Chapter 1 – Business and Its Legal Environment
Practical Internet Exercise 1-1:
Legal Perspective—Internet Sources of Law
Instructions: The FindLaw Web site is probably the most comprehensive source of free legal information on the Internet. Go to the URL listed below, and you will be at the main FindLaw home page (for the Public Side), which provides a wide variety of basic business information, including legal news, reference materials, and legal practice materials.
The “for Professionals” Side of the FindLaw Web site includes links to major sources of law in the United States, professional development, legal organizations, law firms and lawyers, cases and codes, federal government legal resources, and state law resources.
On the home page (for the Public Side, which is where you are right now), click on the “Starting a Business” link located under the “Learn About the Law” section. Then, using the sources available, answer Question 1 thru 3.
Go back to the home page and click on “Legal Videos”. Find a video that interests you and watch it. Then answer Question 4 below.
Visit URL:
Findlaw
http://www.findlaw.com
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: What are five important start-up basics for any business owner?
Question 2: What are four do’s and don’ts when naming a business?
Question 3: What are some of the main arguments for writing a business plan?
Question 4: Write a paragraph on the who, what, where, and why of the video and your impression of what was discussed.
Practical Internet Exercise 1-2:
Management Perspective—Online Assistance from Government Agencies
Instructions: As you will read throughout this text, government agencies regulate many areas of business activity. Fortunately for managers today, most government agencies have detailed Web sites designed to keep the public informed. Go to the provided URL to find a gateway to the Web sites of government departments and agencies.
Visit URL:
US Government Web site
http://www.usa.gov
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Click on the tab titled For Businesses and Nonprofits, which is listed under the “Just for You” heading. Click on Laws & Regulations. Where does this link take you? What types of resources do you find available here?
Question 2: Return to the "For Businesses and Nonprofits" Web page, and click on State Programs. Find your state and list at least programs where the government assists businesses online.
Question 3: Return to the "For Businesses and Nonprofits" Web page, and click on another link of your choice. Write a quick list of additional services, links, and assistance you find for businesses.
Practical Internet Exercise 1-3:
Social Perspective—The Case of the Speluncean Explorers
Instructions: Lon Fuller, a professor of law at Harvard University, devised a hypothetical court case entitled The Case of the Speluncean Explorers to illustrate how different legal philosophies might affect judicial decisions.
Go to the URL given below and read the “facts” of this hypothetical case, then answer the following questions
Visit URL:
The Case of the Speluncean Explorers
http://www.nullapoena.de/stud/explorers.html
Questions and Answers
Question 1: What was the outcome of the case?
Question 2: To which schools of jurisprudential thought did the different judges ascribe?
Question 3: How would you have ruled on the case if you had been one of the judges?