Legal and Ethical Implications: Turnip Plaza Hotel Case Analysis

This report delves into the legal and ethical complexities of a business decision-making scenario, using the Turnip Plaza Hotel case as a focal point. The analysis begins by examining the legal theories that could be employed to enforce a broken promise, specifically focusing on Legal Moralism and Natural Law Theory, and their applicability to the case. It then explores the potential damages and remedies Mark might be entitled to if he were to win a lawsuit, including compensatory, punitive damages, restitution, and remedies in equity. Furthermore, the report evaluates the ethical issues at play, assessing the company's ethical obligations, the fairness of the actions taken, and suggests ethical recommendations based on ethical principles. The report emphasizes the importance of fulfilling promises, ethical treatment of employees, and the potential consequences of unethical decisions within a business context.

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 1
Making Decisions That Are Legal and Ethical
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliate
Date

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 2
Making Decisions that are Legal and Ethical
Justification
In the organizations, the managers tend to make decisions which could either be ethical
or unethical. The employers have an ethical obligation towards their employees and hence it is
prudent for the employers to make certain ethical decisions. In the case study, there are certain
decisions which were made by the manager of the company regarding one of the employees who
was sacked even though he had been promise certain goodies. This paper typically aims at
answering some of the questions relating to making of both legal and ethical decisions by the
employers in an organization. It focuses on a number of legal theories as will be discussed in the
paper below.
Part 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.
Based on the case study, there are various legal theories which can be used by Mark to legally
execute the promise which had been made by Edward about the 50 percent promotion and two
year contract deal. Some of the legal theories which can be used are as indicated below in the
paper;
Legal Moralism
According to this legal theory, criminal offenders should be criminalized based on the
level of immorality. The theory typically allows for the criminalization of actions which are
considered purely immoral by a particular individual. It is usually based on the Harm Principle
which stipulates that a particular action which causes harm to other individuals is considered to
be immoral and hence should be criminalised (Duff, 2015). The immoral actions which are

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 3
caused by negligent or unintentional harm are often criminalized. However, the theory also
moves beyond the harm principle such that any law formulated which is aimed at immorality
should be considered illegal. Further, as long as a particular society considers that an action or
rather a practice is immoral, they consider it illegal.
In the scenario, the act by Edward to sack Mark after having accepted previously to raise
his salary by 50 percent and also award him a two year deal contract is considered as an immoral
action. Such an immoral action should, therefore, be criminalised (de Brito, 2017). Mark thus
should report the matter to the person concerned so that an affirmative action can be taken
against the manager since the decision which had been taken by Edward is unethical and illegal
by nature.
Natural Law Theory
According to this legal theory, there is often a connection existing between human
morality and law. Further, it also considers both the law and human morality as two similar
elements. Based on the key founders of the theory, the aspect of morality defines human law and
not certain components such as the government or even an authority figure. It is, therefore, the
human nature which acts as a guide to aid in figuring out what exactly the laws are and hence
comply with the existing laws (d'Entreves, 2017). Also, the natural law theory believes that it is
from nature that human morality is obtained from. Any particular action whose primary aim is to
work against the key purpose of human beings which is live a happy life is considered as
immoral and actions should be taken under the circumstance in which an individual does actions
which interfere with the purpose of human beings.
Based on the case study, the above mentioned theory is applicable because Edward had
committed certain actions which were against the purpose of living of Mark. He had sacked

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 4
Mark and also failed to honour the extended contract deal. Mark is seen to be a happy man in the
company since he does what he typically loves so much and this had generated a huge revenue
for the company (George, 2017). However, Edward sacks him from his job because he had
actually been contacted with the manager of a rival company which he had declined based on the
offer given by Edward. The natural law theory is clear by stipulating that particular actions
which are aimed at working against the key purpose of human beings are immoral and unnatural.
A legal action should, therefore, be taken against an individual who interferes with the happy life
of human beings. It is from that perspective which Mark should take legal actions against
Edward for working against his happy life.
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
In the event that, Mark files a lawsuit against Edward in a court of law and it happens that
he wins the case, the following are the damages and remedies which he will be awarded;
Compensatory Damages
Under the above remedy, one particular party may seek a compensation which could be
as a result of financial losses due to a breach of contract. An injured party in the compensatory
damages is typically entitled to the benefits based on the contract made between the two or more
particular parties (Seigel et al., 2017). In the event that there is a total breach of the agreement
made between two particular parties, the injured party is usually awarded for the damages which
are equivalent to the sum of money which he or she would have received if the agreement had
been completed fully by the defendant. In the scenario of Mark and Edward, Edward, the
manager had extended a contract deal of two more years which he failed to accomplish by
sacking Mark (Abdussalam, Nielsen & Nicol, 2016). Thus in the event that Mark wins the

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 5
lawsuit, he will be forced to award him for the damages he had caused to Mark and this could in
terms of money.
Punitive Damages
According to Solberg & Hosack (2017), the punitive damages is also called the
exemplary damages. It is often awarded the aim of punishing a wrongdoing party who had acted
in a fraudulent and malicious manner. Such damages are often provided together with the
compensatory damages. Just like in the case study, Edward had acted in a fraudulent and
malicious manner towards Mark. He tricked Mark by offering a two year deal contract and a 50
percent salary increment with the aim of preventing him from leaving the company. Edward,
however, does not fulfill the above conditions (Tyler, 2016). Such an action is considered to be
fraudulent and is punishable by the law. Therefore under the circumstance in which Mark files a
lawsuit and typically wins the case, the manager will award him punitive damages in addition to
the compensatory damages.
Restitution
According to the restitution remedy, the position or rather state in which an injured party
was before an agreement had been made is restored. Under this type of remedy, the aggrieved
parties often seek for the property or rather the titles lost and financial losses and profits lost.
Such a remedy is often sought after when it is ascertained by the court that the defendant is
incompetent or is incapacitated to fulfill the agreement which had been made by the two parties
(Rendleman, Laycock & Gergen, 2015). In the case study, when Mark files a lawsuit and it
happens that he wins the case, he will be awarded a restitution remedy by the defendant.
From the case study, it is also typical that the manager is incompetent and this is because
he failed to understand a number of issues relating to the management and also contracts

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 6
(Burrows, 2018). It is on the above mentioned basis which will typically compel, Edward to
restore Mark to his original position within the company for failing to comply with the
agreements made in the deal.
Remedies in Equity
The remedies in equity entails a process in which a party is ordered by the court to perform
certain ting often referred to as the injunctive relief. In this case, such a contract is cancelled
relieving the parties from the particular agreement which had been made earlier. The above
remedy will also be in the form of specific performance such that the manager will be forced to
comply with the promise he made to Edward irrespective of the situation in the company
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.
According to the laws relating to ethics, it would be prudent for Turnip Plaza Company to
fulfill the promises which had been made between Edward and Mark. The promises were based
on an agreement which had compelled Mark to leave the opportunity which had been availed to
him by a rival company. The key components of the promise included an extended two year
contract and a 50 percent salary increment which had to be fulfilled by the manager to allow
Mark to continue to offer his skills to clients of the company (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016). The
failure to fulfill the above promises would be considered as a breach of the contract made

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 7
between the two parties that is Mark and Edward. It would, therefore, attract for payment of
damages and remedies to the injured party which is in the case is Mark.
From the case study, it is evident that Mark was never a loyal employee to the
organization. Edward, the company's manager was only testing him to find out his level of
loyalty to the company and he, therefore, offered to extend his contract deal with two years and
also increase his salary by 50 percent. In the event that Mark had not been offered the above
mentioned goodies, he would have left Turnip Plaza for the rival company. The company should,
therefore, lay him off and replace him immediately with a loyal employee who would be willing
to work for the benefit of the organization as a whole and not personal interest. Also, due to the
corporate restructuring amid high liability of risks associated with the management of adventure
tours considered to be high, the company should lay him off.
Based on an ethical perspective, Turnip Plaza should do two things. First, the company
should sack Edward, the manager and this can be attributed to the fact that he had failed to
honour the agreement which had been made between him and Mark. Also, he tried to bribe Mark
not accept the offer which had been provided by the rival company (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015).
It is immoral for the manager to sack another employee without any proper reason since such an
immoral action often hinders the happy life of human beings according to the natural law theory.
The other essential thing which the company should do would be to fulfill the promises which
had been made to Mark. From the case study, it is evident that Mark was a hardworking and
committed employee whose effort led to the generation of more revenues for the company. It is
therefore important to give him back his job for the benefit of the company in terms of
performance and making of profits.
Recommendations

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 8
Based on the scenario, the vice president should give back the job to Mark and this is
because he is a hardworking and committed employee of the company. The huge profits which
had been generated by the company can be attributed to the efforts of Mark and hence he should
be reinstated back as an employee of the organization. The other recommendation to the Vice
President of the company is that he should fulfill the promises which had been made to Mark by
Edward since he would be seeking for compensation in the court for the damages which had
been caused to him.
Part 2
Review of Colossal’s International Legal Challenges
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.
Based on the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG),
there are certain key elements which are often taken into account when entering into
international contracts (Gillette & Walt, 2016). The CISG provides for certain aspects such as the
implications and validity of any particular international contract made between two different
states. Further, there are certain rules relating to the convention which regulates exemption from
the performance of a contract, breach of contract, damages, and the passing of risks to another

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 9
party. Apart from the above mentioned aspects, the UN Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods, there are certainly other components of a contract which have been
included in the convention (Weitz, 2014). Such include, offer, and acceptance which are key
elements during the formation of a contract and the specific obligations of the individual parties.
According to the components contained in the UN Convention, the key ramifications
would be, one fulfillment of the obligations in the sale contract and this will be based on the
agreements made between the two parties. The UN Convention provides for certain essential
elements which must be fulfilled during the formation of a contract such as acceptance and offer
which indicates the obligations of each particular party (Gersbach, 2017). The other ramification
could be a breach of the contract. One of the parties may fail to perform the key obligations as
had been agreed by the two parties, however, it will be possible to file for a lawsuit in such a
case.
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.
According to Moore (2014), arbitration is a technique used in conflict resolution. It
entails the referral of the particular dispute by the two participants to another particular
independent participant with the aim of finding a solution to a dispute.The process of arbitration
is often carried out based on the principles of natural justice. The arbitration technique of conflict
resolution is significant and this is in relation to resolving disputes relating to both the domestic
and international contracts. There are a variety of reasons why arbitration can be considered as
the most suitable method of dealing with disputes relating to domestic and international
contracts.

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 10
One particular key reason is that it will be done in accordance with the law and that each
of the rights of the parties will be respected in the event of finding a resolution to the particular
dispute (Singer, 2018). The other reason is that the method is often efficient and quick compared
to the other techniques. Unlike the other approaches of dispute resolution which may take a lot of
time, the arbitration method is less time consuming and this, therefore, makes it more efficient.
Further, the arbitration method is typically enforceable since it binds all the parties to the
particular dispute (Menkel-Meadow, 2017). The decision made by the selected arbitrator is final
and hence there is no appealing since an agreement is made among the aggrieved parties.
The other fundamental advantage of using the arbitration method in dealing with conflicts
relating to domestic and international disputes is that it is done with privacy and confidentiality.
It is only the aggrieved parties involved in the dispute resolution and any other party except the
arbitrator will have the information concerning the resolution made (Sternlight, 2017). Certain
other additional conflicts are therefore avoided since the information is only kept with the
concerned parties. The key problematic areas are resolved in a private and confidential manner
by the parties.
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.

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 11
The Vice President of Turnip Plaza Company is wrong in his argument based on the issue
of a court judgment to pay for damages caused due to pollution activities. According to the law,
every particular industry should aim at conserving the environment (Rothwell & Stephens,
2016). Companies are therefore prohibited from polluting the environment and thus any
particular firm identified to have polluted the environment should be sued in court for the
damages caused to area residents. The conservation of the environment is considered as a
corporate social responsibility which every particular organization must comply with when
conducting its activities.
When a lawsuit is filed in a court for the damages it caused to the area residents and it
happens that the ruling is made against the organization, it will be compelled to pay up for the
damages (McIntyre, 2016). Even though the company had terminated its contract in the country,
it had not fully accomplished its obligations and hence it will have to pay for the damages. Based
on the above mentioned perspective it is clear that the organization will pay for the damages and
thus the argument by the Vice President that they had stopped working in the country will not be
a consideration during the payment of the damages.
Recommendation
Based on the Review of Colossal’s International Legal Challenges, the vice president
should use the arbitration method when resolving disputes relating to both domestic and
international contracts due to the associated benefits such being effective, less time consuming
and having a certain level of confidentiality. Also, the Vice President should understand some of
the key ramifications of the UN Convention on Contracts on International Sale of Goods.

MAKING DECISIONS WHICH ARE LEGAL AND ETHICAL 12
Conclusion
In summary, decisions should be made in a legal and ethical manner by all individuals
irrespective of their positions in society. Just like in the scenario where Mark makes a decision to
go work in the company just because he had been offered token of goodies should always be
avoided. Every particular individual must take into account the legal and ethical issues before
arriving at any particular decision in a variety of situations to avoid causing trouble and other
damages (Cullet, 2017).
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