Part I. Business Law

Politicians and other interested parties often debate whether laws regarding businesses should be more or less strict. Arguments include whether laws governing businesses should be more demanding to protect consumers and the public or less severe to allow businesses to function more easily and benefit the economy.

Considering this information, along with what you have learned in Chapter 1, please answer the following:

1) Define business law and provide its purpose in your own words.

2) Explain the distinctions between public and private law and how those types of law apply to businesses.

3) Give your opinion on whether businesses should be more or less strictly regulated under the law and state. Also, explain which school of jurisprudence most closely aligns with your opinion. Please know that I am not looking for a "right" or "wrong" answer as far as your opinion is concerned. What I am looking for is a well-thought-out and well-explained opinion. I am more concerned about your ability to explain and defend your position than what your opinion is.

Part II. Ethics

We are going to consider an ethics case study. Let's pretend that we are employed by a large corporation with thousands of locations around the country. Two years ago, after receiving negative feedback from members of the public that your organization's leadership was not diverse enough, your company announced a diversity initiative to try to hire, develop, and promote more diverse staff members. Part of this initiative requires managers to interview a diverse slate of candidates and report that information back to the corporation office.

You recently overheard one of your co-workers say that a recent college graduate was being scheduled for a job interview for a position that had already been filled, because doing so would allow the hiring supervisor to claim that he had satisfied the diversity requirement.

You are aware that your company has a hotline you can call to report ethical violations. However, you have heard rumors that some employees who contact the line are fired soon after. Please address the following:

1) Please describe what constitutes an ethical dilemma and whether you believe that this situation constitutes such a dilemma.

2) Are you concerned that your organization might be violating the law? What other risks might the organization be facing?

3) Would this behavior conflict with your own values? If so, please explain how.

4) How would you utilize the WH framework to address this situation?

5) No wrong answers. What do you think you would really do in this situation?