Business Environment Applications I Business Structures and Legal Environment - D078 TASK 2

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Western Governors University *

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D078

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Business

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Elora Hicks 10/12/2023 Business Environment Applications I: Business Structures and Legal Environment - D078 Task 2: Legal and Ethical Considerations (A1) A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is one of the legal entities mentioned in the scenario. An LLC can select how the federal government taxes it by choosing how the government labels them. They can be a single proprietorship, partnership, or corporation, depending on the number of owners and their preferences. LLCs are known as pass thorough entities where profits are passed through to the owners and only taxed once. In context of the farmers market, if the retailer and the farmer are to be the only owners, I would suggest filing as an LLC in order to reduce taxes especially if the farmers market is one of their primary sources of income. The LLC protects the owners primarily by limiting liability, hence the name Limited Liability Company. If they were being sued, they would not be held personally liable, unless they behaved illegally. Their business or its assets would still be at risk, but the owners would not be. In context of the scenario, there seem to be numerous legal issues. Being an LLC would help the farmers market keep personal and business assets separate so that the retailer of farmer himself are not liable should the business fail or be taken to court. An LLC can have several owners, known as members. The members have a say in how the company is run. Members might choose to operate the business themselves or have managers do it for them. The owners also decide how to split earnings and deal with losses. Members have flexibility in operating the firm, but if there is more than one owner, collaboration and communication is required. In context of the farmers market, especially if the retailer and the farmer plan to be the sole decision makers, would benefit by filing as an LLC. (A2) A Corporation is another type of legal entity presented in the scenario. The company is separate from its owners, who are known as shareholders. Corporations pay income tax on profits and then pay the owners their portion, which is taxed again, a practice known as double taxation. In context of the farmers market, the farmer and the retailer would not benefit from filing as a corporation. The business would be taxed and then their own income would be taxed, resulting in increased taxes and reduced profits. Similar to an LLC, a corporation is provided protections from their personal assets being taken into account when being sued. Although, in other situations, such as if a shareholder fails to follow corporate requirements, the owner may be held accountable. The business could be sued by numerous entities for a variety of reasons, including violation of contract, discrimination, or the product that was created. As with an LLC, a corporation would also keep the retailer and
farmer separate from liabilities. The farmer stated he had been burned before so being under the umbrella of a corporation would benefit him in this sense. A corporation is owned by its shareholders who can vote on significant business decisions. Shareholders do not have direct control of the company, though. A board of directors is appointed to control the company and the shareholders can challenge the decisions made by the board of directors. Shareholders are given shares of the company and have the right to sell their shares to others as long as it does not violate any shareholder agreements. An article of incorporation specifies how many shares are issued, with different sorts of shares defining who may do what or who receives what if the company fails. In context of the farmers market, neither the farmer nor retailer would have much say about the internals of the company. In the scenario, both the farmer and the retailer want to keep control of the company. Filing as a corporation is not recommended. (B1) According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), one possible legal requirement the employer in this circumstance has is to pay overtime payments to general managers who work more than 40 hours in a workweek. “For covered, nonexempt employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime pay to be at least one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek.” (Overtime, n.d.) The employer cannot escape this requirement by stating that the overtime is voluntary, for training, or for professional advancement. (B2) There are many ethical issues within the scenario. To the employees, the employer has an ethical commitment to create a safe and healthy work environment free of unwarranted risks or dangers. The employer should also respect the diversity and dignity of its employees and avoid any gender discrimination or harassment. To the customers, the owner should not mislead or deceive them. The owner should deliver quality produce that does not pose a health risk. The owner also has moral obligations to the farmers along with their business partners. (C) While the employees are not entirely to blame, they undoubtedly exhibit some unethical behavior. Employees should refuse to sell or exhibit low-quality goods that may endanger clients or harm the farmers market's image.
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