Free Essay About Legal And Ethical Issues Faced By Entrepreneurs

Business Models

Entrepreneurship brings with it many ethical and legal considerations that business owners must consider when setting up shop and conducting business. Issues related to quality assurance, employee recruitment and retention, and corporate social responsibility are some of the things that entrepreneurs must focus on when trying to practice business in a fair and lawful manner. In order for entrepreneurs to establish a good name for themselves within the surrounding community of their business, they must learn to adhere to ethical standards that will follow the rules and regulations of their industries as well as making customers happy.
For example, Kasiraja (1985) mentions common ethical issues in his/her article “Entrepreneurship: An Activity within the Law and Ethics?” that business leaders might confront. These include the following: design defects and liability, negligent distribution and liability, and product liability in supermarket sales systems (114). Failure to properly address these situations could result in problematic repercussions that could compromise the integrity and trustworthiness of the entrepreneur. Therefore as Rosalinde Torres (2014) discussed in her TED Talk on “What it takes to be a Great Leader,” great leadership or entrepreneurship is characterized by the entrepreneur’s ability to anticipate business problems and to work intelligently to solve them before they spiral out of control.
Now in the 21st century with the commonality of e-commerce, entrepreneurs must also think about the viability of doing business online and how to create and enforce contracts through cyberspace. Or like Kasiraja (1985:115) pointed out in terms of “who is to bear the risk of loss arising from accidents in electronic data communication, like messages going astray or getting changed while in the channel of transmission?” These various issues do not always have cut-and-dry solutions, but it is possible for entrepreneurs to come up with feasible answers that will help them to make the right decision for all constituents involved.
If I were to create a new business venture, a consulting company, for instance, the business model I would adopt would be aligned to the four key areas disclosed in the Harvard Business Review article on “Reinventing Your Business Model.” These areas are: customer value proposition (CVP), profit formula, key resources and key processes. As the authors of this article showed, when these four factors are taken into consideration and addressed effectively, businesses can see positive, lasting results.
My consulting firm is dedicated to helping people become better communicators in their writing and speaking. This service firm aims to provide writing and editing services to anyone in need of professional communication training and expertise. Therefore, as the sole proprietor of my enterprise at the onset, I would be the service provider delivering quality writing and editing assistance to my clientele using the resources at my disposal (e.g., intellectual property, computer technology, and educational references).
Recognizing the growing need for my business in today’s professional and educational setting, it would be my focus to create value for each client by having a personalized price package for each person. This price would cater directly to their specific consulting needs and would entail the drafting of a contractual agreement between both parties (i.e., the client and me). The terms and conditions of the consulting project would be listed in the contract along with the stipulation of renegotiation in the event a misunderstanding occurred.
Finally, I would do my best to uphold the highest ethical standards by providing the best service I know how and using my business model to generate a remunerative venture, one that would establish a solid and decent reputation in the communication industry.

References

Johnson, M., Christensen, C.M., & Kagermann, H. (2008). Reinventing Your Business Model. Harvard Business Review. Accessed January 10, 2015 from https://hbr.org/2008/12/reinventing-your-business-model.
Kasiraja, N. (1985). Entrepreneurship: An Activity within the Law and Ethics? Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 112-115. Accessed January 10, 2015 from https://books.google.com/books?id=pis4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=legal/ethical+issues+of+entrepreneurship&source=bl&ots=9MOEoSYnqh&sig=PoCisAEOxmgVRs6w-Vs12kUcDq8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aMewVL3qH4q-ggT4lIHgCA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=legal%2Fethical%20issues%20of%20entrepreneurship&f=false.
Torres, R. (2014). TED Talks: What it Takes to Be a Great Leader. YouTube. Retrieved 30 Dec.2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUYSDEYdmzw.