COMM 315 - Test 1 - Test 1 notes Business Law and Ethics
(Concordia University)
, Chapter 1: Introduction to Law
What is Law?
- A set of rules and principles
- To govern conduct of society
- Promotes goals of peace, order and good governance
- Written: if laws are not in written form, there is a risk of unfairness in application
- Adopted by government (lawmakers)
Law & Justice
- Justice is a process of applying the law
- Law is a set of rules to maintain order and provide fair treatment to all
- Why do we respect the law?
- Faith in lawmakers or fear of punishment
Is the law applied fairly to all?
- Law is enforced by the courts (judges)
- Judges need to be respected in order for people to have faith in their decisions
- Justice has to be perceived by the public to have been rendered
fairly Is the law always perceived as fair?
Law & Ethics
- Ethics are moral values, our personal views on what is right and wrong
- Ethical principles are not decided by government lawmakers
- Society’s ethical views on appropriate behavior and acceptable conduct changes
over time
- Changes in ethical beliefs help foster changes to the law
- Laws are often slow to change since lawmakers must deal with conflicting ethical views
of their constituents
- Law sets out defined objective standards and are enforced by the courts
- Example: law sets the legal minimum wage rate
- Ethical principles on the other hand are subjective in nature and are not enforced by
the courts
- Example: ethics asks “is the minimum wage rate fair?”
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