Evaluate arguments for and against tort reform with a focus on why organizations leave the United States to avoid large tort damage awards.

Legal and Ethic

Week 5 Question

For discussion this week, we will answer questions similar to the questions in Week 3, except in the tort context. This week, please do two things:

1. Evaluate arguments for and against tort reform with a focus on why organizations leave the United States to avoid large tort damage awards. Use some of the terminology from the textbook to help with your arguments. Incorporate the legal terminology from your textbook where appropriate, in both your original post and in your responses to your classmates. Use academic or legitimate news sources, such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc. Please include in your post any links used for your research for your fellow classmates to review and to comment on. Make sure to identify the law at issue or the elements of the cause of action. Do not repeat cases discussed by another classmate.**

2. Tort law permeates society and daily life. Think of a tort issue in your life or the life of someone close to you. If you do not personally know of anyone who has experienced a tort please research a recent case in the news. Describe the issue. Perhaps you did not pursue litigation, but after your knowledge in this class, do you think you should have? Perhaps you pursued litigation and lost. Is it clear why you lost? Do not feel compelled to tell more information than you are comfortable discussing. Please try to incorporate legal terminology where relevant. Specifically, identify the elements of the tort cause of action and apply facts to each element. If the case is not clear cut, it will be where an element is not clearly met. If an element of a cause of action is clearly not met, there is not a legitimate cause of action.

Week 3 Question that was asked:

Using the internet, research and analyze a case involving ethical issues surrounding corporate governance from a global position. A common example may be where a corporate board of directors breached one or more duties, such as the duty of loyalty to its shareholders, although there are many other areas where business ethics are at the center of a case that originated at the governance level of an organization.

Briefly describe the facts of the case briefly and the legal issue. Also, discuss the effect of the case from a global business perspective and on society in general.

Incorporate the legal terminology from your textbook where appropriate in both your original post and in your responses to your classmates. Use academic or legitimate news sources, such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc. Include the link or links used for your research in your post for your fellow classmates to review and to comment on. Do not repeat cases discussed by another classmate.**

Question answered from week 3

The case is about Wal-Mart bribery that raises critical governance issues. The firm appeared to commit almost every governance sin especially in dealing with the Mexican bribery matter. The case involved the CEO of Walmart in Mexico together with his chief deputies, as well as the Mexican general advisor and Auditor, knowingly arranged bribes of Mexican officials to seek building licenses, zoning alterations, and environmental authorization and also fabricated records to hide such payments. The legal issue, in this case, was a culture of silence. In this case, there was no integrity hotline which worked (Barstow, 2012). This is because the suspected bribery scheme continues for several years without anyone recognizing or reporting it to the independent firm ombudsperson, and yet some staff was aware of the issue. Furthermore, the Mexican corporate leader hides the corruption scheme from the international Wal-Mart leadership in the United States of America. For that reason, regarding the allegations, one can tell that Wal-Mart management in the United States of America, immediately they learned about the accusations in detail, they decided to hide the issue from the company board of directors. Hence, the firm appeared to have operated as compartmentalized illegal enterprise instead of a global legal firm (Barstow, 2012).

The case had some negative effect on the firm especially from a global business perspective, for instance, most of the customers globally lost trust in the company management. Despite the fact that the company is focusing on governing itself as well as encouraging high performance with reliability as its crucial mission of the free enterprise. On the other hand, the case has impacted the society in general as they no longer trust the leadership being exercised at Wal-Mart Company, it has breached their loyalty to the firm (Barstow, 2012).

Reference

Barstow, D. (2012).Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/business/at-wall-mart-in-Mexico-a-bribe-inquiry-silenced.html