ADMS 2610 Study Guide - Comprehensive Final Guide: Quantum Meruit, Case Citation, Precedent

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pearelephant133

1 Dec 2016

School

York University

Department

Administrative Studies

Course

ADMS 2610

Professor

William Pomerantz

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Document Summary

Chapter 1- the law and the legal system. When we say we have a right to do something, we are saying that we may do a particular act with impunity, or with the force of the state behind us. Since rights are closely associated with duties, our right to do an act usually imposes a duty on others not to interfere with our actions. The law sets out our rights and duties so that everyone will know what they are and to whom they apply. Actions that may be taken by an individual under specific circumstances that may be withdrawn or curtailed by the state. Rights may become privileges as a result of social pressure or public policy. The body of rules of conduct that are obligatory in the sense that sanctions are normally imposed if a rule is violated. It develops to meet the needs of the people in a free society and changes with their changes in needs.

Related Questions

1. Whistleblowing in the private employment sector in the United States typically is

Not protected by a uniform federal law

Protected under some state whistleblower protection statutes

Usually protected by the law if the disclosure is made to the media since the disclosure will be widespread and thus do the most good

Never required morally pursuant to Kantian ethics since the consequences for the whistleblowing employees usually are harsh, for example, loss of employment.

2. Advocate Antonio believes that corporations should not only be held accountable for their financial states, but also for some level of charitable and community and civic involvement. Antonio's beliefs would most likely be defined as:

A code of ethics

A social responsibility view

A corporate moral audit

A distributive justice legal theory.

3. What did Kant mean by the "Categorical" part to his Categorical Imperative?

You must act legally, period, because the "law is the law."

You and your company must act in a socially responsible manner if you and your company want to be placed in the "good corporate citizen" category.

You must act morally if the consequences are definitely good for you and your firm.

You must act morally based on what your reason informs you is the supreme ethical principle and the correct moral course of action regardless of consequences.

4. As to why a company should be a socially responsible one and get involved in civic and charitable affairs, Socrates would likely argue:

Justice is the will of the stronger.

Money comes from virtue.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Virtue comes from money.

5. Happy Feet manufactures shoes in Country Y for sale in the United States. Happy Feet's president discovers that the Country Y workers' average age is sixteen and that they work on average of 13.2 hours per day in a 90 degree warehouse with insufficient safety precautions, all of which practices are legal in Country Y. The president of Happy Feet decides to improve the working hours and conditions of the company's workforce, even though these actions will be more expensive for the company. The president's decision is best described as

Lawful profit maximization

Moral profit-making

Illegal since the shareholders of Happy Feet might be harmed

Social Darwinism.

6. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

Morals are legal minimums.

Morals are legal maximums.

Laws are moral minimums.

Laws are moral maximums.

7. International Sales Corporation, like other business, has enforceable duties prescribed by

Ethics and the law

Ethics only

Neither ethics nor the law

The law only

8. Which is an accurate statement about the modern business corporation|

The corporation, once approved by the state and given a corporate charter, is a legal actor and artificial "person" endowed with legal and certain constitutional rights.

According to the traditional, conservative, Milton Friedman, organizational view of the corporation, it is only a legal actor and has no moral or social responsibility and just must obey the law and pay taxes.

A true corporate code of ethics today must have some provisions that go "above and beyond" the law; that is, an ethics code cannot be a mere "restatement" of the law.

All of the above.

9. A problem with the Last Resort principle when applied to business is:

Does business have the capability to help and to aid the community and local charities?

Is business the last real alternative to help and to aid the community and local charities?:

Are there potential legal liability issues for helping, aiding, and rescuing?

All of the above.

10. A spray paint company discovers that its products are being misused by children and young people, who get "high" sniffing the fumes. There are no warning labels on the spray paint cans. The company would be best deemed to have what type(s) of obligation and duty to take steps to protect children and young people?

An ethical obligation but not a legal duty

A legal obligation but not an ethical obligation

Both an ethical obligation and a legal duty

Neither an ethical obligation nor a legal duty.

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The Most Stressful Conditions
How can effective choices be made when there is no time, when your employees, your company, and your community are in imminent danger? Decision making under these conditions takes on a different character, as shown in the response of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood to the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
The giant law firm was formed in May 2001 when Brown & Wood merged its Wall Street financial law offices with those of Chicago-based Sidley & Austin, corporate law specialists, creating the nationâs fourth-largest practice, with 1,400 lawyers worldwide. Many of the firmâs lawyers are headquartered in New York City, with 600 formerly housed at 1 World Trade Center on floors 52 to 57 and another 100 seven miles away in midtown Manhattan. On September 11, the first plane struck overhead. Workers noticed the explosionâs tremors and the smell of jet fuel. Director of Administration John Connelly asked workers to evacuate, helping the frightened and confused employees to the stairs. Being unaware of the extent of the danger, Connelly and others went from floor to floor to ensure that everyone was safely out, then left the building just as it collapsed. Only one company employee perished in the attack.
In the aftermath, with damaged facilities and workers in shock, Sidley Austin employees faced the most trying circumstances of their careers. When their attempts to contact the midtown building failed because cell phone towers had been destroyed, many employees walked to the site. At the midtown location, partner Alan S. Weil anticipated the need for additional office space and called his landlord, who granted immediate leases on two floors and also got another law firm to gibe up two newly leased floors. By the end of the day, hundreds of desks, computers, and cell phones were arriving, and contractors were installing computer cables. âItâs just amazing what you can get in New York overnight,â says partner Thomas R. Smith Jr. According to New York writer John Schwartz, âThe normal rules of business engagementâdeliberate negotiation, adversarial wrangling and jockeying for advantageâwere swept away. The infamously in-your-face New York attitude was nowhere to be found.â
The partnershipâs directors were supposed to meet in Los Angeles on September 12 but were stranded elsewhere as airlines ceased operations. The executives used conference call to begin âissue-spotting,â according ti Thomas Cole, partner. He explained, âThe lawyers who assembled that day and in the days thereafter were people who had spent their entire working lives engaged in solving complex problems for clients.
â¦But that was under normal conditions. Would we succeed under the most stressful conditionsâ¦?â Issues involving people, insurance, and communications were complex; for example, the people issue covered such items as payroll continuity, trauma counseling, and safety and security. The organization pulled togetherâstaffers from the Chicago headquarters drove all night to assist. When the firmâs backup data tapes needed transport from a New Jersey warehouse to Chicago, the storage companies offered to have their employees drive overnight because no planes were flying. Dennis J. OâDonovan, head of the firmâs technology section, says, â[Disaster recovery seminars] always prepare you for the worstâpeople not being available, people not being cooperative; the opposite has happened.â
On September 17, firm employees met, and partner Charles W. Douglas told the crowd, âThe assets of the law firm are not the desks in the offices, the woodwork thatâs on the walls or the paintings that are hung in the corridors. The assets of the law firm are its people.â Smith agreed, saying, âBeing able to keep the business going is great, but itâs the people that count.â Employees and partners at Sidley Austin have taken on the added work with few complaints; many say that work is therapeutic. The lawyers have completed many financial deals on time, believing that itâs their patriotic duty to continue working as before. Employees claim that the tragedy drew them closer together, creating intimate friendships. Others are still suffering from stress, and some may choose paid disability leave, Nancy L, Karen, chief information officer, says the firm has learned a lot about crisis conditions. âWe ought to be able to recover in less than a say next time,â she says, adding with a nervous laugh, âGod forbid!â Perhaps Thomas Cole best askedâ¦if the disaster has been a setback to the full realization of the anticipated benefits of our merger. I answer that â[b]because of the way few have risen to this challenge together, the most important yet most elusive goal in any merger integration, namely the creation of a true partnership, occurred overnight.â

References: âAbout Sidley,â âOur Offices,â âOur Practices,â Sidley Austin Brown & Wood website. www.sidley.com

Case Questions
1. Using the rational approach to decision making, describe the ways in which these crisis conditions affected each step of the decision-making process.

2. Based on your answer to question 1, what are some potential problems that firm should be aware of when they must make decisions during a crisis? What are some steps that firms can take to avoid those problems or to minimize their negative impact?

3. Due to the extraordinary circumstances in New York City during and just after September 11, many individuals and firms changed their behavior, acting more altruistically and ethically. In your opinion, why did this occur? Do you think the change is likely to endure for a long time, or is it only temporary?