CO1 Assess the legal environment of business.
CO2 Explain how ethical frameworks shape business decisions.
CO10 Assess laws applying to antitrust and consumer protection.
Assignment Prompt:
The following five (5) companies have been in the news due to either a consumer protection or antitrust problem. Select ONE of these companies from the first column as the subject of your paper. You are provided source links in the table about the company to get you started. You will need to do more research about the company as well as the ethical frameworks and applicable law.
Company
Fact sources to get you started
Comments/additional sources
Southern Rail, U.K.
(Consumer issue)
Little, S. (2018, January 16). Southern Rail voted UK’s worst train service for third year in a row. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/southern-rail-uk-worst-train-service-2017-third-year-row-which-thameslink-great-northern-a8162516.html
Additional citation for you for facts:
Stauffenberg, J. (2016, August 18). Two girls hit as ceiling collapses on Southern Rail train. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/southern-rail-train-ceiling-roof-collapse-commuters-two-girls-injured-hit-a7197541.html
For other issues, think creatively: explore employment, workplace safety (a subset of employment), tort of negligence (what duty is owed passengers?), defamation, ---- remember this company is in U.K.
(Antitrust)
Google faces antitrust fine from EU over Adsense. (2019, March 15). Pymnts. Retrieved from https://www.pymnts.com/news/regulation/2019/google-antitrust-fine-eu/
Note this is EU antitrust law.
Google is rich ground for finding other areas of law to discuss. Consider such topics as privacy, contract, defamation, intellectual property, employment
Rent-A-Center Business
(Consumer)
Eiserer, T. & Smith, M. (2018, May 23). That couch you’re sitting on could land you in jail. WFAA. Retrieved from https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/that-rented-couch-youre-sitting-on-could-land-you-in-jail/287-556666587
and
Complaints and accusations of abusive collection practices pile up against Rent-A-Center. (2017, November 15). MarketWatch. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/complaints-and-accusations-of-abusive-collection-practices-pile-up-against-rent-a-center-2017-11-15
This is in Texas. You might take a look at possible prosecution of Rent-A-Center in California. Not clear this is all the same umbrella company, a franchise, or just common practices by same type companies in TX, but I suspect it is RAC. Take a look at the second article I listed in VA. Tons of issues here. For other the legal topics, consider contract, defamation, trespass, and other torts (research these)
Apple
(Antitrust)
Spotify v. Apple
Vincent, J. (2019, March 13). Spotify files antitrust complaint over “Apple tax.” The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/13/18263453/spotify-apple-app-store-antitrust-complaint-ec-30-percent-cut-unfair
And
Lapowsky, I. (2019, March 13). Spotify’s Apple complaint cuts to a core antitrust issue. Wired. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/story/spotify-apple-complaint-warren-antitrust-issue/
For the other topics, look into Apple’s employment practices, contract practices, privacy protections, corporate social responsibility, ethical code, etc.
Heritage Pharmaceuticals
(Antitrust)
Associated Press. (2016, December 15). 20 states sue 6 makers of generic drugs, alleging conspiracies to manipulate prices. L.A. Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-generic-drug-antitrust-20161215-story.html
This has morphed from a couple of drugs to a cartel of 300 drugs involved. See this one:
Rowland, C. (2018, December 9). Investigation of generic ‘cartel’ expands to 300 drugs. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/investigation-of-generic-cartel-expands-to-300-drugs/2018/12/09/fb900e80-f708-11e8-863c-9e2f864d47e7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.69e8e9f9d684
For other areas of law, look into employment, contract, ADR, securities, intellectual property
When you have selected your company, research and cover the following points in a well written essay. Use APA format and topical headings.
In an introductory paragraph identify the company, the topic and a well crafted thesis statement.
Briefly describe the company and the nature of its business and corporate business environment. Do not spend a lot of time on the history of the company, but do describe sufficiently to create meaningful context. This should only need to be a paragraph.
Research, define and discuss the legal issues and regulatory environment for the company's consumer or antitrust issue. (i.e., What are the laws involved?) Include case law.
Ethical dilemma and frameworks: Identify the ethical dilemma that the company presents with respect to its antitrust or consumer problem. This should be encapsulated in a single sentence. Evaluate two ethical frameworks with respect to the company's management's decisions that led to the situation. One of these should be the ethical framework you identify as the framework the company followed in its decision-making. The other should be a contrasting framework that might have produced a different situation for the company.
Other legal topics that relate to the company's business: Also, clearly define and evaluate three (3) additional legal topics (NOT antitrust or consumer protection) that we covered this term -- and that are explained in your text and required readings, and apply them to the company's business. (Hint: Review the legal topics in the textbook and cite to the the text in your analysis. We covered many subjects. Examples: contracts, torts, product liability, bankruptcy, securities & stocks trading, employment issues, defamation, privacy, ADR, etc. Include illustrative case law.)
General recommendations for business leadership and managers that you have learned from this study (not just for the company you have selected, but for running a business).
Conclusion.
References list
Sample Solution