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Management Liability Scenario
Management Liability Scenario
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name and Code
Professor’s Name
Date
Management Liability Scenario
Lori V. Mowers Inc.
A contract is a legal agreement involving two or more private parties that creates statutory requirements for both parties. For a contract to be considered valid it has to meet four specific requirements. These requirements include offer, acceptance, consideration and legality (Davis, 1). It is very obvious that Brian and his two employees are in a valid contract. This is because all the elements of a valid contract are evident. Brian’s company, Mowers Inc., offered to employ the two employees. The employees accepted the offer by agreeing to work for the company. Both the employees and Brian gave a consideration; the employees gave their time and energy while Brian was going to pay the employees for their time and energy. The employees agreed to be legally bound since they signed a waiver of liability contract.
Liability waivers, commonly referred to as release forms, hold harmless agreements, or waivers of liability, are contractual agreements. A stakeholder, such as a client or staff, recognizes risk and consents to release the business from liability for injuries or other losses resulting from inherent risks (Adams, 2). If a staff or client experiences losses or injuries, the limitation of liability protects the firm from having to pay legal penalties. The main benefit of using a liability waiver is that firms can defend themselves against injuries suffered and legal actions connected to operations that are by their very nature dangerous. This degree of defense can protect your image of the business, profits, and avert needless legal battles. A liability waiver has 6 essential parts.
The first part is that there should be an inherent risk which has the possibility of causing harm or damage. In this case the employees of Mowers Inc. were working with mowers to cut grass for their clients (Adams, 2). There was a possibility of the employees getting injured while using the machines. Secondly is the assumption of risk which clearly stipulates that the staff understood the possibility of risk in the work involved. Thirdly there was a release clause which released the company of any legal obligation in the event an employee got injured at work. The fourth part is the indemnification where the employees agree to pay for any legal costs that may result in them filing a law suit against the company in the event of injury at work (Adams, 2). The fifth part is the insurance which states that the company should not cover any damages that may occur at work. The sixth part is the choice of law which caters for the different locations of both the employer and the company to avoid confusion when it comes to law and regulations.
The employees were both trained and there after signed the waiver of liability contract showing that they fully agreed with it. It is therefore evident that the liability waiver contract was valid since Lori was not forced to sign it. As per the contract she was not legible for any compensation for the injury she obtained while mowing. She could also not take the company to court unless she was willing to cater for all the costs incurred by the lawsuit which was very unlikely. As much as Brian had told the employees not to worry and that the company would protect them, it was not reliable since he did not put it in writing. Every valid contract should be in written format (Davis, 1). If it could have been written down it could have overruled the liability waiver.
As much as Lori signed the liability to waiver, she has claim to worker’s compensation as per the law of tort. The law of tort clearly states that a damage or injury should be compensated with no regards if the action that caused the damage or injury was intentional or accidental (White, 3). Lori had been trained on how to use the mower so the employer, Brain did not intend for her to trip in the moist grass and end up being injured. Work compensation laws protect individuals who become injured or disabled in the line of work (Bakhauser et al., 4). In this case, Lori lost a toe and therefore she was clearly injured. Since she cannot sue Mowers Inc., the might as well cater for her hospital bills and give her paid leave as she recovers from home.
Peta V. Ferrari
When a manufacturer or seller is held accountable for putting a faulty item in the possession of a customer, this is referred to as product liability. All retailers of the goods who are involved in the distribution chain are accountable for any product flaw that results in harm. In general, the law demands that an item live up to typical consumer aspirations (Del Riego, 5). An item cannot be claimed to satisfy the typical expectations of the consumer if it has an unforeseen flaw or risk. Design defect is when there was a risk that could have been foreseen when the item was made as intended and used for its intended uses. The corporation is liable for the design flaw (Del Riego, 5). Manufacturing defects are those that take place when the product was being made or during its assembly and the manufacturer had no intentions for the product have them. Marketing defects occur in the way the product is marketed. For example, it is not well labeled, the instructions are not clear or the safety precautions are not listed.
In this case, Peta did not have a product liability case against Ferrari because the mower was in perfect condition. Ferrari had made it a requirement to replace the sandpaper liner on the mower for traction every three years due to normal wear and tear. Mowers Inc. had done exactly that. The mower was also in perfect condition since it had been used for three years without any flaws whatsoever. The manufacturer clearly had no intentions of using the product to ruin Peta’s roses. The whole incident was an accident which was not planned for. Peta should just accept the loss since she will no longer be participating in the competition. It was not even evident that if she participated in the rose competition she would have won the prize of $10,000. The fact that she was not physically injured was enough.
Sources
Davis, Kevin and Pargendler, Mariana. 2022. Contract Law and Inequality. P 485-541. Retrieved from
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=157206054&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Adams, Rusty. 2019. Are Liability Waivers Enforcable? P 11-13.Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=139491791&site=eds-live&scope=site.
White, Edward. 2003. Tort Law in America. Retrieved from
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=129730&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Burkhauser, Richard et al. 2012. The Importance of Anti-Discrimination and Workers’ Compensation Laws on the Provision of Workplace Accommodations Following the Onset of a Disability. P 161-180. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1177/001979391206500109.
Del Riego, Alissa. 2021. Deconstructing Fallacies in Products Liability Law to Provide a Remedy for Economic Loss. P 387-447. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/ablj.12185.
Management Liability Scenario (2)
Management Liability Scenario
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name and Code
Professor’s Name
Date
Management Liability Scenario
Lori V. Mowers Inc.
A contract is a legal agreement involving two or more private parties that creates statutory requirements for both parties. For a contract to be considered valid it has to meet four specific requirements. These requirements include offer, acceptance, consideration and legality (Davis, 1). It is very obvious that Brian and his two employees are in a valid contract. This is because all the elements of a valid contract are evident. Brian’s company, Mowers Inc., offered to employ the two employees. The employees accepted the offer by agreeing to work for the company. Both the employees and Brian gave a consideration; the employees gave their time and energy while Brian was going to pay the employees for their time and energy. The employees agreed to be legally bound since they signed a waiver of liability contract.
Liability waivers, commonly referred to as release forms, hold harmless agreements, or waivers of liability, are contractual agreements. A stakeholder, such as a client or staff, recognizes risk and consents to release the business from liability for injuries or other losses resulting from inherent risks (Adams, 2). If a staff or client experiences losses or injuries, the limitation of liability protects the firm from having to pay legal penalties. The main benefit of using a liability waiver is that firms can defend themselves against injuries suffered and legal actions connected to operations that are by their very nature dangerous. This degree of defense can protect your image of the business, profits, and avert needless legal battles. A liability waiver has 6 essential parts.
The first part is that there should be an inherent risk which has the possibility of causing harm or damage. In this case the employees of Mowers Inc. were working with mowers to cut grass for their clients (Adams, 2). There was a possibility of the employees getting injured while using the machines. Secondly is the assumption of risk which clearly stipulates that the staff understood the possibility of risk in the work involved. Thirdly there was a release clause which released the company of any legal obligation in the event an employee got injured at work. The fourth part is the indemnification where the employees agree to pay for any legal costs that may result in them filing a law suit against the company in the event of injury at work (Adams, 2). The fifth part is the insurance which states that the company should not cover any damages that may occur at work. The sixth part is the choice of law which caters for the different locations of both the employer and the company to avoid confusion when it comes to law and regulations.
The employees were both trained and there after signed the waiver of liability contract showing that they fully agreed with it. It is therefore evident that the liability waiver contract was valid since Lori was not forced to sign it. As per the contract she was not legible for any compensation for the injury she obtained while mowing. She could also not take the company to court unless she was willing to cater for all the costs incurred by the lawsuit which was very unlikely. As much as Brian had told the employees not to worry and that the company would protect them, it was not reliable since he did not put it in writing. Every valid contract should be in written format (Davis, 1). If it could have been written down it could have overruled the liability waiver.
As much as Lori signed the liability to waiver, she has claim to worker’s compensation as per the law of tort. The law of tort clearly states that a damage or injury should be compensated with no regards if the action that caused the damage or injury was intentional or accidental (White, 3). Lori had been trained on how to use the mower so the employer, Brain did not intend for her to trip in the moist grass and end up being injured. Work compensation laws protect individuals who become injured or disabled in the line of work (Bakhauser et al., 4). In this case, Lori lost a toe and therefore she was clearly injured. Since she cannot sue Mowers Inc., the might as well cater for her hospital bills and give her paid leave as she recovers from home.
Peta V. Ferrari
When a manufacturer or seller is held accountable for putting a faulty item in the possession of a customer, this is referred to as product liability. All retailers of the goods who are involved in the distribution chain are accountable for any product flaw that results in harm. In general, the law demands that an item live up to typical consumer aspirations (Del Riego, 5). An item cannot be claimed to satisfy the typical expectations of the consumer if it has an unforeseen flaw or risk. Design defect is when there was a risk that could have been foreseen when the item was made as intended and used for its intended uses. The corporation is liable for the design flaw (Del Riego, 5). Manufacturing defects are those that take place when the product was being made or during its assembly and the manufacturer had no intentions for the product have them. Marketing defects occur in the way the product is marketed. For example, it is not well labeled, the instructions are not clear or the safety precautions are not listed.
In this case, Peta did not have a product liability case against Ferrari because the mower was in perfect condition. Ferrari had made it a requirement to replace the sandpaper liner on the mower for traction every three years due to normal wear and tear. Mowers Inc. had done exactly that. The mower was also in perfect condition since it had been used for three years without any flaws whatsoever. The manufacturer clearly had no intentions of using the product to ruin Peta’s roses. The whole incident was an accident which was not planned for. Peta should just accept the loss since she will no longer be participating in the competition. It was not even evident that if she participated in the rose competition she would have won the prize of $10,000. The fact that she was not physically injured was enough.
Sources
Davis, Kevin and Pargendler, Mariana. 2022. Contract Law and Inequality. P 485-541. Retrieved from
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=157206054&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Adams, Rusty. 2019. Are Liability Waivers Enforcable? P 11-13.Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=139491791&site=eds-live&scope=site.
White, Edward. 2003. Tort Law in America. Retrieved from
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=129730&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Burkhauser, Richard et al. 2012. The Importance of Anti-Discrimination and Workers’ Compensation Laws on the Provision of Workplace Accommodations Following the Onset of a Disability. P 161-180. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1177/001979391206500109.
Del Riego, Alissa. 2021. Deconstructing Fallacies in Products Liability Law to Provide a Remedy for Economic Loss. P 387-447. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/ablj.12185.
Management Issues in Nokia
Management Issues in Nokia
Name
Institution
Management Issues in Nokia
IntroductionNokia is a multinational electronics company that was once leading globally in the manufacture and sale of mobile devices. The firm which had its headquarters in Espoo, Finland, was enjoying a large market share of over 40 percent of the global market (Peltonen, 2019). However, the company’s market share drastically declined, forcing its owners to sell it off to Microsoft in 2013. Poor organizational culture was the main cause of the downfall of Nokia. Specifically, the prevalent culture in the company was reliance on a traditional method of management that was strictly dictatorial and not concerned with cultural diversity among its staff and employees. Subsequently, this study would employ participatory and contingency planning theories to adequately understand the problem which faced Nokia (Alexander, Havercome & Mujtaba, 2015). Also, this report will provide three recommendations that could help Nokia effectively handle the problem and remain competitive.
2.0 Management Issue DiscussionThe main issue identified in Nokia is the poor organizational culture that is marked by reliance on a traditional dictatorship approach of management that does not consider and appreciate cultural diversity in the work environment. Organizational culture includes aspects such as the experiences, the company’s expectations, values that guide the employees, philosophy, and how stakeholders interact in the outside environment and inner workings (Wang & Chen, 2015). Thus, organizational culture is very important because it offers the employees and all the stakeholders a platform that enables them to align the objectives of the company and the individual responsibilities of the employees (Wang & Chen, 2015). A firm without a proper organizational culture cannot remain competitive in the market place and accommodative to its employees. As a critical aspect, appropriate organizational culture has a significant influence on workers of an organization since it could motivate employees, thus making them more productive and efficient (Yuso, Said & Ali, 2016). In the case of Nokia, employees were dissatisfied and demotivated by the dictatorship approach of management. The poor organizational culture characterized by the unsupportive cultural environment in Nokia discourages creativity and innovation, practices that could attract additional benefits to the firm by making its processes more efficient and effective for higher competitiveness. A suitable organizational culture would favor employees from varied cultural backgrounds, considers their requirements and contributions for better performance, and enable workers to adequately understand the vision and mission of their firm (Wang & Chen, 2015).
Consequently, the cultural issue in Nokia is related to planning since organizations should establish suitable roadmaps that stipulates necessary measures and tools for controlling and monitoring their processes and management practices to ensure that they remain favorable to every employee. A suitable organization culture draws lots of benefits to the organization and its workforce. For instance, employees will remain motivated and happy to work in a firm that considers their interests, issues, suggestions and demands (Wang & Chen, 2015). Besides, the satisfied employees are motivated and would probably perform better because of the conducive work environment. Also, such happy and satisfied employees would exhibit low levels of turnover. Satisfied workers will find no reason to quit their organization and join other firms which could fail to offer favorable working conditions. Subsequently, their organization would enjoy high profits due to high productivity of the employees. Still, a business will avoid or drastically minimize the costly recruitment processes while trying to replace employees who quit.
3.0 Critical Discussion
3.1 Participatory Planning: Positive Aspects
Participatory planning has lots of advantages to virtually all stakeholders of a business since it encourages contributions of every interested person. When every interested individual is engaged in decision-making processes, the eventual outcome would probably be satisfying to everyone (McCullum et al. 2004). It is imperative that participatory planning acknowledges and appreciates diversities that exist in different types of people. Subsequently, every stakeholder enjoys a sense of ownership, an aspect that draws benefits that entail the motivation of employees, assumption of responsibility by all stakeholders, and encouragement of every stakeholder to contribute towards the betterment of their entity. Similarly, every stakeholder strives to ensure timely and appropriate responses to varied occurrences as responsible and empowered persons with a sound understanding of their firm’s goal and target objectives (Hassenforder et al. 2016). Eventually, all the stakeholders would be proud owners and originators of every intervention strategy that promote positive growth and development of their organization. Also, participatory planning has high chances of providing sound decisions, promotes creativity and innovation by relying on contributions from several individuals with varying levels of understanding, expertise, experiences and values.
Besides, participatory planning promotes the development of trust among involved people. Consequently, beneficial relationships would prevail in an organization that embraces such type of planning. Moreover, local communities and other engaged parties would be ready and willing to share vital information that facilitates the development of apt solutions to existing gaps and barriers, thus promoting peaceful and profitable coexistence (Hassenforder et al. 2016). Still, employees and other engaged parties would exhibit high performance since their contributions, concerns, and opinions are respected and valued by their firm.
3.2 Participatory Planning: Negative Aspects
Participatory planning consumes lots of time and energy since it endeavors to collect and consider contributions from every stakeholder. The relatively large number of participants who are engaged in participatory planning requires more time to present their opinions, suggestions and other contributions (Archibugi, 2004). Further, some of the engaged parties may generate remote and less useful information that does not support the development of the desired decisions. Thus, a firm would spend much time, which could otherwise have been used to accomplish other essential activities such as the development of products and services.
Moreover, participatory planning promotes the sharing of information, a practice that may result in leakage of sensitive and critical information that malicious individuals could utilize to harm an organization, its processes, or employees (Archibugi, 2004). Some information that should be preserved for top management and other few personnel would spread to several individuals. Hence, an organization may not adequately preserve the security and privacy of its sensitive information.
3.3 Contingency Planning: Positive Aspects
A contingency plan is vital for an organization since it serves as a suitable alternative and backup plan that a firm would adopt when the predetermined processes and operations fail. Accordingly, a contingency plan is a rescue strategy for a firm when anticipated risks emerge. Since a contingency plan offers all details, including actions to be done and individuals who will be engaged, a firm would handle a disaster with more comfort and limited or no instances of panic and confusion (Westergaard, 2008). During emergencies, organizations may not have sufficient time to make sound decisions. Thus, contingency plans are crucial because they are developed and tested on time to ensure they are effective in addressing a disaster. Moreover, a firm would take advantage of new opportunities by developing and embracing an appropriate contingency plan that ensures the allocation of adequate resources for embracing new and better business strategies that may arise. Subsequently, a contingency plan is well-developed and actionable, rendering highly-applicable during instances of crises. Besides, a firm has high chances of emerging successful by embracing an appropriate contingency plan since it (contingency plan) offers detailed procedures of implementing applicable processes. As a result, an organization minimizes damages and avoids bad public image and reputation by establishing a contingency plan that strives to ensure that its operations continue smoothly with the least or no interference from an emergency (Dearnaley, 2014). Also, virtually all stakeholders of a business are reassured of the safety and positive progress of their project despite looming risks.
3.4 Contingency Planning: Negative Aspects
A contingency plan is only applicable when an organization is preparing to handle identified risks only. Since the plan is not suitable for unknown risks, a firm is vulnerable to unforeseen perils. Moreover, contingency planning does not prevent a risk from occurring, but rather endeavors to reduce its (risk’s) impact. Still, contingency planning consumes lots of time, funds, and energy, which could otherwise be used to accomplish other vital processes. A firm would use lots of its resources in planning, training its employees and doing other preparatory activities for an event that I never happen. Further, a firm would spend extra resources and time for constantly updating its contingency plan as the dynamic business environment presents new challenges and threats (De Matta, 2017). Hence, a contingency plan may not prove beneficial since it strives to elaborate and explain how an organization can deal with an anticipated disaster instead of establishing strategies for avoiding such unwanted occurrences.
4.0 Recommendations
As discussed above, Nokia could adequately address the issues facing its management by employing either a participatory or contingency plan. Nokia lags in development and collapses because it embraces an unsuitable form of management that does not acknowledge and appreciate cultural diversities among its staff members. Consequently, the organization relies on an unmotivated and dissatisfied workforce due to its (Nokia’s) unsupportive culture that uses commands to accomplish its operations without considering the needs of its employees and changes in the industry. Conversely, the organization could utilize participatory planning to address the undesired culture. Precisely, the firm should encourage all of its stakeholders, including employees, to contribute towards resolving prevailing and anticipated issues by offering their opinions, suggestions and perceptions according to the participatory theory (Hassenforder et al. 2016). Thus, Nokia could engage its workforce and other stakeholders in developing appropriate solutions for addressing the current crisis while preparing to avoid a similar situation in the future.
On the other hand, Nokia could utilize the contingency planning approach to develop and execute an appropriate strategy for addressing the prevailing management issues (Westergaard, 2008). Since the organization failed to establish a suitable contingency plan, it has no strategy for resolving the current management issues. The firm does not have sufficient time to develop and test a contingency plan before using it to handle the crisis that has occurred. However, the firm could develop suitable strategies for handling similar or other management issues in the future. Therefore, Nokia should adopt a participatory planning strategy to ensure that it effectively addresses the current issue while developing suitable strategies for preventing similar situations in the future.
5.0 Conclusion
This report concludes that Nokia could adequately address its current management issues by adopting a participatory planning strategy that encourages contributions from all stakeholders, including its employees. Moreover, participatory planning is useful in preventing recurrence of such and related issues because it facilitates the development of informed decisions that favor all the engaged parties.
References
Alexander, V., Havercome, C., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2015). Effectively managing employees to get results in a diverse workplace such as American Express. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 7(1), 13. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/a9cd7938231dc194c962119b2e89615a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1056382
Archibugi, F. (2004). Planning theory: Reconstruction or requiem for planning? European Planning Studies, 12(3), 425-445. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/210454083?accountid=14543De Matta, R. (2017). Contingency planning during the formation of a supply chain. Annals of Operations Research, 257(1-2), 45-75. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/10.1007/s10479-015-2085-0
Dearnaley, P. (2014). Competitive advantage in the new social care marketplace: A new theoretical perspective. Housing, Care, and Support, 17(1), 5-15. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/10.1108/HCS-12-2013-0025
Hassenforder, E., Pittock, J., Barreteau, O., Daniell, K. A., & Ferrand, N. (2016). The MEPPP framework: A framework for monitoring and evaluating participatory planning processes. Environmental Management, 57(1), 79-96. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/10.1007/s00267-015-0599-5
McCullum, C., Pelletier, D., Barr, D., & Wilkins, J. (2002). Use of participatory planning process as a way to build community food security. American Dietetic Association. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102(7), 962-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/218467213?accountid=14543
Peltonen, T. (2019). Case Study 4: The Collapse of Nokia’s Mobile Phone Business. In Towards Wise Management (pp. 163-188). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Wang, H., & Chen, Z. (2015). Does organizational culture or organizational culture fit really matter?. Piscataway: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/1700905379?accountid=14543
Westergaard, J. M. (2008). Contingency planning: Preparation of contingency plans. Zoonoses and Public Health, 55(1), 42-49. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/10.1111/j.1863-2378.2007.01088.x
Yusof, H. S. M., Said, N. S. M., & Ali, S. R. O. (2016). A study of organizational culture and employee motivation in private sector company. Journal of Applied Environment and Biology Sciences, 6(3S), 50-54.