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Sexual harassment, glass ceiling, bullying, racial discrimination, harassed, sex discrimination, discriminated, racism






 

       
 
OFFICE MANAGER ACCUSED OF………. A court heard today how an office worker was almost driven tosuicide by a bullying office manager. James Blenkinsop, 27, told how boss Nigel Kemp victimized him by shouting at him, criticizing his work in front of others, tearing up his work and telling him to do it again……  
 
SHOP MANAGERS IN ………. ………. CASE A clothing shop's half-Burmese manageress, 24-yеar-old Marion Brown, claims her boss continually made ….… remarks, and sacked her from her £ 110-a-week job when she objected. She claims that the company that owns the shop has racially …… against her ……
 
 
NATIONAL RESTAURANT CHAIN FACES ………. ………. CLAIMS Four waitresses claim they were repeatedly…. by male bosses in a branch of a well-known national restaurant chain. All four waitresses said they were subjected to sexist remarks at the restaurant…  
 
JAPANESE WOMEN BREAK THROUGH ………. ………. Naomi Tanaka, 23, last year started working on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as a trader. She complained about …….. …….. and said she did not want to be a `counter lady` answering phones and serving tea at a Japanese bank. Instead she got a job as a trader at Paribas, a French firm ...  

 

 


 


13. Differentiate between:

a) to hire – to employ – to take on;

b) to fire – to dismiss – to sack – to kick out – to terminate.

c) to lay off – to make redundant – to offer early retirement.

14. Read the following interview and put it into indirect speech making the necessary changes. Make use of the factual material when discussing the topics and doing writing exercises.

How women can get ahead in a ‘man's world’

 

Interview with a Consultant on Career for Women

Skill still counts when it comes to climbing the business ladder, but `the ambitious woman has to stick her neck out`, and be more shrewd and determined than her male counterparts.



Q. Is it getting easier for women to move ahead in business careers?

A. In some respects, yes—though a woman still has to work harder and smarter than most of her male contemporaries. And if she wants to really make it, she has to be more alert, shrewd and determined than they are.

Q. Are more and better jobs opening up for women?

A. Yes, There's no question that the opportunities are more plentiful than ever before. That's true in sales, accounting, finance, technical and professional fields, as well as in the less traditional, blue-collar occupations.

Q. Is inflation one reason more women are working—the need for wives to help bringing in money to keep the household going?

A. That's certainly a factor, though the number of working wives has been rising steadily for a long time.

With today's high costs, it's certainly true that many families need two incomes to maintain a satisfactory standard of living. But there are other reasons why more women are working. The divorce rate is going up, and many ex-wives need jobs to support themselves and their children. Women are marrying later, having babies later. They can work a few years before they decide to start having a family.

Q, Is that necessarily bad in the business world—being passive and polite?

A. It's not the way to get on the fast track for job advancement The ambitious woman has to stick her neck out. If she's given a chance to take a job never before held by a woman, she grabs it. If she has too little responsibility in her present job, she asks for more. If she finds she is being consistently shot down or harassed by someone in her department, she takes steps to change the situation.

Q. Can a woman get ahead in her job without becoming so aggressive that she antagonizes people?



A. Absolutely. She doesn't have to lose her feminine qualities.

Q. What suggestions do you have for the woman embarking on a business career?

A. It's important that she learn to create the right impression, just as aspiring men do. But she has fewer role models from whom to learn about these things:

1. Her appearance—how attractive she looks, her posture and bearing, whether her wardrobe is appropriate and her hair style and makeup are becoming.

2. Her voice—how pleasant it sounds, the degree to which reflects interest and enthusiasm, how well she can communicate what she means to say.

3. Her personality—how well she projects the type of person she is, in her behavior and expression of attitudes and feelings toward others.

A woman who wants to get ahead in business has to look smart if she doesn't look like a manager, she's never going to become a manager. She also has to learn the language of business, by reading business magazines. She should get some knowledge of the management function so she can communicate with her boss and with others in the managerial ranks.

Q. What fields do you see as offering special promise for women?

A. The whole computer field is an exciting one, because it is still a relatively nontraditional area for women. Sales jobs can be marvelous for women. I was surprised to learn recently that many women are doing well selling industrial equipment. Accounting and other financial services arc a promising area, since they require skills that are easily transferable from one industry to another,

Q. What about the young woman high school or college graduate who doesn't really want a career or even a job— she just wants to marry and raise a family. Is that bad?

A. I'd say it's bad in the sense that she needs to develop skills that will enable her to go out and earn a living if she has to. Her husband may leave her, divorce her, die of a heart attack, or become handicapped so that he can't work. She no longer can take it for granted that she's going to be cared for all her life.

15. A.Complete the table, then mark the stress.

VERB NOUN ADJECTIVE
1 to compete (with) ________________ ________________
2 ________________ confrontation ________________
3 to collaborate ________________ ________________
4 ________________ ________________ Controlling
5________________ ________________ Encouraging
6 to achieve ________________ ________________

B. Complete the following sentences using one of the words from the table.

1. It was a great … to win the company's prize for excellence. 2. This is a really difficult job at times. I'd like a bit of … from my boss occasionally. 3. I hate having meetings with Alan. He's always aggressive and… . 4. I don't like working on my own, I need other people to … with. 5. It's impossible … to events, but you can influence them.



16. In each set of words, cross out the word that does not have a similar meaning to the first. Compare your answers with another student. Discuss why the words are similar.

1. aggressive angry energetic Forceful
2. coax compel persuade Urge
3. conventional agreeable customary widely accepted
4. deplete decrease empty Leave
5. discard dismiss retain throw out
6. dominate control house Master
7. exploit destroy promote Utilize
8. incessantly constantly illegally without end
9. liability disadvantage obligation Promise
10. minimize cancel discount Reduce
11. offensive attacking courageous Insulting
12. patron client rival User
13. revamp patch up reveal Revise
14. shuffle change confuse Intermix
15. skepticism assistance doubt Questioning
1 6. speculative risky settled Uncertain
17. stimulate arouse criticize Encourage
18. visionary dreamer guardian Prophet

17. Render the following sentences into English.

1. Формирование среднего класса как условия стабилизации общества невозможно представить без участия женщин. 2.Женщины чаще появляются в рекламных роликах в образах экономных домохозяек, в сюжетах о безработице, социальной незащищенности, бедности. 3.Все чаще повторяемый призыв вернуть женщин к домашнему очагу и «природному предназначению» можно считать началом постсоветского домостроя, следствием определенной гендерной метаполитики. 4.Предвзятое отношение к сильным, деловым женщинам сохранилось и сегодня. 5. Сама аcсиметрия привилегий, оправдывающая и даже культивирующая "мужской" эгоизм и осуждающая "женский", еще раз подтверждает тот факт, что слабое развитие женского предпринимательства обусловлено не столько экономическими, сколько "гендерно-политическими" причинами - принципом распределения власти в обществе. 6. Достижения женщины во многом обусловлены ее настроенностью на успех. 7. Человеческие отношения не подвластны законам жесткой бинарной логики, однако их можно корректировать и развивать, и в этом отношении женщина эффективно реализует культивируемые воспитанием навыки общения и обаяния, нередко добиваясь результатов более высоких, чем мужчина.

18. Render the following passage in English (10-15 sentences) using active vocabulary.

Феминизм наступает

 

Сегодня специалисты пришли к мнению, что в будущем бизнес должен стать менее иерархичным, более гибким и подвижным. Согласно последним исследованиям, лучший менеджер новой генерации умеет хорошо слушать, мотивировать и поддерживать своих работников. Высококлассные менеджеры — основа успеха любой фирмы. И важно выявить те особые черты руководителей женского бизнеса и вторых лиц российских и совместных фирм, которые способствуют достижению успеха. В условиях избытка квалифицированной рабочей силы на рынке труда именно женщине труднее найти работу, тем более ей трудно стать предпринимателем или управляющим фирмы, когда безопасность и финансовое регулирование предприятий обеспечиваются с помощью криминальных структур. Несмотря на это женский менеджмент активно набирает силу не только в торговле, сфере услуг и финансов, которые в России традиционно считались женскими отраслями, но и в таких типично мужских секторах, как машиностроение, строительство, связь и др. В этом случае они, как правило, занимают вторые позиции в фирме, принимая на себя всю тяжесть управления внутренней жизнью организации.

Женское предпринимательство в России многообразно по форме и способам бизнеса. По оценкам специалистов Института социологии РАН, женщины-менеджеры возглавляют или входят в состав руководства примерно 20 процентов бизнес-организаций. По этому показателю Россия несколько отстаёт от индустриальных стран, где доля женщин, занимающих административные и менеджерские позиции, составляет 28 процентов, хотя опережает Южную и Восточную Азию (соответственно 3 и 1 процент), Латинскую Америку и Африку (8 и 10 процентов). По результатам обследования социальных процессов в малом предпринимательстве, репрезентативном для России, среди руководителей предприятий только 18 процентов женщин, причем половина из них заняты в торговле и общественном питании, 1/4 — в промышленности и строительстве. Среди руководителей женщины составляют 54 процентов только в сфере жилищно-коммунального хозяйства и бытового обслуживания населения, 30 процентов — в здравоохранении, физической культуре и социальном обеспечении, очень мало женщин-руководителей в таких отраслях, как транспорт (5%), строительство (7 процентов) и наука (11 процентов). Однако в российском бизнесе есть и исключения. Так, из девяти членов правления «Интерроса» — пять женщин: административный директор, финансовый директор, его заместитель, директор по корпоративным связям и директор по корпоративному управлению.

 

Speaking

1. How does the position of women in the US/UK compare with the position of women in your country?

2. How do you feel about opportunities for women?

3. Make mini-presentations on one of the following topics. Feel free to state your personal opinion.

· The role of women in management.

· Managerial prospects for women.

· The employment of women – past, present and future.

4. How does Sweden's progress towards women's equality compare with that in your own country?

5. Are there certain jobs which are inappropriate for women to do? If so, which are they?

6. When advertising a job vacancy, employers should be allowed by law to state their preference regarding the sex and age of applicants. To what extent do you agree with this view?

7. ‘For many women, the ideas of feminists are profoundly disturbing and even positively harmful.’

8. When advertising a job vacancy, employers should be allowed by law to state their preference regarding the sex and age of applicants. To what extent do you agree with this view?

9. Imagine that in the group with which you are now studying, there are probably people from several countries. In these countries, what changes in company attitudes towards women are taking place?

10. Should it be a legal obligation for each company to reserve one seat on its board for a woman so that the interests of the female employees in the company would be safeguarded?

11. What is the style of male and female managers in companies in your country?

12. Do you think there is a difference in style between men and women or is any difference usually because of personality?

13. Do you know any men who have a ‘female’ style of working? or women who have a ‘male’ style of working?

14. Do you find it easier to work with men or women? Why?

 

Writing

Express your opinion on the following (150-200 words)

 

a) The sad truth is that women are still by no means equal in the job market – they may well, in fact, be losing ground.

b) Women, as well as men, have compelling economic reasons for working.

c) A reordering of the economy to provide full and equal employment for women – and for men – will benefit society.

d) For hundreds and thousands of women full employment is not a slogan. It's a passport to dignity and hope.

e) Women have come a country mile, no doubt about it, since the days when the job world was an all-male preserve.

f) The earnings gap between men and women has actually narrowed over the past few years.

g) Women are still concentrated in the traditional fields of clerical and service work.

h) Women need and deserve well-paying and meaningful jobs.

i) Greater availability of day-care centers (nurseries) help women with young children to perform successfully in their jobs.

 

 

Key vocabulary

gender stereotypes equal opportunities

gender identity sex discrimination

pay equity sexual harassment

corporate ladder date rape

managing by consensus parenthood

lateral thinking paternity leave

alimony maternity leave

minority women motherhood

female managers flexible hours

female chief executive prejudice

comparable worth freelance consultants

glass ceiling male chovinism

to harass pilot scheme

freelancers traditional masculine job

freelance consultants

male chauvinism

pilot scheme

traditional masculine job

UNIT VIII

BUSINESS LAW

Lead -- in

1. Why is it important to possess a basic understanding of the law?

2. Describe what a world without lawyers would be like.

3. Do you think that our laws represent the collective moral judgments of society? Explain.

4. In what ways does the law serve a positive purpose?

5. Why do we need contract law?

Reading

Text 1

Read the text. Ask 10-12 why-questions about the text. Let the class answer them.

Introduction

The study of law is the study of people, a civilization, as it has existed and as it currently exists. As a discipline, the law embodies the history, values, and culture of a society. It is a series of concepts and rules that shifts to meet social changes. The productive activity of a society – its business practice – is one of the major facets of this study. The legal environment of business, therefore, involves the legal system, its principal actors, and the major substantive rules of law that influence economic activity.

Law is not separate from the culture, history, and times in which it exists. The study of law is not limited to learning legal rules. Understanding the legal environment of business, therefore, requires a broad understanding of the people and basic trends that influence the relationship between law and business.

Business managers come into contact with law on a daily basis. They are regularly confronted with contracts and the need to comply with government regulations. At times, they may come into conflict in their business relations, necessitating legal help. This legal involvement brings managers in touch with legal jargon and lawyers. To gain an appreciation of law and to be effective as a manager, it is necessary to have some understanding of the legal system – the purpose of law, sources of law, classification of law, the interplay of law and morality, and the place and function of lawyers.

Law impacts business decision making. Many recent surveys of business executives disclose that a chief concern for the coming decades is the legal environment within which business operates. From contracts to products liability to international marketing and new technologies to our environment, the law is the overriding factor in the businessperson’s mind.

All the definitions of law imply that law regulates human conduct and that through courts it resolves controversies. The goal of law is justice, but law and justice are not synonymous, just as legal justice and social justice are not synonymous. Justice has been defined as that which is founded in equity, honesty, and righteousness. It is the attempt of honorable persons to do that which is fair. Justice is the purpose of government and civil society. Apparently, the achievement of justice depends upon the concept of right and wrong in the society involved.

Social justice recognizes more rights and duties than does legal justice, although the trend of the law is toward equating these concepts. Perfect justice would require that all persons discharge all their obligations and duties so that all other persons may enjoy all their rights and privileges. Our society through law determines which rights and duties will be protected and strives through its judicial system for perfect justice. Of course, the law is incapable of perfect justice because it is in the hands of imperfect people and operates with imperfect procedures. As law approaches perfect justice, legal and social justice tend to merge.

The law has two basic functions in the conduct of business. First, the law provides the information needed to educate business people. The law’s major influence on business decisions is alternative courses of action. The second basic function of the law is to resolve controversies and to impose sanctions for conduct contrary to law. Such conduct may be illegal in the sense that some law or legal principle is violated or it may be illegal in the sense that a party did not perform as agreed or as the law may require.

Text 2 Text 2

Read the text. Be ready to answer the following questions:

1.What is law? 2.What have rules of conduct evolved to maintain? 3.What do these rules consist of in more primitive societies? 4.When do rules of conduct become more formalized? 5.What is a legal system? 6.What does a legal system consist of? 7.What functions do the courts serve? 8.What rules do the courts apply in performing these functions?

Business Law

In its most basic sense, law is the body of rules and principles of conduct that are enforceable through sanctions. Within every society, rules of conduct have evolved to maintain harmony and order. In more primitive societies these rules consist only of customs and norms that are enforceable through informal social sanctions. As societies increase in size and complexity, however, rules of conduct become formalized, usually through government that adopts and enforces the rules for the society. Although law preserves peace and stability, it is ineffectual unless society develops a legal system – institutions and procedures for enforcing the law. The legal system consists primarily of the courts. The courts serve two important functions: they provide a forum and process by which those who fail to conform to

the law are punished by the government and they provide a system to resolve disputes among private individuals who cannot agree upon proper rules of conduct. In performing these func­tions, the courts apply rules of law previously es­tablished by the government or, in the absence of such rules, develop new legal principles to main­tain order. Courts thus impose sanctions against those who fail to follow legal rules. The threat of these sanctions usually is sufficient to in­duce compliance with the law.

The law governs the conduct of all persons including artificial persons(such as corporations) as well as natural persons(human beings). Because businesses are considered persons and, thus, members of society, many of the legal rules and principles affecting business are merely general laws that affect all persons. For example, the rights and duties of a property owner are estab­lished by general property law whether the property is a factory owned by a business or a private resi­dence owned by an individual. Other legal rules have been established specifically to govern the conduct of businesses and business re­lationships. The securities laws regulate the sale and trading of the stocks and bonds issued only by businesses. Antitrust laws enacted to protect com­petition affect only those in business.

Law both restricts and facilitates business oper­ations. Some laws, such as those prohibiting price fixing or requiring a safe workplace, clearly limit business practices. In contrast, other legal rules are designed to facilitate or encourage business activi­ties. Few businesses, for example, could operate without reliable and enforceable principles of con­tract law that allow the sale, purchase, and ex­change of goods and services. Businesses would not invest in plant and equipment without the as­surance that their property rights in these items will be protected by law. Although law clearly affects the oper­ation of businesses, business also influences the de­velopment of the law. For instance, the law of neg­ligence developed initially to provide compensation for injuries resulting indirectly from the emergence of a modern, industrialized society. Entire new areas of law—such as antitrust, securities regula­tion, and environmental law—have been created in response to changing business activities. As busi­nesses increased production of goods, the law of products liability developed to determine whether manufacturers and distributors should be responsi­ble for injuries caused by their products. In short, business and law engage in a dynamic process, each shaping and influencing the development of the other.

Despite the law's importance as a source of rules of conduct, few societies could function effectively if they depended solely on law as a basis for social conduct. The morals—principles of right, good, and fairness—of individual members of a society provide a more informal and pervasive basis for standards of conduct. From norms, beliefs, and values, individuals develop ethics, systems of moral standards and beliefs that address the most fundamental issues of social conduct such as hon­esty, loyalty, fair treatment of others, and respect for human life and dignity. Like law, ethics pro­vide standards of conduct for individuals. Unlike law, however, ethics are not imposed or enforced by an external authority such as the government. Rather, ethical standards derive from an individu­al's internalized moral principles and are applied by the individual. Thus, through law society imposes and enforces legal standards of conduct applicable to all of its members while through ethics an indi­vidual develops and applies his or her own moral standards of conduct. The purpose of law then is to govern the conduct of all members of society while ethics provide guidance for individual conduct.

Although law and ethics derive from different authorities and for different purposes, they often are related, especially in a democratic society in which the people are the source of power. Law generally reflects basic moral prin­ciples shared by members of its society because people will not long comply with a body of rules that they consider wrong or evil. Thus, a law pro­hibiting murder not only preserves order but also reflects a widely held ethical belief that human life should be protected. In other cases, however, legal rules are morally neutral—for example, the law's requirement that all vehicles be driven on the right side of the road. In still other cases, the law may partially reflect moral principles but may not fully incorporate an ethical standard as the legal stan­dard. Most people would agree, for example, that lying is immoral but under American law, lying is illegal only in limited circumstances, such as when it constitutes perjury or fraud. Similarly, most in­dividuals believe that it is unethical to break prom­ises, but law enforces only those prom­ises that meet the requirements of a legal contract.

Look through the text once again and say which statements are true. Correct the false ones.

1.The law governs the conduct of only artificial persons.

2.Businesses are not considered persons.

3.The rights and duties of a property owner are established by general property law.

4.Law only restricts business operations.

5.Business also influences the development of the law.

6.All societies can function effectively if they depend solely on law as a basis for social conduct.

7.Ethics provide standards of conduct for individuals.

8.Ethics are imposed by an external authority.

9.Law generally reflects basic moral principles shared by members of its society.

 

Text 3

Read the text. Be ready to explain the terms given in bold.

Classification of Law

The law often has been described as "a seamless web" in which principles are hopelessly and endlessly intertwined. However, there are ways to classify legal subjects that advance understanding of the law and legal principles.

One means of classifying the law is to divide it into matters of public law and matters of private law. Public lawincludes constitutional law, administrative law, and criminal law. Constitutional lawinvolves the interpretation and application of either the federal or a state constitution. Administrative lawdescribes the legal principles that apply togovernment agencies, bureaus, boards, and commissions. Criminal lawencompasses all legal aspects of crime. In each of these areas, society, or the people, are directly involved in the issues. Their interests are represented by a governmental agency, officer, or official whose obligation is to see that justice is accomplished and the goals of society achieved. Public law provides a major portion of the legal environment of business.

Private lawencompasses those legal problems and relationships that exist between individuals, as contrasted with those in which society is involved. Private law is traditionally separated into the law of contracts, the law of torts, and the law of property.

Contract lawaddresses agreements between two parties. Tort lawaddresses wrongs other than a breach of contract, by which one party injures another. Property lawdeals with all aspects of ownership and possession of both tangible things and intangible rights. Our whole economic system is based upon the rights of individuals to acquire and use private property.

Historically, conflicts among individuals and businesses that could not be resolved by the parties have been formally resolved by utilizing the court system. The process of resolving conflicts through lawsuits filed in court is known as litigation.

The party who files a civil action seeking money damages is called the plaintiff.The party sued is known as the defendant.The term defendantis used to describe the person against whom a criminal charge is filed by the prosecuting state or federal government. When a defendant wants to sue the plaintiff, the defendant files a counterclaim.Most jurisdictions use the term counterplaintiffand counterdefendantto describe the parties to the counterclaim. Thus, the defendant becomes a counterplaintiff and the plaintiff also becomes a counterdefendant when a counterclaim is filed.

In actions involving equitable relief, the party initiating the case is the petitioner.The other party in an equity case is the respondent.The same terms are used when a petition for a writ of certiorari is filed after the right to an appeal has been exhausted.

When the result at the trial court level is appealed, the party appealing is usually referred to as the appellant,and the successful party in the trial court is called the appellee.Most jurisdictions, in publishing decisions of reviewing courts, list the appellant first and the appellee second, even though the appellant may have been the defendant in the trial court. As a result, the names used in a case are somewhat misleading. Since the party first named is not always the plaintiff, you need to be aware in studying cases, that the first-named party in the case title may be the defendant-appellant.

In most state jurisdictions and in federal courts, the law allows all persons to join in one lawsuit as plaintiffs if the causes of action arise out of the same transaction or series of transactions and involve common questions of law or fact. In addition, plaintiffs may join as defendants all persons who are necessary to a complete determination or resolution of the questions involved. It is not necessary that each defendant have a personal stake in every claim.

In addition, if a defendant alleges that there cannot be a complete determination of a controversy without the presence of other parties, he or she may bring in new third parties as third-party defendants.This procedure usually is followed when there is someone who may have liability to a defendant if the defendant has liability to the plaintiff.

 

Text 4

The paragraphs of the text have been jumbled. Read the text and put them into the right order.

The Law of Contract

(4) Although the law generally allows individuals to order their conduct by private agreement, "free­dom of contract" is certainly not absolute. Increas­ingly in recent years the law has imposed limita­tions upon private contract to prevent abuse in the bargaining process and enforcement of agreements that are illegal.

(1) The policy favoring performance of promises is supported on many theoretical grounds. Histori­cally, giving a promise or concluding an agreement constituted a solemn commitment, based upon re­ligious, moral, or ethical grounds, to perform. This "sanctity of contract" approach is bolstered by the law's general recognition of private autonomy in contract matters. Under the principle of "freedom of contract," the law allows individuals to regulate their own affairs by private agreement by recogniz­ing the promises embodied in the agreement as le­gally binding. Yet another approach supports en­forcement of contracts on grounds that a promise, once made, induces others to rely upon it, creating an expectation of performance. Finally, and per­haps most important, promises are enforced be­cause the needs of modern business and society generally require recognition of binding promises. Because all of the foregoing considerations—per­sonal responsibility or morality, individual auton­omy, fairness, and economic efficiency—support enforcement of promises, it is no surprise that con­tract principles are among the most firmly rooted in law.

(2) In its most general sense, the law of contracts con­cerns the legal effect of promise-making, determining when performance of a promise is legally re­quired, and governing the relationship between parties to a contractual promise. Promises and their legal consequences are therefore the basis of con­tract study. The fact that certain promises are legally binding is fun­damental to modern society. In a developed economic order the claim to promised advantages is one of the most important of the individual interests. Let’s consider credits. Credit is a principal form of wealth. It is a presupposition of the whole economic or­der that promises will be kept. Indeed, the matter goes deeper. The social order rests upon the sta­bility and predictability of conduct, of which keeping promises is a large item. In other words, the basic premise of contract law, expressed in the Latin phrase pacta sunt servanda (agreements shall be kept), reflects a more funda­mental premise of human conduct generally.

(7)People make promises all the time: to show up on a date, to pay back a loan, to obey certain rules. Contract law is concerned with a special class of promises, for a contractis a promise or a set of promises for the breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty. Thus, not all promises are contracts. What distinguishes contractual from noncontractual promises are the consequences of failure to per­form. A promisor who fails to perform a noncon­tractual promise incurs no legal liability. If, how­ever, a promise is contractual, the promisee is generally entitled to a contract remedy in the event of the promisor's nonperformance or breach. The most common remedy available for breach of con­tract is an award of dollar damages. If in the opin­ion of the court money is an inadequate remedy, the court may force the promisor to actually per­formthe breached promise—a remedy known as specific performance.

(6) Contract law is the basic framework of all com­mercial law. Although contracts are often viewed and dis­cussed as a separate and distinct topic, many other topics are merely refined applications of con­tract principles. For example, rights and duties in property, commercial paper, agency, partnership, corporations, secured transactions, and insurance are frequently determined on the basis of contractual relationships. Even when a transaction is governed by statute the statutory rules may, in many cases, be changed by a contract between the parties.

(3)In legal terms, a promiseis simply a commitment or undertaking that some­thing will or will not happen in the future. The per­son making the promise is the promisor,and the person to whom the promise is made is the prom­isee.For example, if Sam promises to sell goods to Betty and to deliver them in thirty days, Sam is the promisor and Betty the promisee. Sam indicates that something willhappen in the future; goods will be delivered. Alternatively, the promisor can indi­cate that something will nothappen in the future. Suppose, for example, that Sam, in exchange for an agreed sum of money, indicates that he will notfile a lawsuit against Betty. The definition of a promise includes both types of commitments.

(5) No aspect of modern life is free from contractual relationships. The ordinary consumer who buys a house, purchases a television or other good, bor­rows money, leases an apartment, rents a car, in­sures his or her property or life, acquires rights and obligations based on contract. Businesspeople pur­chasing raw materials or equipment, building a plant or retail store, selling goods or services to customers, borrowing money, selling stocks or bonds, or insuring their property are involved in contracts. Contract law provides the certainty, sta­bility, and predictability required for the smooth and efficient performance of these and many other essential transactions.

Look through the text once again and prepare 12-15 wrong statements. Let the class correct them.

Text 5

Read the text. In each paragraph, find the topic sentence or phrase and those related and unrelated to it.

Contracts

Broadly defined, a contractis an exchange of promises enforceable by law. Many business and personal transactions — including marriage, estate plan­ning (wills), and credit purchases — involve contracts. Contracts may be either express or implied. An express contractis derived from the words (either oral or written) of the parties; an implied contractis derived from the actions or conduct of the parties. The law of contracts deals largely with identifying the exchanges that can be classified as contracts. Intent is the essence of a contract. In addition, the following factors must usually be present for a contract to be valid and enforceable:

An offer must be made. One party must propose that an agreement be entered into. The offer may be oral or written — for example, a salesperson may telephone or write a prospective client, offering to sell the client materials at a certain price. Or the offer may take the form of an act — for example, the telephone company offers to provide service by placing a pay phone on a street corner. In any case, the offer must be firm, definite, and specific enough to make it clear that someone intends to be legally bound by the offer. Finally, the offer must be communicated to the intended party or parties.

An offer must be accepted. For an offer to be accepted, there must be clear intent (either spoken, written, or by action) to enter into the contract. The acceptance must also be communicated to the other party or parties. Fur­ther, the acceptance must satisfy the terms of the offer — that is, if John offers to sell Mary his stereo for $200 and Mary says she would take it for $180, Mary has not accepted the offer. Rather, Mary's response is a counteroffer, which may or may not be accepted by John. In commercial law, the Uniform Commercial Code allows additional or different terms to become part of the contract unless (1) the offer expressly limits acceptance to the terms of the offer, (2) the new terms materially alter the offer, or (3) the party making the offer objects to the new terms within a reasonable amount of time.

Both parties must give consideration. A contract is legally binding only when the parties have bargained with one another and exchanged something. This bargained-for exchange, or consideration,does not have to be money, goods, or services. But it must impose a legal detriment,the assumption of a duty or the forfeit of a right, to one or both parties. For example, when a house is sold, the purchaser incurs a legal detriment by agreeing to pay a certain amount to the seller. Likewise, the seller incurs a legal detriment by agree­ing to give up his or her interest in the home. The relative value of each party's consideration does not generally matter to the courts. Thus, if people make what seems later to be a bad bargain, it is not the court's concern. Consideration is legally sufficient when there is a bargained-for exchange and legal detriment.

Both parties must give genuine assent. A valid contract must be free of fraud, duress, undue influence, and even mistake. Each party must enter into a legal contract voluntarily, and each must understand the terms in the same way.

Both parties must be competent. The law gives to certain classes of people only a limited capacity to enter into contracts. Minors, people who are se­nile or insane, and in some cases those who are intoxicated cannot usually be bound by a contract for anything but the bare necessities: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.

The contract must not involve an illegal act. The law will not enforce a promise that involves an illegal act. For example, a gangster cannot get help from the courts to enforce a contract to deliver illegal drugs at a prearranged price. Nor can a contract be enforced if it is inconsistent with general public policy or is unconscionable.

The contract must be in proper form. Most contracts can be made orally, by an act, or by a casually written document; however, certain contracts are required by law to be in writing. For example, the transfer of goods worth $500 or more must be accompanied by a written document signed by both parties. The written form is also required for all real-estate contracts. When the law requires a written document, any change in the agreement must also be written.

Most valid contracts are obeyed by both parties. Each party does what was promised, and the contract is terminated by being car­ried out or by performance, which discharges both parties. But sometimes a contract will not be fulfilled (or discharged) because both parties agree to end it. A contract may also be discharged because of impossibility of perfor­mance— for example, (1) the death or serious illness of a person who has promised personal performance and for whom there is no substitute, (2) the change of a law making performance of the contract illegal, or (3) the de­struction of the subject matter of the contract. However, when one party has no legal excuse for failure to live up to the terms of a contract, the other party may claim breach of contract.

Look through the text once again and speak on a) different types of contracts;

b) the main factors to be present for the contract to be valid

Text 6

Read the text. Be ready to answer the questions after the text. Give your own examples of different types of contract.

 








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