BLAW 2911: Commercial Law 1 TRU Open Learning Assignment 3 Scenario Mindy is an engineer who has recently been hired by a power generation facility located in Kelowna, BC. Mindy is told that she is being hired as an independent contractor and not an employee. She is made to sign a contract stating that she is an independent contractor but that her work activities are under the full control of her supervisors at the plant. Mindy is given an office, regular working hours, regular salary, and she is told to report to her supervisor for instructions. After two months on the job, Mindy is unhappy with her working conditions. She has noted several issues with her workplace, including hazardous work conditions, unpaid overtime, and harassment from her superiors. She begins to discuss the concept of unionization with her fellow workers, and her colleagues decide to begin to gather signatures for a unionization vote. On hearing about these activities, the owner of the plant tells Mindy that her hours have been cut back, and her office has been moved to the basement. He also tells her that if she continues her union activities, she will be fired. The owner reminds her that she is an independent contractor. Mindy continues her union organizing activities, and she is subsequently called into her supervisor’s office. Her supervisor explains that her contract is being terminated, and she must leave the premises immediately. Advise Mindy as to her legal position, taking care to analyze any legal issues that you can identify, and provide your opinion as to the likely outcome of any legal action that Mindy may be able to launch against the company.

Wilson Publishing Company produces books for the retail market. Demand for a current book is expected to occur at a constant annual rate of 6,900 copies. The cost of one copy of the book is $13. The holding cost is based on an 15% annual rate, and production setup costs are $155 per setup. The equipment on which the book is produced has an annual production volume of 21,500 copies. Wilson has 250 working days per year, and the lead time for a production run is 15 days. Use the production lot size model to compute the following values:

A. Minimum cost production lot size. Round your answer to the nearest whole number. Do not round intermediate values.

Q* =

B. Number of production runs per year. Round your answer to two decimal places. Do not round intermediate values.

Number of production runs per year =

C. Cycle time. Round your answer to two decimal places. Do not round intermediate values.

T = days

D. Length of a production run. Round your answer to two decimal places. Do not round intermediate values.

Production run length = days

E. Maximum inventory. Round your answer to the nearest whole number. Do not round intermediate values.

Maximum inventory =

F. Total annual cost. Round your answer to the nearest dollar. Do not round intermediate values.

Total annual cost = $

G. Reorder point. Round your answer to the nearest whole number. Do not round intermediate values.

r =

The threat of litigation is making companies skittish about axing problem workers.

Would you have dared fire Hemant K. Mody? In February, the longtime engineer had returned to work at a GE facility in Plainville, Connecticut, after a two-month medical leave. He was a very unhappy man. For much of the prior year, he and his superiors had been sparring over his performance and promotion prospects. According to court documents, Mody’s bosses claimed he spoke disparagingly of his co-workers, refused an assignment as being beneath him, and was abruptly taking days off and coming to work late. But Mody was also 49, Indian born, and even after returning from leave, he continued to suffer a major disability: chronic kidney failure that required him to receive daily dialysis.

The run-ins resumed with his managers, whom he had accused flat out of discriminating against him because of his race and age. It doesn’t take an advanced degree in human resources to recognize that the situation was a ticking time bomb. But Mody’s bosses were fed up. They fired him in April. The bomb exploded in July 2006. Following a six-day trial, a federal court jury in Bridgeport, Connecticut, found GE’s termination of Modyto be improper and awarded him $11.1 million, including $10 million in punitive damages. But the award wasn’t for discrimination. The

judge found those claims so weak that Mody wasn’t allowed to present them. Instead, jurors concluded that Mody had been fired in retaliation for complaining about bias. GE sued to have the award overturned but was only able to get the award reduced by $5 million in 2007. Unfortunately, Mody never saw any of the 2006 jury award; he died in April 2007 of a heart attack.

If this can happen to GE, a company famed for its rigorous performance reviews, with an HR operation that is studied worldwide, it can happen anywhere. The result: Many companies today are gripped by a fear of firing.
Terrified of lawsuits, they let unproductive employees linger, lay off coveted workers while retaining less valuable ones, and pay severance to nonperformers and even crooks in exchange for promises that they won’t sue. The fear of firing is particularly acute in the HR and legal departments. They don’t directly suffer when an underperformer lingers in the corporate hierarchy, but they may endure unpleasant indirect consequences if that person files a lawsuit.

When Mody signed GE’s job application in 1998, the form said his employment was “at will” and “the Company may terminate my employment at any time for any reason.” Well, not exactly. The notion that American workers are employed “at will”—meaning, as one lawyer put it, you can be fired if your manager doesn’t like the color of your socks—took root in the laissez-faire atmosphere of the late 19th century and, as an official matter, is still the law of the land in every state, save Montana. For most American workers now, their status as at-will employees has been transformed by a succession of laws growing out of the civil rights movement in the 1960s that bar employers from making decisions based on such things as race, religion, sex, age, and national origin. This is hardly controversial. Even the legal system’s harshest critics find little fault with rules aimed at ensuring that personnel decisions are based on merit. Most freely acknowledge that it is much easier to fire people in the United States than it is in, say, most of Western Europe. Mass layoffs, in fact, are a recurring event on the American corporate scene. Yet even in these situations, RIFs, or “reductions in force,” are carefully vetted by attorneys to assess the impact on employees who are in a legally protected category. These days the majority of American workers fall into one or more such groups. Mody, for example, belonged to three because of who he was (age, race, and national origin) and two more because of things he had done (complained of discrimination and taken medical leave). That doesn’t mean such people are immune from firing. But it does mean a company will have to show a legitimate, nondiscriminatory business reason for the termination, should the matter ever land in court.

1. Why are many companies afraid of terminating unproductive employees?

2. Why do supervisors bear much of the blame when HR says someone can’t be shown the door?

3. Can managers really fire employees “at will”?

4. GE was successful in getting the amount of the award reduced, but was the size of the award really its first concern?

5. Relate your personal experience, and apply what you learned. Indicate how you would have handled the situation if you were the primary subject in the case study, the subordinate in the case study, a supervisor or an outsider witnessing the situation.

Jerome claims to have injured himself as a result of falling from the icy stairs of Tabaret hall due to snow being not properly removed after early snowfall and low temperatures in mid-November in Ottawa. As a result of the bad fall, Jerome will not be able to work for a while and will need to undergo surgery to repair a broken hip. Jerome, upon suggestion of his private insurance, is suing the subcontractor in charge of snow removal for negligence because, despite the snowfall was predicted by the weather forecast several days in advance, no shoveling or salting took place for two days after the first snowfall. Jerome is asking for damages of $1.5 million considering both the loss of working days, the decreased quality of life, and the high costs of surgery/hip replacement. As a result of some initial negotiation Jerome offered to accept a settlement of $750 thousand. Snowclear, the snow removal contractor, thus has a few options: One is to accept the settlement and pay Jerome the agreed $750 thousand. Snowclear lawyers are also suggesting an alternative approach consisting in a counter-offer of $400 thousand in the hopes he will accept a lesser sum in order to avoid lengthy and costly process of a full-fledged trial.

However, Jerome strongly believes in his case and might still decide to refuse the counter-offer and let the judge and jury decide the proper sum to be paid (if any) by Snowclear during a trial. More specifically, Jerome can react in one of three ways: (1) accept the counteroffer of $400 thousand, (2) reject the counteroffer and take the case to court for a full trial where jury will decide, (3) Jerome himself will make a counteroffer of $600 thousand for settlement. If (3) happens then it will be Snowclear’s call on whether to accept such counteroffer and pay Jerome the $600 thousand or go to trial. If the case goes to trial there are three possible outcomes: (1) the jury may reject Jerome’s claim and Snowclear will owe nothing, (2) the jury will award Jerome the $750 thousand agreed upon during initial negotiation between the parties, (3) the jury will conclude that Jerome has a strong case and sentence Snowclear to pay him the full $1.5 million Jerome initially requested.

Key considerations when preparing Snowclear’s strategy on how to handle the situation are the probabilities associated with Jerome’s response to the counteroffer of $400 thousand, and the probabilities associated with the three possible outcomes for the trial. Based on historical cases similar to Jerome’s, Snowclear’s lawyers estimated that he will accept the counteroffer of $400 thousand with a probability of 0.10, that the probability of Jerome rejecting the counteroffer of $400 thousand is 0.40, and that the probability of Jerome himself making a counteroffer of $600 thousand is 0.50. If the case goes to trial they believe that the jury will award Jerome the full damage of $1.5 million is 0.30, the probability that the jury will award Jerome $750 thousand is 0.50, and the probability that the jury will award Jerome nothing is 0.20.

Perform an analysis of the problem facing Snowclear and its legal department and prepare a report that summarizes your analyses and final recommendations. Please include:

1. A decision tree modeling the problem

2. A recommendation on whether to accept Jerome’s initial offer of settlement for $750 thousand

3. A decision strategy that Snowclear should adopt if they decide to go ahead with their counteroffer of $400 thousand

In outline form identify THREE contemporary researchers who have contributed to the field of continuous quality improvement researchers AND explain their major theories and/or accomplishments. Cite any sources/references if necessary.

How does sport governance in the US differ from governance in other countries? Would a ministry of sport benefit the US?

   * How does the MEAT model compare with the process model, Which is more effective and why?

example

The M.E.A.T method stands for Mitigate , Eliminate , Accept, and Transfer Risk. Our book list four ways to respond to risk which are classified as mitigating, avoiding, transferring, or retaining. This is very similar to the MEAT method. Both methods are designed for you to take the safest risk. I think they better method depends on the person.

Country: Mexico

Current state of sustainability (Today)

Goal: To identify and examine the current state of sustainability within the country

What role, if any, do stakeholders, such as the international community, national and local governments, business, and civil society, have in promoting sustainability in the country today? Be sure to examine all aspects of the triple bottom line.

You may include information on:

o Policy/regulation

o The impact of international agreements

o Incentives available through government/business

o The influence of non-governmental organizations

Select three distinct organizations in the country to profile. For example, you may choose a large domestic or multinational company, a major government enterprise/agency, and a non-profit organization.

For each organization, provide information on:

o What the organization has done to become more sustainable

o What factors motivate the organization to adopt and embed sustainability

Write about 1000 words and provide relevant references

Shoprite is a busy centre for residents in East Legon and its sourrounding community. Assume that 2 customers arrive every 12 minutes and 3 customers are served every 15 minutes and that currently, there is only one cashier.

(i).Determine the average waiting time in minutes before service begins.

(ii). Advice the management the proportion of the time that a customer has to wait.

(B). Management perceives that the waiting time computed in (ii) above is not acceptable and is faced with two options.

Management can either employ an assistant for the cashier or open a second cash machine.

The former, if implemented, will enable 4 requests to be served every 15 minutes and the assistant will receive a monthly salary of GH₵160. The latter, if implemented will improve the arrival rate to 1 customer every 12 minutes.

However, it requires an initial capital outlay of GH₵3000 and the cashier who will operate the cash machine will receive a monthly salary of GH₵250. The shop avoids a loss in sales of GH₵80 per month for each minutes that average customer waiting time is reduced.

(i). Calculate the financial gain to Shoprite under option 1 and advice management on the option.

(ii). Calculate the financial gain to Shoprite under option 2, assuming the initial capital outlay is sunk cost and advice management on this option.

Name a US-based or foreign company that practices Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and describe what it is they do.

Do you tend to do business with companies who support social causes that you as a consumer are in favor of? Or does this have any bearing on your purchasing decision at all?

Research "Leadership Coaching". Find at least two resources dealing with leadership coaching. Discuss the current trends and give specific examples/companies who utilize leadership coaching

There is a both a science and an art to thinking like a lawyer, but the first skill set that you have to develop is critical thinking. And critical thinking is a science, which means that anyone can master it, if they will take the time to learn how.

In their book Think Critically, Facione and Gittens offer a simple mnemonic device that can help you think critically. They advocate the IDEA model:

Identify the problem and set priorities

Deepen understanding and gather relevant information

Enumerate options and anticipate consequences

Assess the situation and make a preliminary decision The IDEA model is actually a great way to think critically about the law. This exercise will provide two scenarios which present legal problems, and then use the IDEA model to help analyze the first one. Your task will be to use the IDEA model to analyze the second one on your own.

Scenario 1:

Gomez owns 10 acres of land, with highway frontage, on the road between Deming and Las Cruces. The land isn’t good for much, but he has made some income over the years by renting three billboards he has put on his land.

Recently, the county held some meetings about signage. A number of people expressed concern that their community was far too commercialized with signage. Some people argued that the value of property would increase if there was less signage. Finally, a third group expressed concern that all the signage was distracting to drivers, and presented a danger to the community. In response to these concerns, the County passed a regulation that prohibits signage except to advertise events and business which are on the land where the advertisement is. In other words, McDonalds could have a sign on its land, but could not have a billboard sign a mile away. The ordinance is to be effective soon, and Gomez is worried about losing the income that he gets from billboards. He has three billboards that are leased to three different customers; one is advertising a restaurant, one proclaims the religious beliefs of a customer, and the third is a political ad for a candidate in an upcoming election. Gomez has approached his lawyers, asking what rights, if any, he might have to continue to lease the billboards.

Note: Ignore any potential constitutional "takings" issues.

Identify the problem and set priorities

The obvious problem is that Gomez will be in violation of the law if he continues to have his billboards up after the ordinance goes in to effect. But we need to dig a bit deeper, and figure out more specifically what the problem is.

Sometimes you determine what the precise issue is by eliminating things that aren’t at issue. We know, for example, that Gomez doesn’t have a contract with the county that allows him to have billboards, so we can eliminate contract law as an issue. The First Amendment right to free speech immediately comes to mind, since the First Amendment limits the government’s right to interfere with what people want to say. So, the issue seems to be “can the government limit the right to free speech by prohibiting off-premise signage?”

Deepen understanding and gather relevant information

Once we know what the issue is, we have to conduct some research to figure out how to think about the problem. The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech ….” The ordinance isn’t a law that Congress made, but a local ordinance, but we know that the First Amendment is interpreted to mean “the government shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” And, of course, this law abridges the right of free speech.

But certainly the government can make laws that limit what people can say. The government could, for example, pass a law that says you cannot falsely yell “fire” in a crowded theater. So, that means that the First Amendment is interpreted “the government shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech unless it is reasonable to do so under the circumstances.”

When is it reasonable for the government to limit the right to speak freely? Well, the law provides that the government may regulate the time, manner, and place of speech for the common good, but it treats speech about political and religious matters differently than it treats speech about commercial matters. It can, for example, regulate the time, place and manner of commercial speech whenever the rules are reasonably related to a legitimate goal. It can regulate the time, place and manner of speech about political and religious matters only when the speech is likely to immediately cause lawless action or presents an immediate harm.

Enumerate options and anticipate consequences

Sometimes we tend to think in absolutes. For example, it might be easy to think that the ordinance is either valid or it isn’t valid. But sometimes, the absolutes aren’t the only options. For example, there are a number of options here.

1,)The entire ordinance is valid.

2.)The ordinance is valid as it pertains to one of the billboards, but not the other two.

3.)The ordinance is valid as it pertains to two of the billboards, but not the other one.

4.)The entire ordinance is invalid.

That requires us to think about why we might treat one billboard differently from the others. What meaningful differences are there about these billboards? Well, one of the billboards is an advertisement for a restaurant, which is pure commercial speech. Another is about a religious message. The third is about a political issue. As we learned when we were gathering information, a government is much more free to regulate commercial speech than it is to regulate speech about religious and political matter.

Assess the situation and make a preliminary decision

The government can regulate the time, place, and manner of commercial speech whenever the rules are reasonably related to a legitimate goal. Regulating billboards is a form of regulating the manner of speech; the government is not prohibiting the commercial speech, it is only saying that the speech cannot be on billboards. The county has a legitimate goal of raising property values, of making the county look better, and of eliminating things that might distract drivers, and getting rid of billboards is reasonably related to those goals. So, I conclude that the County can lawfully outlaw billboards used for commercial advertising.

The government is prohibited from the regulating time, place, and manner of speech pertaining to religious and political matters unless the speech is likely to immediately cause lawless action or presents an immediate harm. There is nothing about billboards with a religious message or about a political candidate that is likely to immediately cause lawless action or presents an immediate harm. So, I conclude that the County cannot lawfully outlaw billboards used for a religious message or about a political candidate.

I will encourage Gomez to take down the billboard for the restaurant, but to challenge the County’s right to enforce the ordinance for the other two billboards. Now it is your turn:

Scenario 2

New Mexico High School is a public high school. Dyson Stevens, a senior at the high school, is point guard for the basketball team; Pauline Williams is a cheerleader. Last year, Pauline called the police, and claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by Dyson. She told the police that she and Dyson were at the same party, but not together. He cornered her in the bathroom, groped her, and began ripping her clothes off when someone came into the bathroom; Dyson fled. Dyson denied the charge, and said that they were initiating consensual sexual contact when they were interrupted. No charges were brought against Dyson.

A problem arose during the first basketball game of the season this year. Dyson had been fouled, and was at the free throw line. As was the custom, the cheerleaders were yelling him on, except for Pauline. She stepped back from the rest of the cheerleaders, turned her back to the court, and crossed her arms. Dyson took his shots, making the first one and missing the second.

Immediately afterwards, the basketball coach talked with the cheerleading coach, who then talked with Pauline. Pauline said that she was not going to cheer for someone who had tried to rape her. The coach said that she had to cheer for all of the players.

A few minutes later, Dyson was again fouled, the scene described above repeated itself; while Dyson took his free throw shots, Pauline stepped back from the rest of the cheerleaders, turned her back to the court, and crossed her arms.

Again, the cheerleading coach, this time joined by the high school principal, talked with Pauline. Again, she said that was not going to cheer for someone who tried to rape her. Again, the coach said that she had to cheer for all of the players. The principal then told her that unless she was going to cheer for all the players, including Dyson, she had no place on the cheerleading squad. She repeated that she would not cheer for Dyson. The coach then told her that she was cut from the team.

Pauline has now gone to meet with some lawyers, asking whether she can be cut from the high school cheerleading squad for refusing to cheer under the circumstance.

Your task is to work your way through the IDEA model. As this is not an exercise in legal research, I am not expecting you to conduct your own independent legal research. Instead, I am providing some excerpts from 3 separate cases that may inform your analysis. They are saved in a .pdf file under the "Files" tab. These cases provide the legal precedent or law that should be used in your analysis. As you read these materials, please keep in mind that the entire cases have not been provided rather a substantially edited version so that you have less reading.

To complete this assignment, please prepare a written analysis which should be set up using the following format and include the appropriate discussion. Identify the legal issue (This is the

1.)I - Identify in the IDEA Model) 20 points

2.)Identify both sides of the legal issue; remember, each and every legal issue is seen/argued differently depending on what side of the issue you are on. Here you need to argue all sides of the issue. (This corresponds with the D -Deepen Understanding in the IDEA Model) 20 points

3.) Analyze both sides of the issue based on the legal precedent provided; please cite the cases you used in the analysis.[1] (This corresponds with the E-Enumerate options section of the IDEA Model) 20 points

4.)Conclude the discussion by describing what you believe the outcome of the situation should be (This corresponds with the A-Assess the situation and make a preliminary decision section of the IDEA Model) 20 points

5.)Writing and presentation of analysis 20 points Total 100 Points Be thorough and pay attention to detail!

[1] Cite the cases as follows: Tinker et al v. Des Moines Independent Community School District et al; 393 U.S. 503 (1969); Hazelwood School District et al v. Kuhlmeier et al; 484 U.S. 260 (1988); Sissy Littlefield et al v. Forney Independent School District et al; 268 F.3d 275 (5th Cir. 2001).

Discuss rapidly changing business models and impacts on inventory control/management systems.