Sports have played an essential role in many humans' every day lives. Players have often been looked up to as heros, those who are so talented that they get payed to show off their talents for us viewers. In past years, sports have been having legal issues that could have ruined the passion behind the games if not for sports law. In the following presentation, three different lockout cases: the NBA, NHL and NFL.
Friday, December 9, 2011
International Business Law
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| (Images: "Abbott Labs." Bloomberg Business Week. 2008. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. |
Below we looked into an important international law court case, to apply how international law and contract law come into play. This case is overseen by the one of The United Nations principle organ (branch) known as The International Court of Justice. Interestingly enough, The International Court of Justice is the only branch of the United Nations that is not held in New York City. I question the intentions of the members of the United Nations in having every operation held in NYC except for the justice court which is held in the Netherlands. I personally did not realize the importance in having the justice courts far away from the entire operations of the United Nations until I discovered through research that the court’s judges should not be impacted in any way by outside impacts in making their court case decisions. In order to read more into the recent and important court cases looks at the case law section.
The other important aspect of international business law lead us to focus our attention on was the highly debatable topic of outsourcing. In that section, you can find a intellectual argument against outsourcing and what the United States needs to begin doing in order for us to regain our worldly power in business over the vastly expanding countries like China.
International - Case Law
In an oil mining town of Tyumen, Russia a judge rejected two lawsuits brought by Andrew Prokhorov, a minority shareholder in Russia’s third largest oil firm. One lawsuit for 13 billion aimed at BP and the other for 2.8 billion against two BP nominees on the board of operation unit TNK-BP Holding. Mr. Prokhorov has said that TNK-BP suffered financial losses because it had been excluded from a planned alliance between Rosneft and BP.Mr. Prokhorov is planning to appeal this decision saying that he was only given an approximate two hours to state his case and therefore, not enough time to present all the evidence. While BP on the other hand stays firm behind its victory saying that the grounds for the lawsuit were not proven in court.This all started with a misunderstanding between TNK-BP and BP when BP signed a contract with a Russian oil company Rosneft. The contract determined the two companies would search the Kara Sea together for oil. TNK-BP says that BP violated an exclusivity clause where TNK-BP would get th
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| (Image: "BP Opens Arctic Rosneft Too TNK-BP." Mining News and Journal. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. |
Outsourcing
Since the economic recession began in October of 2009, the international economy has been in shambles. Unemployment rates are similar in numbers to the Great Depression. Furthermore, domestic corporations are moving their factories to developing countries overseas because of the opportunity to give people jobs for lower salaries. In addition, they are still able to make their products without the major taxes that they must pay to make them in United States. However, they may be sacrificing the quality of the product that is being made overseas. Some people argue that outsourcing helps to spread out jobs to developing countries, which would contribute to healthier world economy. However, I believe that outsourcing hurts the world economy more than it helps it. Mr. Peter Witty, an expert in international law, stated that, “In a simplistic way, outsourcing current manufacturing jobs obviously hurts those people who lose their jobs as a result, and their inability to spend as much money during unemployment as they would during their employment hurts the larger economy.” This clearly indicates that the economy cannot afford to make this big of a sacrifice for a long term solution to the recession. Outsourcing jobs forces American consumers to deal with terrible customer service, lead-infused toys for their children, and less jobs for them to choose from. If jobs were to be brought back to the United States, the quality of products would go up dramatically because the United States has strict regulations on how products are made; ensuring dangerous materials don’t get into the clothes, toys and electronics that use. Also, jobs would be created instantly from bringing big corporations jobs back to our shores. In my opinion, the world economy would benefit from the United States’ success because our economy has ties all over the world, if the United States finally carried itself out of the red, then the rest of the world would soon follow. Lastly, I believe that outsourcing is not beneficial to the United States economy because it gives corporations an excuse to leave the country. In this day in age, most corporations are looking for tax breaks/tax incentives to stay in the United States. However, the government has to deal with the old children’s moral, once one gets it everyone will want that same thing. So instead of providing these tax breaks to the greedy corporations, the government is telling them to take their business elsewhere. Clearly, the government doesn’t care where the corporations make their products, as long as the corporations continue to rake in the billions of dollars. All in all, outsourcing jobs is commonly thought to help the world economy because it is stretched the American successes to other developing countries. However, outsourcing has proven to be toxic to the economy because it promotes “quantity is better than quality” logic, which has too many loopholes to work for a long time. To clarify, the supply of the products being made may be plentiful, but if the products are not made well, then the demand will continue to decrease. Consequently, there will be a major surplus on the products being made overseas, forcing the many huge corporations to go back to the drawing board. In the long run, outsourcing jobs is harming our world economy more than it is helping us.
Works Cited:
Mariner, Joanne. "UNITED STATES v. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP :: 517 U.S. 843 :: 1996." US Supreme Court Cases from Justia & Oyez. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. .
"Ethics - Guide to the Practice of Law." Lawyers, Attorneys, Law Firms – Find Legal Information. Web. 09 Dec. 2011.
Criminal Law
In a world of immense complexities, it is sometimes easy to believe that ignorance is bliss. If the news is too dreary one day, we watch sports instead; if the weather is treacherous, we stay bundled up inside and watch a movie; and if our workloads become too overbearing, most of us seem to try and avoid them at all costs. However, while there are some aspects of life that one can avoid so as to escape added stresses and pain, there are also some aspects that one just cannot and should not push off to the side. One of these is the understanding of the processes of the United States legal system. While many of us may believe we would know how to handle ourselves if something terrible was to occur in our lives concerning the law, there is still is a big difference between believing we would know what to do and knowing that we would be adequately informed of what to do. This Prezi was created for the purpose of explaining some of the complexities of the processes of the legal system, from arrest to appeal, in a way that is easy to understand for the majority of our student peers. After viewing this Prezi, it is hoped that others may be informed, in case they are one day implicated in a situation regarding the criminal justice system.
By: John R., Nirali S., and Matt S.
Laws, Acts, and Committees within Finance
Finance is often defined simply as the management of money or funds management. Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the marketing and management of cash through a variety of accounts, instruments, and markets. This is created for transacting and trading assets, liabilities, and risks. Finance is structured and regulated by a complex system of power relations within political economies across state and global markets. Networks of financial businesses exist to create, negotiate, market, and trade in evermore-complex financial products and services for their own as well as their clients’ accounts. Financial performance measures the efficiency and profitability of investments, the safety of claims against assets, and the likelihood that investors are safe against a variety of market risks. With all these complicated ways for money to be shared, everyone wants a profit. There are so many ways to try to make a profit that there are laws created to protect people from felonies who want all the money for themselves. After this Prezi presentation, you will know how to protect your money and will be ready to go out into the world and make some money!
* To view this presentation, click more and then open full screen.
By: Christy S., Ethan S., and Tyler D.* To view this presentation, click more and then open full screen.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Starting a Business
Starting a business is something that many Americans struggle with as small businesses are the lifeblood that makes our country so wonderful. Oftentimes, people see their businesses fail quickly because they don't take the time to think about the necessary precautions to take and run into problems later that could've been anticipated at startup. Our presentation highlights the importance of key aspects to starting a business, including but not limited to the tools needed, resources available, necessary legal action, differences in the types of business you initiate, target markets, and more. Because starting a business doesn't necessarily require an education, we feel that this presentation can help bring much necessary information to the attention of anyone and everyone. You don't need to have a fancy degree to be successful in the business world, you just need to be dedicated, creative, and intuitive.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Hot Nacho's.... Too Hot?
Remember the McDonald's hot coffee case, that was awarded almost 3 million dollars to the plaintiff? Well I introduce to you the hot nacho case. A family took a trip to Walt Disney World and came back with a lawsuit. There 4 year old son bought some nachos and the nachos were so hot, that it burned his lips and burned it bad. This is an example of a tort or personal injury case, in this case Walt Disney is the tortfesser/defendant and the family is the plaintiff. The family has not asked for a specific amount of money but I am sure there will be a remedy. I believe the family should win this case because it was negligence on Walt Disney's part for not putting a label on the nachos or at least telling the family that the nachos were hot. In this case I would argue for strict liability because there was no warning or sign that said the nachos were hot. The family also argued as soon as the nachos touched the innocent boys lips it burned him immediately, only really hot nachos could do that kind of damage. I believe this innocent boy should have a big remedy and Walt Disney should pay for any hospital bill and any emotional distress the family went through. Walt Disney probably won't ever see this kid again but this kid is just starting his life and he has to live with this the rest of his life.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Business filing bankruptcy under chapter 11
To file or not to file bankruptcy is more of an unpopular decision rather a bad one. Before we go deeper into conversation lets understand, what is ‘bankruptcy’ and what is ‘bankruptcy filing’? The state of inability to pay debts is bankruptcy and to declare it and seek protection from federal government is the filing of bankruptcy. There are several chapters under which bankruptcy can be filed in federal court and one of the interesting chapters to talk about is chapter 11.Chapter 11 provides relief, protection, and saves the company from total collapse. It provide more time for the company to pay off the loan. Also at the same if the court finds them responsible then they will support them with more credits. There has been a rise in the filing of Chapter 11 because most businesses would like to continue to function despite harsh economic condition. The company does get some relief in the form of reduction in payment of debts, an easier payment plan and a chance to undergo reorganization or liquidation. It can be considered a double edge sword as it hurts the image of business drastically but might be a wise move, as it helps to reorganize. If the debtor is honest it will reap more benefit from this process.
Companies Filing For Bankruptcy
Borders and Giordano’s are only two of the many companies that filed for bankruptcy under chapter 11, though the reasons for their bankruptcy filing were different and they landed into totally different situation.
Borders Bankruptcy Filing
Burdened with too much debt, Borders Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection. They were one of the country’s largest chains of book stores. They were forced to close more than 30% of their stores due to the fact that they were not making enough profit. About 200 of its 642 stores were closed. Filing for bankruptcy did give them a new start but at the same time during the process of liquidation they had to shut down even more of their stores. The number one reason for Borders downfall is the fierce competition from other online bookstores. The Filing under Chapter 11 allowed Borders to access new capital and reorganize its operations at the cost of huge liquidation. This made shareholders loose, further worsening the book store’s image. Borders are taking steps to infuse the confidence by promoting e-book and its online range of books. The company's largest unsecured creditors include major publishers that provide the books it sells. Borders owes Pearson Plc's Penguin $41.2 million, Hachette Book Group USA $36.9 million, and CBS Inc's Simon & Schuster $33.8 million, according to court documents. Time will tell whether Borders Group Inc. made the right decision in filing bankruptcy. At this point of time the future of Borders is a blank canvas.
Giordano’s Bankruptcy Filing
Giordano’s Enterprises Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection after defaulting on real estate loans. The Florida real estate company was not doing well and as a result the pizza enterprise fell into the lap of 5th/3rd Bank because of its obligation. The only way was to seek protection under the federal law bankruptcy Chapter 11. So, they filled for bankruptcy in order to seek relief for their chain of pizza shops. They wanted further loans so that they could continue to pay their workers and the business could continue to function properly. Among the creditors are a Coca-Cola Bottling Co. bottler in Alsip, Saputo Cheese USA Inc. in Chicago and Turano Baking Co. in Berwyn. The court granted them a loan and all of their stores kept functioning. None of them went under liquidation because the Giordano’s does good business, they make a high profit. Giordano's made the wrong decision in supplying money to its sister company that was already drowning. If it was up to me, I would have rather saved the profit making company and file bankruptcy or not take additional loans for my sister company. Giordano's was lucky that the final outcome allowed them leniency due to their popularity.
Rise in bankruptcy is due to?
The downfall in economy is a big reason for the rise in bankruptcies, but more importantly it further leads to the fall in the economy, loss of confidence among investors, and even an increased unemployment. Questions that are likely to be asked are not only limited to the current business condition or the technical complications but also the post-bankruptcy impact, survival, investment loss and total collapse.
In prospective
In my opinion it is clear that the reasons on which the outcome of chapter 11 depends on are: transparency in transaction, over all business performance, potential to payback, support of business partners, and most importantly organization. The downfall of Borders was mainly due to lack of organization and anticipation, while Giordano’s survival can be credited to a more organized administration and popularity in the society. The following results can be attributed to the fact that may be food is more important to American’s than books. This can be lesson to others businesses that are planning to file chapter 11, in order to obtain rewarding result one needs to be honest and a structured unit.
In conclusion
Overall, the downfall of Borders was mainly due to lack of organization and anticipation. On the other hand, Giordano’s survival can be credited to a more organized administration and popularity in the society. One area is a bookstore the other area food store, descend of Borders and survival of Giordano’s might be due to the fact that books are less of important for survival than food. Reasons of the different outcome might transparency transaction, over all business performance, potential to payback, support of business partners are to name a few. This is a lesson to others businesses that are planning to file chapter 11, that in order to obtain rewarding result apart from being honest one be smart as well.
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