1. 2 BUSINESS LAW Social Responsibility of Business and Government
C H A P T E R 2
BUSINESS LAW
Social Responsibility of Business and Government
Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Government Protection Activities
Government Regulation and Assistance

2. Social Responsibility
social responsibility- the duty of a business to contribute to the well-being of a community
(doing the right thing regardless of costs)

3. Environmental Protection
Conservation- saving scarce natural resources
Example: Recycling paper
Non-renewable resource- a natural resource that cannot be grown or replaced
Example: Oil

4. Government Agencies
EPA- Environmental Protection Agency that protects the environment from pollution.
OSHA- Occupational Safety and Health Administration- protects workers (employees) at their jobs by setting standards and guidelines for employee safety.

5. Benefits vs Cost- Spending money now for the future benefits
3 BENEFITS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
To improve the quality of life for everyone
Enhance company image
Avoid government actions
THE COSTS INVOLVED- SPENDING MONEY & TIME
safer equipment, environmentally safe products, and wellness projects to improve employee and community.

6. Key Terms Ethics- Principles of morality or rules of conduct.
Business ethics- rules about how businesses and their employees ought to behave.
Code of ethics- a set of rules for guiding the actions of employees or members of an organization

7. BUSINESS ETHICS Ethical conduct guidelines Is the action legal?
Does the action violate professional or company standards?
Who is affected by the action and how?
Conflict of Interest- when an action by a company or individual results in an unfair benefit.

8. ROLES OF GOVERNMENT Providing services for members of society
Protecting citizens, consumers, businesses, and workers
Regulating utilities and promoting competition
Providing information and support to businesses

9. LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
Federal government
State government
Local government
Interstate commerce- business dealings involving companies in more than one state
Intrastate commerce- business dealings in one state only.

10. CONTRACT BASICS A contract is an agreement to exchange goods or services for a fee.
Valid, enforceable contracts must contain:
Agreement
An offer must be made, and an acceptance must occur.
Competent Parties
Those entering into the contract must be of legal age and must be mentally competent.
Consideration
Something of measurable value must be exchanged by the parties involved.
Legality
The contract must be for a product or service that may be legally sold; also no fraud or deception exists in the agreement.

11. Legal System Criminal vs Civil
Criminal is a violation of a law where Civil is a disagreement between 2 parties

12. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (intangible property with no physical characteristics)
Patents- gives the inventor the sole right to make, use, or sell an item for 20 years.
Copyrights- protects the creative work of authors, composers, and artist
Trademarks- a word, letter, or symbol the links to a product or company

13. Government Regulations & Assistance
Public Utility- an organization that supplies a service or product vital to all people.
Example- Electric company
Monopoly- when a business has complete control of the market for a product. Monopolies are illegal in the US
Antitrust Laws- government enforcement of business fairness and competition.

14. How does the government make money?
TAXES on various levels:
Local, State, and Federal
ONLINE RESEARCH IS ON THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 4 A & all of 4 B.
USE THE BOOK CH. 4 FOR ANY QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED ON THIS PPT.