Law531

Riordan Manufacturing – Compliance Plan LAW-531: Maria P Collins University of Phoenix Introduction Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. is an industry leader in the field of plastic injection molding. RM employs 550 employees with projected annual earnings of $46 million. Riordan’s mission is to remain a leader using polymer materials by providing solutions to its customers and identifying industry trends through its Research and Development department. Riordan is dedicated to providing its customer with innovative solutions, reasonable prices and rigourous quality controls. The company decided to expand its operation and move from Michigan to China. The entire fan manufacturing department moved from Lansing, MI to China in an effort to cut costs. This plan will help Riordan manage the company’s legal liabilities. ADR Riordan’s leadership has opted to utilize several Alternative Resolution Dispute methods to resolve certain issues that may arise. Mediation, Facilitation, Convening and Arbitration enable the company to reduce excessive litigation. ADR is a general term that encompasses various techniques for resolving conflicts outside to the courtroom, using a third party. Riordan mainly relies on mediation, to assist employees on reaching a mutually acceptable solution. This promotes the utilization of innovative solutions, cooperation of all employees and joint responsibility of all employees involved. The proposed ADR program would consist of a trained team of experienced mediators that would: 1. Consult with Riordan Officers and Executive management and outside parties about the ADR form deemed necessary. 2. Help all parties involved select outside mediators, agree and setup an appropriate ADR process. 3. Direct the mediation and facilitation process. 4. Provide custom designed training to employees on conflict management and the effective uses of ADR. Mediation provides a neutral mediator with no decision making authority helps employees clarify issues, explore options and evaluate the best way to proceed. Facilitation would involve the use of a neutral individual to help a group of people conduct productive resolutions about more complex, sensitive or controversial issues. The facilitators role is to help the employees. Convening is the use of a neutral party to determine whether or not it is necessary to pursue legal negotiations. An arbitration is on the opposite spectrum of mediation. An arbitrator acts as a judge and determines a binding or non-binding solution. The ADR process provides numerous benefits. ADR provides open lines of communication, creative remedies, privacy, more flexibility, corporate control and an inexpensive means of settlement. Enterprise and Product Liability Corporate product liability is an important aspect of Riordan Manufacturing’s managerial objectives. The most common claims are claims of negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty and other consumer claims. There have been employee complaints and memorandums reporting quality and training concerns. The quality and training concerns are directly related to medical devices such as the production of stents and valves that may affect a consumers life. These concerns and complaints could create a massive product liability through negligence issue. A negligence claim would consist of proof of: 1. A duty owed 2. Breach of said duty 3. Breach was the cause of injury 4. The breach caused the plaintiffs injury 5. The plaintiff suffered an injury Currently, RM’s main concern is a contaminated water issue in China. The China CDC are investigating all manufacturing firms and the contamination of water. The Officers must ensure that they check all products and equipment thoroughly to ensure that no chemicals, dyes or other releasing agents could contaminate RM’s products. International Law There are seven cultural factors that should be researched and understood before attempting to transact or negotiate business with a foreign country. What is commonly referred to as the LESCANT factors (language, environment and technology, social organization, contexting, authority, nonverbal behavior and time concept) should be researched as if they were legal background. The China operation is being conducted as a joint venture between Riordan Manufacturing and a small consortium of Chinese nationals. RM is providing most of the operation’s capital, injection molding, machinery and expertise. The Chinese partners are supplying labor, interfacing with local vendors, governments and regulatory agencies and providing some capital. There are several departments where the Chinese workers must be properly trained and responsible. The receiving, assembly, packaging, shipping, trimming and molding departments are supplied labor from the Chinese workers. Riordan is considered an American company. However, because of the extensive Chinese workforce, Riordan is responsible for maintaining the employment laws of their country. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is an expansive attempt to negotiate free trade among 147 member countries, including the United States and China. GATT has created trade without discrimination. This agreement allows RM to freely negotiate between it’s operations in the U.S. and it’s operation in China. Tangible and Intellectual Property RM maintains a significant amount of tangible and intellectual property. The tangible property includes all products (cost of goods), machinery, buildings and more. However, a large portion of RM’s intellectual property is in it’s people through Research and Development and Sales abilities. Riordan’s mission encompasses both focus on customers through relationships created by developing and providing innovative solutions and rigorous quality controls. In addition, remaining an industry leader by utilizing R & D to develop and identify new trends is a part of their focus. These types of missions or focus are only carried out by it’s people. Legal Forms of Business Riordan is a for profit corporation led by Dr. Michael Riordan (President and CEO), Kevin Collins (SVP of R&D) and hugh McCauley (COO). Corporations maintain unlimited duration, free transferability of interest, limited liability for shareholders/owners, continuity and centralized management. (Jennings, 2006) Riordan Manufacturing is a legal entity on its own. It has the ability to title property in the name of the corporation, the company can be sued and must file taxes separately. International Law serves to govern businesses as they operate in a particular country, and the laws may vary from country to country. Each country is a sovereign nation and granted sovereign immunity. Each country has exclusive jurisdiction over its internal operations, laws and people; and no country is subject to the jurisdiction of another country’s court system unless it so consents. Riordan must remain cognizant of this fact when doing business in both the U.S. and in China. Governance Results show that the degree to which the financial market and legal environment of a country influence the growth in productivity depends on whether R&D activities are heavily concentrated on either the government or the business sector of that country. Further analyses reveal that the rate of return on government-initiated R&D remains insignificant even in the presence of a high-functioning financial market and a strong legal environment across emerging and developed countries. In contrast, an active financial market and strong rights of shareholders and creditors are crucial for increasing the return of business-sector R&D.(Chowdry, 2010) Most research and development is conducted in the United States, however, that does not mean that the U.S. has authority over China. This means that the U.S. laws and currency, in addition to the Research and Development aspect, heavily influence the management and activities of Riordan. In conclusion, when laws are violated, all employees should consult management directly with all complaints and/or issues. Management must be trained and guided to document and monitor all complaints or concerns. Riordan will develop a hotline for complaints that are ignored or dismissed. An ADR method will be utilized before graduating to the litigation process in an effort to reduce costs, create more creative solutions and allow all employees to become a part of possible solutions. References Jennings, Marriane M. (2006) Business: Its Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment (7th ed). Mason, OH:Thompson Chowdhury, R.. Three essays in capital investment and governance. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Alberta (Canada), Canada. Retrieved February 16, 2010, from Dissertations & Theses