My thoughts on the increase of the law and the courts on business in the last 10, 25, and 50 years

There has been increasing competition in the, and every organization that strives to remain competitive ensures that they abide by the changing business law. The new business trends emerge, so does the need for changing trends in business law to facilitate the operations to keep up with the law. For instance, JDSUPRA (2017) provides a list of the trends in business relevant and useful to any business person. The law on the eligibility for overtime for workers makes more workers qualify for overtime pay. The original salary cap was at $47,476, but the wage aims to be higher than that (JDSUPRA, 2017). It is essential that every employer appreciate the efforts of the employees and reward them accordingly. They could be spending the time they spare for extra work at the office, but the employees aim to work hard for the success of the organization as well as their personal development. If more employees qualify for overtime pay, then business organizations will eventually increase productivity, and it cancels the extra amount paid to workers; thus the general result becomes favorable to the organization and the employees.

According to Schumacher et al. (2018), government agencies could default from their loans and not face legal actions by foreign creditors. The situation however changed and the creditors’ lawsuits have increased over the decades. There have been increased legal supports for creditors to increase the costs for sovereign defaulters. The courts can, therefore, enforce the financial ban on the sovereign defaulters (Schumacher et al., 2018). This issue is of vital importance to the government and its citizens. It limits countries borrowing money for activities that they could have collected funds from other sources within their countries such as from tax revenue. Besides, some countries borrow money but do not use it for the intended purpose, and in the end, there is no return on investment; therefore, they continue to be in a cycle of debts. The impact affects the whole nation as they have slow economic development and growth. They also continue to be in debts and cannot invest in activities that will enable them to achieve their goals.

Law, Business, and Ethics

Organizations conduct their business operations within various regulations that focus on adhering to the ethical standards. Business might operate legally, but some of its practices remain ethically questionable; thus they need to strike a balance to become more sustainable in the industry that they operate (Trevino & Nelson, 2016).  An example of a business with legal operations but ethically questionable is Nike Company.  The company is the leading brand for sports shoes and clothes in the world (Robertson, 2017). However, Nike has been on the controversies concerning labor ethics. The company has been accused of not being concerned with the employee’s welfare and paying them a minimum wage that does not allow them to fulfill their basic needs.  Legally, the company is right to pay full-time employees a minimum wage, but it is ethically questionable considering the many expenses the employees have to incur every month. If the company pays its employees reasonable amounts, they will not b in debt cycles as they will have enough to sustain their needs.

Nike Company has also had controversies on the issues of environmental sustainability. Nike has made improvements towards a sustainable environment as it encourages the use of environmentally friendly materials and recycling polyester and cotton (Robertson, 2017). The company also minimizes the rate of cut-offs during manufacturing and has implemented waste and water reduction strategy in the supply chain as well as having a goal of reducing carbon emission by 50% by2025 (Robertson, 2017). Despite the legal effort of Nike to achieve environmental sustainability, the company still faces ethical issues on the use of hazardous chemicals in their production. The health of the workers remains at risk as they interact with harmful chemicals. Some of Nike’s waterways also remain polluted. The issue requires immediate action as it is it can result in public health issues since the customers wearing the final products are also at risk of being exposed to the hazardous chemical. In as much as Nike has a good reputation, some of its operations remain unethical especially when they concern the welfare of the employees and the general public health.

The article that relates to the Role of Ethics in Decision Making

Ethics plays a significant role in decision making. It not only helps leaders to make rational decisions but the final decision has a positive impact on the citizens in question. The decision by the California Governor to suspend the death penalty is a relief to many (Reston, 2019). It is good news to the individuals who were to face the death penalty as well as their families because they were at risk of losing their loved ones. In as much as criminals deserve severe punishment for their death penalty remains ethically questionable regarding human rights (Martin, 2016).  Criminals also earn respect for human rights, but the death penalty deprives them of that right. The process of killing a criminal with the death sentence is too devastating and can traumatize the family members once they comprehend what one of their loved ones has to undergo as a punishment. Ethics thus act as guidance in the governor’s decision.

It is also possible that an individual had been convicted of a crime they never commit. Death penalty for such an individual is illegal if new evidence proves that the person is innocent (Martin, 2016). It is, therefore, necessary to look into the possibility of conducting further DNA testing to prove the innocence of individuals accused of high profile cases (Reston,2019).  The Governor also mentioned the issue of racial disparities as there has been an increased number of people of color with the death penalty. It is possible that the real criminals are not lock up and innocent people continue to serve the sentence that they do not deserve. Death penalty on an individual because of their race will be unethical since everyone deserves the right to life. The judiciary system, therefore, ought to be transparent in their actions while eliminating any possibility of discrimination as it might result in convicting the wrong person. Generally, the state should abolish the death penalty as it is unethical. Besides criminals use the opportunity they serve in jail to correct their behavior to become productive members of the society.

References

JDSUPRA (2017). Top Trends in Business Law that You need to Know for 2017. Retrieved on March 13, 2019, from https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/50-business-trends-to-watch-in-2017-84464/

Martin, C. (2016). SUPeR Feature Article: Determining the Deterrent Impact of the Death Penalty. Susquehanna University Political Review, 7(1), 2.

Reston M. (2019). California Governor to sign an executive order stopping state’s death penalty for now. Retrieved on March 13, 2019, from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/12/politics/gavin-newsom-california-death-penalty/index.html

Robertson L. (2017). How Ethical is Nike? Retrieved on March 13, 2019, from  https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-nike/

Schumacher, J., Trebesch, C., & Enderlein, H. (2018). Sovereign defaults in court.

Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.