Business Law

Deals with the creation of new businesses and the issues that arise as existing
businesses interact with the public, other companies, and the government
Tax law, intellectual property, real estate, sales, employment law, bankruptcy, and
others
Source: http://www.hg.org/corp.html
Governs transactions between business entities
Sales of goods, leases of goods, negotiable instruments, bank deposits, fund
transfers, letters of credit, bulk sales, warehouse receipts, bills of lading, investment
securities, and secured transactions
Rights, relations, and conduct of persons and businesses engaged in commerce,
merchandising, trade, and sales
Source: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Business+law

Business Ethics
Study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial
issues
Corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social
responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities
Law often guides business ethics, while other times business ethics provide a basic
framework that businesses may choose to follow to gain public acceptance
Goes beyond just a moral code of right and wrong; it attempts to reconcile what
companies must do legally versus maintaining a competitive advantage over other
businesses
Source: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business-ethics.asp
Moral principles that guide the way a business behaves
Corporate social responsibility - a company should minimize any harm to the
environment and work in ways that do not damage the communities in which it
operates
Source: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/anglo-american/business-ethics-and-
corporate-social-responsibility/what-are-business-ethics.html#axzz4A1wCVgUe
Running a successful business is not simply a matter of obeying the law
For example, while it may be legal for executives at companies laying off
employees to award themselves, at the same time, substantially higher salaries and
bonuses, is it right?
Corporate social responsibility - works from the premise that just because it is legal
to do something, doesnt mean it should be done
For example, it may be legal for a corporation to dump a certain amount of waste,
but if that impacts the community in a negative way, it could damage the reputation
of the business
Corporate social responsibility and established business ethics seek to identify a
balance between doing whats right for the community and doing whats best for a


companys shareholders
Source: https://learn.saylor.org/course/bus205
Business law and ethics = focuses on the role of law in positive leadership
development and organizational success
Goals: 1) to develop legally savvy leaders who are able to achieve career success
by understanding the legal and ethical aspects of their business responsibilities and
2) to show how organizations can achieve competitive advantage by reducing legal
risk and using the law to create economic value, while also encouraging
responsible conduct
Source: https://michiganross.umich.edu/courses/business-law-and-ethics-10242

Environmental Business Ethics

In a business sense, environmental ethics is concerned with a companys
responsibility to protect the environment in which it operates
Public awareness of damage caused to the environment by human action has
driven a demand for governmental regulations directly affecting the ability of
businesses to conduct their operations
Corporate response to governmental regulation is a primary area of concern in
environmental business ethics
Acceptance of responsibility for environmental ethics is demonstrated through the
development of corporate environmental strategy
Companies must make such a strategy part of their business model in order to
protect of the natural resources they use to make a profit
Source: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/environmental-business-ethics-64692.html

Corporate Governance
Behavior exhibited by various members of a company, whether it be at the
management and executive level or among other employees
Specific set of rules that help govern this behavior. Having these rules in place
makes it possible for business owners to codify governance and increase
responsibility
Source: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/improve-corporate-governance-corporate-
responsibility-40418.html