Essentials of the Legal Environment of Business (Applications and Ethical Considerations)

This book surveys the essential fields of the legal environment of business with a goal of helping the student become an executive who is knowledgeable of the legal context in which the business organization operates. The book provides an introduction to American legal institutions, including the sources of law. It presents the basic concepts of public and private law related to business decisions, highlighting the information necessary to train students in good ethical decision-making.

The book consists of eight chapters, organized into four parts:
Part One: Law and Ethics in the Business Environment, covers the interconnection of law and ethics, the nature of law and legal reasoning, and the American legal system.
Part Two: Civil Law Foundations of the Legal Environment of Business, presents the law of property, the law of contractual transactions, and the law of injuries (tort law).
Part Three: The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business Organizations, covers the subjects of agency, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies.
Part Four: The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business and its Employees, focuses on equal employment opportunity law.

The thesis of this book is that business law and business ethics are interconnected. The book includes case studies within the Business Application / Ethical Issues boxes, which invite students to determine whether the business practice is ethical. The court cases in the form of appellate court opinions that are included in the book show the intersection of law and business practice. At the conclusion of each chapter are review problems that challenge the student to identify legal and ethical issues, and to consider their resolution.

The goal of this book is for the student to develop a deeper understanding of the social-legal responsibilities of the business community. It is also a goal that the student will set a high standard of ethical decision-making. This book is the authors contribution toward achieving these goals.

This book fills the need for quality teaching material for the legal environment of business course. It combines highly readable text with interesting cases and challenging review problems suitable for business students. The book responds to the accreditation standards of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), as well as those of the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

John David Blackburn and Elliot I. Klaymanis are faculty of the Fisher College of Business of The Ohio State University. Elliot I. Klayman is a former faculty member, who holds Emeritus status.