Assignment Prompt:
The following table lists three (3) companies that have been involved in a consumer 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 conduct more research about the company as to the issue, as well as the applicable ethical frameworks and other legal theories. See further instructions following the table.
Company/Issue
Fact source with APA citation to get you started
Comments
(Antitrust)
U.S. Dept. of Justice. (2020, October). Justice Department sues monopolist Google for violating antitrust laws.
Stated purpose of suit “to stop Google from unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets and to remedy the competitive harms.”
Other legal issues you might look into regarding Google are invasion of privacy, contracts, defamation, intellectual property
Wells Fargo
(Consumer)
Navajo Nation
Fox, T. (2019, September 1). Wells Fargo pays Navajo Nation $6.5 million over predatory business tactics. Corpwatch.
The broader background for this is the Wells Fargo bogus accounts scandal, but THIS inquiry is specifically what WF did targeting the Navajo and others, primarily minorities, lacking English language skills.
In addition to the main consumer issues, other legal topics might include alternate dispute resolution (settlement), criminal law, civil rights, contract fraud
Takata
(Consumer)
Exploding airbags
Padmanabhan, K. (2017, January 20). Takata fined $1 billion for hiding information on exploding car airbags. Corpwatch.
Other legal topics you might include are product liability, wrongful death, alternate dispute resolution (settlement)
When you have selected your company, research and cover the following points in a well written essay. Use APA7 format and topical headings. Here is a sample APA7 student paper to follow for title page, headings, etc. (at Purdue Owl).
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 issue. (i.e., What are the specific laws involved?) Include case law.
Ethical dilemma and two ethical frameworks: Identify the ethical dilemma that the company presents with respect to the consumer problem of the case study. This should be encapsulated in a single sentence in your paper. Evaluate two ethical frameworks with respect to the company management’s decisions that created situation. One of these should be the ethical framework you identify as the framework the company followed or that is illustrated by its decision-making giving rise to the problem. The other framework you present and discuss is to be a contrasting ethical 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 related to consumer protection laws) that we covered this term and that have involved this company. Suggestions are included in the above chart. (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 operating and managing a business).
Conclusion.
References list
Further Guidance:
Reflect on the class discussions and the text, required readings, articles that you have read during the class and use the information, and other academic sources
Write a well-supported analytical essay critiquing the company, its operations, and the ethical dilemma it caused. Discuss the legal issues and concepts identified and make recommendations for management. LENGTH: – See RUBRIC
Number of sources: Exemplary level of performance states 7 sources, at least 2 of which are from Trefry library and none of which are from excluded sources (e.g. Wikipedia).
Proper citation and references formatting must be in APA 7th Ed.
Papers that do not include appropriate in-text citations will lose points.
Dictionaries, encyclopedias — including Investopedia — Wikis, and the like, and Internet generic quick-answer websites are not acceptable to populate your Reference list as core references. Use your text, required readings, and other scholarly sources.
