Answer:

The Legal, ethical and social environment is an overview of laws, ethics and societal issues concerning a business. The course has introduced me to the concepts of legal and judicial framework, contracts, business laws, business crimes, environmental laws and laws related to employees.

In my current position as Project Manager, I deal with various stakeholders on a daily basis. In the past few months I have come across circumstances where laws were violated. The chapters on Law and Judiciary gave me basic understanding of what constitutes civil law and criminal law. Additionally, these chapters taught me the process and procedure of litigations and how these matters must be dealt with.

The chapters on constitution provided me with the concepts of business in legal terminology. Because I have to deal with international firms in managing the projects, the chapter on International laws provided me with insights of how to manage the international projects. The readings from this chapter were extremely important as it has enabled me to understand the basic international legal structure in the most efficient manner.

The readings on contract have perhaps been the most important concept as far as its utility is concerned. As a project manager, I get to sign many contracts. Though we have been trained on contract dealings in the business, the chapter on contracts has given me the real idea of what actually constitutes legal contract. The conditions that make the contract void or enforceable will be of immense use in deciding the legality of contracts in my future assignments.

Environmental regulation has introduced the concepts of laws relating to environment. In managing the projects, we often overlook the minor issues that may actually be illegal as per environmental regulations of the United States of America. Though I do not deal with environmental aspects on a day to day basis, my future assignments may require me to understand fully the regulations on environment. The readings from this chapter will guide me in understanding the legal issues associated with environment.

One of the most important concepts that I have come across in this course include intellectual property rights. As a project manager, I am engaged in international assignments. The concepts of trademarks, copyrights etc. has taught me to identify the artistic works and acknowledge them. These concepts will surely help me in misusing the intellectual property rights especially in the international business scenario.

Another important aspect of this course is the laws and regulations dealing with employee welfare. The word discrimination is well established in this chapter which is otherwise a subjective term for most of the managers. My current job requires me to deal with several front-line workers directly engaged in manufacturing activities. The OSHA regulations will help in providing the best standards that will ensure safety of the workers. Additionally, concepts employee laws, employee welfare and employee conduct are of direct practical importance. These concepts will help me in addressing the day to day issues of employees without giving rise to any grievances.