BLAW 371 Chapter 1

Which of the following is an accepted definition of law? (A) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by society, but lacking legal force (B) that which must be obeyed and followed by members of a society subject to sanctions or legal consequences (C) that which must be obeyed and followed by the controlling authority of a country (D) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by the Supreme Court, and having binding legal force (E) none of the other choices

B) that which must be obeyed and followed by members of a society subject to sanctions or legal consequences

A World Bank study indicates that nations with more extensive regulation of business generally have more corruption than nations with less regulation.

true

A constitution is fundamental law which establishes the powers of the government and the limits of that power

true

A key function of the judiciary is to interpret and enforce the laws.

true

American common law dates back to colonial times.

true

An administrative agency is created when the legislative or executive branch of government delegate some of its authority to an appropriate group

true

An important state law affecting the legal regulation of business is the Uniform Commercial Code

true

Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution requires a 2/3 vote of approval by the Senate before an international treaty is ratified.

true

Common law in the U.S. has its origin in England.

true

Common law is based upon actual cases tried in court

true

Companies that follow Department of Justice compliance codes carefully may suffer smaller penalties for violations of related laws.

true

Corporate social responsibility is generally considered to be the ethics of a business.

true

Decisions from courts are published in case reporters.

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Ethics and customs are part of society's informal rules.

true

Ethics is generally the rules or standards governing the conduct of members of a profession

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Examples of civil law include the torts of defamation, invasion of privacy, and trespass

true

Examples of private law include contract law and partnership law.

true

Examples of public law are civil procedure, criminal law, and labor law.

true

Felonies are generally defined as serious criminal offenses punishable by death or imprisonment for more than a year.

true

In Lamson v. Crater Lake Motors, where a sales manager was fired in a dispute over business ethics, the Oregon appeals court held that he had no basis for a suit for improper dismissal

true

Integrity is generally defined to mean living by a moral code and standard of ethics.

true

Law may be defined as a rule of conduct so established as to justify a prediction that it will be enforced by the courts if its authority is challenged.

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Law may be viewed as a collection of rules or principles intended to prescribe and control human behavior

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Morality concerns conforming to rules of correct conduct as defined by a society or a religion.

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Nebraska is the only state with a legislature that only has one part or house. All other states have a two-part legislature.

true

One of the benefits of the common law is that it is flexible in changing with the times

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One of the main reasons that the country of Haiti has not experienced greater economic development is because its government is corrupt

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Procedural law determines how substantive law is enforces through the court process

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Substantive law includes the common law.

true

Surveys indicate that the public has less confidence in the ethical standards of business leaders today than it did decades ago.

true

The Constitution creates the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of the federal government.

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The President creates law by issuing executive orders

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The U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in force of any major nation.

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The doctrine of stare decisis created a more just legal system by working to reduce the prejudices of individual judges.

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The doctrine of stare decisis means that decisions in past cases will be followed in resolving present cases.

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The legal culture of a society includes the attitudes of members of society concerning the law and legal system.

true

The separation of powers determined by the U.S. Constitution means that each branch of government has functions that can be checked by other branches.

true

American common law was approved for adoption in Article III of the U.S. Constitution

false

Because companies have suffered so few public image problems, few corporations have codes of ethics.

false

Campaign contributions by companies are generally illegal and, even if not, considered to be highly unethical.

false

Civil procedure, appellate procedure, and criminal procedure are examples of substantive law.

false

Common law changes only by acts of the legislature

false

Companies that follow Department of Justice compliance codes carefully are not prosecuted for violations of related laws

false

Criminal law is defined as legal wrongs committed against individuals or businesses.

false

Delaware is the only state with a legislature that only has one part or house. All other states have a two-part legislature.

false

Ethics generally refers to accepted standards of right and wrong in a society.

false

Ethics is a set of rules that the government enforces and that constrain the behavior of members of society.

false

Ethics is considered a part of etiquette or good manners.

false

Experience with online ethics training indicates it has almost no impact; such training must be personal.

false

Felonies are generally defined as serious criminal offenses that violate federal law, not state law.

false

In Davis v. Baugh Industrial Contractors the Washington supreme court held that the traditional common law rule regarding negligence by a contractor could be changed only if a majority of state supreme courts agreed to change the rule.

false

In Davis v. Baugh Industrial Contractors the Washington supreme court held that the traditional common law rule regarding negligence by a contractor could not be changed

false

In Davis v. Baugh Industrial Contractors the Washington supreme court held that the traditional common law rule regarding negligence by a contractor would be changed because the old rule was out of date.

false

In Lamson v. Crater Lake Motors the Oregon appeals court held that a violation of ethical standards, which caused a sales manager to be fired, was grounds for wrongful termination.

false

International treaties accepted by the U.S. government apply only in foreign legal matters; they have no standing in domestic legal issues

false

Law is concerned with defining acceptable behavior, not controlling unacceptable behavior.

false

Law is intended to be independent of the social values of members of society

false

Law may be defined as the good acts people do for others without threat of sanction

false

Law operates best without use of force, as members of society regulate themselves

false

Law, as we know it today, was first developed in the middle ages

false

Legal documents could not be transmitted electronically due to common law rules based upon use of documents printed and delivered on paper.

false

Legality means morality

false

Misdemeanors are civil offenses generally punishable by imprisonment for less than a year

false

Misdemeanors are criminal offenses generally punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.

false

Misdemeanors are criminal offenses that violate state law, not federal law.

false

Moral and ethical standards are the same as legal standards

false

Only federal statutes may violate the Constitution

false

Plaintiffs in civil law suits must demonstrate their case to the judge or jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

false

Presidents have no legal influence over administrative agencies.

false

Pressure for managers to behave ethically comes only from the government

false

Private law, unlike public law, is not binding

false

Private law, unlike public law, tends to change rapidly as it is based on current social attitudes.

false

Public law sets forth rules governing the legal relationships among society members and serves principally to resolve disputes among members of society.

false

Social change occurs naturally and never involves the use of laws or the legal system.

false

State constitutions, unlike the federal Constitution, tend to be very short and have few details

false

Statutory law is created by executive order.

false

Surveys indicate that the biggest ethics problem in companies is a lack of an ethics code.

false

The Constitution specifically creates the executive, legislative, and administrative branches of the federal government

false

The President may not create any law without the permission of Congress.

false

The U.S. Constitution is the source of all law in the U.S.

false

The U.S. Constitution requires a majority vote of approval by the Senate before an international treaty is ratified.

false

The U.S. Constitution requires every state to have a legislature that has two parts, a house and a senate (or some bodies with similar structure).

false

The doctrine of stare decisis in the common law means that decisions from past cases must always be followed so that common law rules will not change.

false

The legal system is designed to resolve public disputes but private disputes are always resolved informally.

false

The nation of Haiti has been a development success because of its strong system of informal law.

false

The objective of the criminal law is to compensate victims of crimes

false

The separation of powers determined by the U.S. Constitution allocated powers between the federal courts and the state courts.

false

To allow electronic transmission of documents in the legal system, legislatures had to give the courts permission to change from traditional methods of transmittal

false

To find a person guilty of a crime, the jury or judge must find that the preponderance (majority) of the evidence is against the accused.

false

Treaties affect relations between sovereign governments only and do not affect the way companies do business.

false

When discussing the reality of business ethics, Peter Drucker held that it was not unethical to pay a bribe if that was the norm in a business and was absolutely needed to get business for a company.

false

Whether or not the ethical standards of business leaders may have fallen, it is likely that the public expects much less from business leaders today than it did decades ago

false

Administrative agencies are typically created by court orders.

false

Which of the following is an accepted definition of law? (A) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal force (B) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by society, but lacking legal force (C) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by courts and sanction by international society (D) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by the Supreme Court, and having binding legal force (E) none of the other choices

A) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal force

Which area of law is most likely to impact directly the finance and accounting departments of a company? (A) products liability (B) employment discrimination (C) credit regulation (D) environmental law (E) all of these are likely to impact about the same

C) credit regulation

Which is generally recognized as the best (most correct) definition of law? (A) a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal force (B) that which must be obeyed and followed by members of a society subject to sanctions or legal consequences (C) the circumstances in which the public force is brought to bear through the courts (D) a rule of conduct that justifies a prediction that it likely will be enforced by the courts if its authority is challenged (E) all of the other choices are correct; there is no one agreed upon best definition

E) all of the other choices are correct; there is no one agreed upon best definition

Which of these issues may impact a company's operations? (A) international issues (B) political issues (C) ethical issues (D) legal issues (E) all of these issues can impact operations

E) all of these issues can impact operations

A problem with the doctrine of stare decisis in common law is that judges are forced to stand by old rules, even if they no longer seem appropriate.

false

A World Bank study indicates that nations with more extensive regulation of business then to have less corruption.

false

A precedent is a future legal decision.

false