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In this project, you will aid Vice President Dodger of Colossal Corporation by analyzing complicated issues that have arisen in different subsidiaries of the company. These situations require the company to make legal and ethical decisions. You will be presented with a number of readings to familiarize yourself with relevant laws and with resources that guide you in making ethical decisions. You will produce a report for the VP that includes specific recommendations based on what you have found in the readings and will engage in a discussion on international legal challenges.
Begin in Step 1, where you will review the first case.
Course Resource
International Legal Challenges File
Notice: Contains Confidential Information
The vice president is concerned that the company is undertaking a number of
international projects without a complete understanding of the risks that such activities
entail. Specifically, the VP would like further thoughts on the following issues:
1. In one case, a subsidiary of Colossal Corporation has negotiated a contract that calls
for any disputes to be settled in the courts of Zintar, a relatively small African
country that supplies raw materials for some of Colossal’s European operations. The
VP would like a discussion on the wisdom of this contract provision and thoughts on
possible alternative approaches if the contract were to be renegotiated.
2. In a second case, a Colossal subsidiary in Bartan, an Asian country, wants the
company to enter into a sales contract with a subsidiary there, using the UN
Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) as the
controlling law. The VP needs to know the ramifications of this option and decide
whether it is a good idea.
3. Colossal management also needs to know whether arbitration is a good idea for a
dispute resolution provision for both domestic and international contracts and why.
4. The parent company, Colossal Corporation, has been sued in the country of Notso in
South America. The lawsuit claims millions of dollars in damages due to supposed
pollution at a mine that Colossal owned there. Since Colossal has already decided to
exit that country and sold the mine there, the company’s regional VP believes there
is no risk if the company is taken to court in Notso. He says that even if Colossal
loses there and a court judgment is rendered against it, there is no danger because
the company will have left the country. The VP needs to know if he is right.
5. Finally, one of Colossal’s suppliers in the country of Edfin no longer wants to supply
needed raw materials for Colossal’s factories in the United States, unless Colossal
agrees to pay them by opening a letter of credit. Up to now, the company has paid
them after delivery to the United States, which has allowed Colossal to inspect the
quality of the shipments before sending payment. What are the ramifications of
granting Edfin’s request?
© 2023 University of Maryland Global Campus
All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity
of information located at external sites.
Course Resource
The Turnip Plaza Hotel
Notice: Contains Confidential Information
Mark Piper was employed for several years as a tour guide at the Turnip Plaza Hotel in
Port Austin, Michigan. Turnip Plaza is one of Colossal Corporation’s luxury hotel holdings,
strategically located near Lake Huron’s famous Turnip Rock. Over the years, Mark
developed a reputation as one of the most skillful tour guides in Michigan. He would guide
tourists through extreme kayaking, hiking, and camping adventures in and around the
Great Lakes. He was often requested by name by tourists visiting the hotel and was
featured on extreme sports television. His high adventure kayaking tours brought in
significant revenue for the hotel.
One month ago, Mark was approached by Stacey Nguyen, the manager of the Huron
Overnight Inn—a rival company of Turnip Plaza. Stacey offered Mark a substantial salary
increase to leave Turnip Plaza and come to work for her. Mark agreed to think about this
offer and get back to Stacey in 48 hours. When he returned to Turnip Plaza, he asked
several of his colleagues what they thought about the offer. One of them immediately
went to Turnip Plaza’s manager, Edward Griffin, and told him the details of Stacey’s offer
to Mark.
Upon hearing of the offer, Edward called Mark into his office and said: “If you stay with
Turnip Plaza, I promise that next month you will receive a promotion with a 50 percent
raise and a guaranteed contract for a two-year term.” This sounded good to Mark, and he
turned down the offer from Stacey to stay with Turnip Plaza. However, last week, shortly
before Mark was to receive his new contract, he was dismissed from Turnip Plaza because
of corporate restructuring due to concerns about the increased liability risks of managing
high adventure tours through Colossal’s hotels. Although Mark has not taken any formal
action at this point, the vice president is concerned that Mark might try to hold Turnip
Plaza to Edward’s promise.
Your task is to research the legal and ethical issues associated with this situation and write
a report to the vice president answering the following questions:
1. What legal theories might Mark use to try to legally enforce Edward’s promise?
Explain the elements of these theories and how they apply to the facts of this
scenario.
2. If Mark were to file a lawsuit and win, what sort of damages or other remedies might
he be entitled to? Include your reasoning and any evidence that led you to your
conclusions.
3. Finally, regardless of the legal implications, the vice president would like your view
on the ethical issues. Does Turnip Plaza have an ethical obligation to fulfill the
promise made by Edward to Mark? Is it right to lay off Mark under these
circumstances? What should Turnip Plaza do from an ethical perspective? Use ethical
theory and principles to analyze these questions.
© 2023 University of Maryland Global Campus
All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity
of information located at external sites.
