage 4. Appellate Stage