DECA BLTDM

Planned economy

Economic system in which the government makes all of the decisions

Trade mission

Group of volunteer businesspeople sponsored by the government to inform exporters about foreign markets

Craft union

Union made of workers with a particular skill

Whistleblower

Employee who informs on a company that is doing something wrong or harmful -> unethical to discipline a whistleblower because the employee has the right to report wrongdoing

Corporation ownership

Permits ownership by simply buying shares of stock -> owner does not need to be involved in the business

Sole proprietorship

Business entity in which the business is owned by one person -> requires large amount of owner involvement

Close corporation

Business entity in which owners do not offer their shares for sale to the general public

Term

Form of life insurance that lasts a set amount of years

Ordinary life

Form of life insurance that pays benefits upon the death of the policy holder

Homeowners insurance

Protects property owners from damage to their property; includes liability insurance that protects the owner if someone else is injured on/by their property

Consideration

Anything of value that is promised to another when making a contract

Legality

Refers to the terms of a contract being within the law

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration: government agency in charge of worker safety

CPSC

Consumer Product Safety Commission: protects consumers from defective products

SEC

Security and Exchange Commission: protects investors from deceptive practices

FTC

Federal Trade Commission: enforces antitrust laws and investigates deceptive and misleading business practices

Primary source of laws

Primary sources are laws and legislation; they are the foundations of societal rules

Secondary source of law

Materials that discuss and interpret the law; includes restatements of law, law reviews, legal newspapers and encyclopaedias

Civil lawsuit

Personal complaint filed when a person believes his/her rights have been violated

Appeal

Action in which the defendant requests that another court reviews a previous courts decision (not a retrial)

Retrial

Second of further trial

Grand jury

Jury that decides whether or not there is enough evidence to prosecute a person for a crime

Trial jury

Selected citizens that determine a defendant's guilt or innocence

Small claims

Small cases typically involve minor damages; most states have limits for small claim courts that only allow them to handle cases worth less than $5000

Federal appellate court

Preside over appealed cases involving federal questions, the diversity of citizenships, or those in which the U.S. is a party

Probate courts

Deal with cases involving wills or estates

State supreme courts

Deals with cases involving state issues

Tort

- Deliberate or unintentional act of wrongful or negligent behaviour that is inflicted upon another person
- In tort cases, the plaintiff sues for personal damages, such as damaged reputation and credibility

Plaintiff

Person/party that initiates a lawsuit/trial

Duty of due care

Person's responsibility to behave in a socially acceptable and responsible manner under common law

Property lien

Legal claim for real estate granting the owner a specific amount of money upon sale of the property

Arbitration

When a third party makes a decision regarding a dispute and each party agrees to abide by the decision

Contingency contract

Contract that will only be valid if certain events do or do not take place

Precedent

Court decisions made on the basis of previous, similar court decisions

Due process

Concept that everyone is entitled to a fair hearing or trial

Commercial disparagement

Publication of derogatory information about someone or their business

Claim

Something one party owes another; someone can make a legal claim for something like money, property or social security benefits

Partnership by implication

Involuntary partnership when two people share profits even though they may not have the legal documents to acknowledge the partnership; can still be partners if they file separate income tax reports

Price fixing

Illegal business agreements in which competing business agree on prices for products, resulting in little choice for the consumer; keeps small businesses from competing with larger companies engaging in illegal activities

Monopoly

When one supplier controls the whole market; no substitute goods and services are readily available

Antitrust laws

In place to protect consumers and businesses from monopolistic activities

Trademark

Prevents others from using a symbol, design or work

Patent

Used to protect the creative rights of an invention

Copyright

Used to protect a business' information (e.g. formulas, literature, music)

Distribution channel

Route a product takes to reach its end user

Voir dire

Process in which jurors are selected for a trial

- Attorney's ask the potential jurors questions to ensure they are not biased
- Peremptory challenge is when an attorney excuses a juror because they don't believe the juror can be objective

Litmus test

Question used by governing bodies to determine a political candidates' opinions about a particular issue

Arraignment

When a defendant formally hears and responds to the crimes with which they are charged

Injunction

Court order that states a defendant must stop engaging in a specific activity

Duty to mitigate

Plaintiff's duty to show that they have taken action to resolve problems and avoid damages with the other party

Attorney-client privilege

Anything a client says to their attorney in private that cannot be disclosed to others

Commercial laws

Written laws that regulate business activities

Bilateral contract

Contract where both parties are bound by their exchange of promise

Federal communications commission (FCC)

Government regulatory agency that grants licenses to radio and television stations and regulates interstate telephone and telegraph rates and services

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Federal regulatory agency that sets and enforces safety standards for consumer products

Public Utilities Commission

Group of individuals appointed to oversee the activities of natural monopolies such as gas and electric companies

Message report

Memo containing a message for an employee

Form utility

Usefulness createdby altering of changing the form or shape of a good to make it more useful to the consumer

Time utility

Usefulness created when products are made available at a time when they are needed or wanted by customers

Possession utility

Usefulness created when ownership of a product is transferred from the seller to the user

Place utility

Usefulness created by making sure that goods or services are available at the place where they are needed

High-depth jobs

Jobs that allow decision making, have only general guidelines and allow employees to set their own pace; jobs have high-depth if they encourage independent-thinking and self-regulation

Low-depth jobs

Have strict guidelines and do not allow employees to make any decisions

Trade deficit

Country is selling less goods than it has brought in
- Trade deficits decrease GDP which leads to fewer job opportunities and a lower standard of living

Fidelity bonds

Type of insurance that protects businesses from losses due to employee theft

Domineering/superior customers

Should be made to feel important and in charge which will help them convince or sell themselves

Slow/methodical customers

May need more action on the salesperson's part in order to close within a reasonable period of time

Preventitive discipline

Involves managing people in a certain way so that behaviours which require discipline are prevented

Corrective discipline

Used to discourage further violations after infractions have already occurred

Remediation

Umbrella terms which includes both preventative and corrective discipline

Subsidy

Government financial help given to a business

Tariff

Tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports/exports

Tariff reductions

Slow the growth of business by allowing more imports into the country

Tax increases

Slow business growth by reducing profits

Price discrimination

Action of selling the same product at different prices to different buyers in order to maximize profits
- Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 restricts price discrimination practices if they impair competition

Loss-leader pricing

Selling products near or below cost
- In some situations, this is illegal because the low prices may eliminate competition
- However, the laws governing loss-leader pricing are seldom enforced because the low prices benefits consumers
- Purpose of loss-leader pricing is to attract consumers

Consumer advocate groups

Organizations that influence government and societal issues on behalf of the consumer

Cooperative advertising

Sharing of advertising expenses between two companies

Cooperative

Designed to supply goods and services to its members who are also its owners

Liability

Refers to the debt that an individual or business owes to another entity; not a form of law

Litigation

Step-by-step proedure all parties follow in regard to a legal dispute or initiative; variations in litigation processes often prove to be a problem in international disputes

Private laws

Regulations that apply between the individuals or groups; private laws sources include performance standards and business policies

Preponderance of evidence

Proof a plaintiff must present to begin a criminal trial; proof the defendant committed a crime

Incidental damages

Something a judge may award a plaintiff in addition to compensatory damages

Compensatory damages

When a plaintiff is awarded compensatory damages, they are to be put in the same position as they were before the contract breach

Liquidated damages

If one party does not perform activition that they agree on in the contract, the other party pays liquidated damages for those activities

Garnishment

Requires that the debtors employees withhold a certain amount of wages and the withheld money is distributed to the appropriate party

Foreclosure

Involves obtaining the debtors physical home, property or business to pay debt

Dissolution

Nullification of a contract between two parties

Scope of employement

Provision that states an employer can be held accountable for an employee's actions while they are on the job

Duress

Legal term that means exerting unreasonable pressure on someone to take a specific action

Habeas Corpus

Recourse in law whereby a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment before a court, usually through a prison official

Circumstantial evidence

Data that is difficult to verify beyond a reasonable doubt

Equitable remedies

Performing or not performing certain activities rather than awarding money for damages

Affirmative action

Effort to give special employment consideration to disadvantaged groups; often improves workplace diversity

Meta tags

HTML codes that display information about webpages; infringement problems occur when the meta tag associates one entity with another person/business without permission

Endorsement

Written or verbal approval by a reputable external source

Autoresponder

Computer program that automatically returns a specified message to anyone who's emailed a particular address

Autoresponder

Computer program that automatically returns a specified message to anyone who's emailed a particular address

Intellectual property

Ideas that people develop in artistic works, inventions or processes; originators protect their intellectual property by obtaining patents/trademarks/copyrights from the appropriate government agency