Chapter 38: Business Law And The Environment

Chapter 38 of “Business Law and the Environment” is about laws that protect against unfair practices that companies may make to produce a less competitive market. The apprehension with unfair practices ultimately starts in the 1800’s. That is not to say that unfair competitive methods never existed, but that they were not of much concern beforehand. Through most of the 19th century, competition was a centralized event. It was near impossible for companies to spread, so they remained local; states dealt out the laws pertaining to them, not the national government. This stood sufficient for some time. Then came along Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in American history. He realized that he could benefit from economies of scale if he and his partners

This is mostly for the financial impact and an ethical discussion. When discussing ethics, the consumers should be able to decide what companies stay in business, not the businesses themselves. If a company becomes obsolete because consumers have upgraded to a new service or product, then so be it. It is not fair, though, to keep other companies out of the markets reach. Companies accused of monopolizing through nefarious means will be forced to go through litigation and waste an enormous amount of money. If they are found guilty, these companies will be forced to split or sell off their operations. It is also important to understand that not all monopolies are dangerous or, as a better description, seen as dangerous. Companies should not be afraid of expanding their operations to make as much of a profit as they can. In the 1960s and 70s, it was argued by a group of educated professionals at the University of Chicago that the goal of antitrust laws should be efficiency. Any company should be able to grow as much as it wants to, as long as it is not based on ruthless

It sounds like an innocent enough concept at first, however, what they don’t know is that it feeds into anticompetitive practices. For example, in a case in the textbook about Apple attempting to force Amazon to increase its e-book prices, the discussion of fixing prices was out in the open. The Wall Street Journal reported on it as well. Lawsuits, however, began piling up when Amazon sent a letter to the FTC condemning Apple’s actions. This only proves that price fixing does not seem egregious at the moment, but give it time. It will surely hurt the business