E-commerce, Distance Selling Regulations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

E-commerce, Distance Selling Regulations - Essay Example This exclusion has been implemented by the Distance Selling Regulation 5 (1) (f).3.Auctions are not however excluded from the scope of the E-commerce Directive 2000/31/EC. 4. It seems therefore, that for purposes of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, an internet auction may be regarded as an 'auction', so that the consumer protection provisions apply to business sellers in internet auctions.5 The effect of this definition is that sellers of goods have to comply with the implied terms in sections 12 (title), 13 (sale by description), 14 (implied terms about quality and fitness) and 15 (sale by sample). According to Section 14(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 " Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality." Many issues arise in this context for example whether the provider of an auction platform is liable for the goods sold on his platform if they are not of satisfactory quality.What if the consumer is unable to locate the seller of the goodsHere Regulation 19 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 would apply if the online provider merely hosted the website and would be immune to criminal liability where had no actual knowledge that the goods being sold on his website were not of satisfactory quality. The online provider would also be immune against civil liability where the auction provider does not have actual knowledge of the unlawful activities or information . So for example an auction provider would not be liable in damages for a goods which were defective unless he had actual or constructive knowledge of this problem.However the position would change if the Auction service provider has received sufficiently precise notice about the defective goods and does n ot stop advertising them.6 Also where a business seller engages in unfair commercial practices on an auction platform towards consumer sellers, Regulation 19 would not stop the Office of Fair Trading from taking enforcement action against the provider of the auction platform.The auction provider will also be subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Consumer to Consumer Transactions Last but not the least Section 14 does not apply to consumer to consumer sales although the advent of online bidding has increased the complications caused by such transactions. For example the EBay system has blurred the difference between sellers and buyers with its simplified selling arrangement. ________________________________________________________________ Critically consider the application of the Distance Selling Regulations in the context of contracts made using e-mail or through a web-page. This question requires the discussion of the UK Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations which came into force on 31 October 2000 and implemented

An Organizational Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An Organizational Dilemma - Essay Example This essay seeks to analyze a critical way of handling ethical issues in any organization by using an example from General Motors. The methodology used herein is derived by Trevino and Nelson (2011). Steps of Handling Ethical Issues Now that ethical issues will always appear in a business organization, it is only obvious that every manager has the responsibility of handling the issues sensibly. This means they should be handled in a manner that compromises little but at the same time achieves a great deal for the business. In that light, the eight step model developed by Trevino and Nelson (2011) seeks to ease the task of managers in ensuring that all the key players, who are; the customers, employees, shareholders and the community in which the business operates, are all at a satisfactory level. Step One: Gather the Facts According to Trevino and Nelson, this is quite a critical yet unpredictable part of addressing the ethical issue (2011). At this level, the management is required to collect the points of view of the customers, employees, shareholders and the community. ... Step Two: Define the Ethical Issues This is an analysis of the results obtained in step one. The management interprets the meaning of the facts gathered in relation to the organization. This identifies the genuine issues from the bluffs. For instance, a GM customer who claims that there is no customer help centre in South Africa is considered to be bluffing since there are a number of them. Step Three: Identify the Affected Parties The opinion or complaint of one party could be a whole network that affects more than just that one party. This step enlists all the parties affected by a single issue. For instance, GM was considered to be a key pollutant in 1978 by producing 80 different toxic fumes. This not only affects the community around it but also the employees working in the factory. Step Four: Identify the Consequences These could be considered as either long-term or short-term effects of the particular issue highlighted by the preceding steps (Trevino and Nelson, 2011). This me ans that some effects are felt for a long period of time while others are only felt for a short time. These effects can also be viewed from the perspective of how much damage they cause to the stakeholders. For example, the GM pollution of 1978 was said to cause adverse respiratory complications for the society around it, including school children. With this, the management is charged with the responsibility of providing actions that can solve the situation both in the long term and short term. Step Five: Identify Obligation for each Action Contemplated This means that the management is required to know if any of the actions contemplated in step four is implemented and the implications thereof to