In society as well as a business, law plays a significant role in their daily operation. For a society to be efficient and effective, laws have to be put into place to regulate social behavior.
This paper intent is to define the functions and role of law in business and society. Finally, an example of how law is observed in the United States Navy will be elaborated upon. According to Melvin (2011), Law is define as body of rules and action or conduct determined by a regulation authority as well as having legal binding force. Within a society as well as a business, law has eight different primary functions.These functions includes keeping peace, influencing and enforcing standards of conduct, maintaining the status quo in certain aspect of society, facilitating order change, promoting social justice, facilitating planning and the realization of reasonable expectations, providing a mechanism for compromising solutions between polar principles and position and providing for maximum self-assertion by the individual. World Academy Online (2010-2013).
There are 4 major sources of Law in the United States.They are Common Law, Administrative Law, Statutory Law and Constitutional Law. ) Common Law unlike other laws is laws made by the courts and need not be an act of the legislature. It is based on the fundamentals of previous cases with similar conditions. The traditions of Common Law within the United States can be linked to similar laws used in Britain. Whatever colonies that Great Britain conquered and gained control over, Common Law was the law put in place to govern the people.
Common Law stresses the fact that if a case was judge in the past and a verdict was given, similar cases in the future should have similar or the same verdicts. ) Administrative Law: The function of Administrative Law in society and business is to regulate and carry out the mandates of the congressional body.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) are such agencies given the authority to make Administrative Laws. Their roles are to make laws regarding the environment and to ensure the safety of the working conditions within the work place. Unlike Statutory Law and Common Law, Administrative Law does not get its authority from the legislature or the courts.Statutory Law are laws that are made by the legislative branch of the government but have to be approve by the executive branch.
On the federal level these laws are enacted to address federal issues. The role and function of this law on the states level is to regulate areas such as business corporations, motor vehicle, traditional states matters, and other matters relating to the states such as partnership law. 4) Constitutional Law is the supreme law in the United States. On an individual level, these laws are put into place to protect the basic human rights of the citizens of the United States.States within the United States are allowed to have their own laws, but these laws cannot contradict the constitutional laws of the United States The primary difference between this law and the other source of laws is that the Constitutional Law has permanence and preemption. It creates laws that regulate interstate commerce, protects the rights of intellectual properties etc, etc.
As a veteran of the United States Navy, I have been subject to the law as it pertains to military conduct and the aspect of doing business as a military detachment.I was part of the Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) in Hawaii as well as Japan. I was fortunate to be appointed as the Quality Assurance Representative (QAR). My primary duty was to ensure that the various work centers carried out the maintenance policies as set forth by the Officer In Charge (OIC).
The Navy is somewhat like a business, there is a Production Control Work center that is responsible for the production and repair of aircraft modules that is needed by the fleet.Most of the laws that are put into place are enacted to ensure that production is obtained efficiently and safely. As a member of the United States Navy, I was subject not only to the civilian laws but also to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The role and functions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is to regulate the behavior of military members on and off duty. It is the primary law in the military and covers a wide variety of human behavior.
If a member of the United States Navy was to violate one of these laws, they are liable to be send to Captain Mast or Court Martial.If a service member of the United States Navy was to violate certain rules of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and be brought before a military court upon allegation, he or she could be separated from the military. Outlined in this paper is a definition of the role and functions of Law in business and society. Without laws within a society to regulate the behavior of its people, there would be chaos and ineffectiveness. This paper has also provided how the role and function of law exists within the United States Navy.
