Role_of_the_United_States_Constituion

Role of the United States Constitution “In early 1787, Congress called for a special convention of all the states to revise the Articles of Confederation” (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2009, ¶1). The result from this meeting was the birth of the U.S. Constitution. This document is the leading law of the U.S. Federal Government. It sets the basic rights of citizens and impacts business regulation of U.S companies (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2009). “The Constitution established three separate branches of government—Legislative (Article I), Executive (Article II), and Judicial (Article III)” (Mecham, 2001, p. 9). These branches function “within a constitutional system known as checks and balances” (Mecham, 2001, p. 9) meaning that although properly separated from each other, each branch has particular constitutional power to examine the dealings of each others legal system in business regulation (Mecham, 2001). The development of the U.S. legal system in business regulation is to promote growth and expand opportunities. It encourages companies “to invest, improve productivity and create jobs” (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2003, ¶1). These opportunities need to abide all laws and regulatory environment. They include the “protection of property rights, access to credit, and efficient judicial, taxation and customs systems” (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2003, ¶1) all while respecting criminal and civil laws. The U.S. Government uses the legal system of the Bill of Rights to protect all involved (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2003). “The Bill of Rights is set forth as the first ten amendments to the Constitution” (Mecham, 2001, p. 9). It spells out the rights of all citizens. The Bill guarantees the basic rights of the people protecting them from unlawful actions by the government. These basic rights include “such matters as free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to seek redress of grievances, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures” (Mecham, 2001, p. 9). It also includes the fundamental principles of justice for all citizens and the protection from self-incrimination. It protects against the seizure of property without fair compensation. It guarantees a quick and public legal process of trial by jury in civil and criminal cases with the assistance from counsel in cases of criminal prosecutions (Mecham, 2001). “It was the best of times; it was the worst of time” (Dickens, Wilson, & Busch, 2007, p. 16). Charles Dickens wrote that in his novel, A Tale of Two Cities; yet he could have been writing about Siemens’ last couple of years. Many of the business units at Siemens had achieved the best performance in their history but recently have been dealt one of the worst blows to the company’s ethics and hard earned reputation. Siemens made important portfolio changes to shape the company for the future but all that business success will mean little unless the company maintains the highest ethical standards in every aspect of their business. Following a German investigation of the possible misuse of Siemens’ company funds, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission opened investigations. The public discussions regarding the company’s future created uncertainty both internally and externally. The customers, employees and shareholders rightly expected a clear decision regarding Siemens’ future. “Crime is, by it’s very nature, almost wholly unethical. But doesn’t crime have its own ethics' Or is there really no honor among thieves'” (Baker, 2008). At the end of the day, “two former Siemens managers have been convicted by a German court of their involvement in paying 6m Euros (€4.1m; US$8m) in bribes to win contracts” (Corp-Ethics.com, 2007). On September 2007, Siemens hired General Electric’s healthcare division Peter Solmssen as the “new general counsel to help deal with the ethical and legal fallout from the series of bribery probes” (Institute for Global Ethics, 2007). On August 2008, Siemens announced that “it will seek to recover damages from two former CEO’s and other former members top management executives for ethics breaches that damage the firm’s reputation and bottom line” (Institute for Global Ethic, 2008). This is a clear example which demonstrates how a Constitutional right affects a business and how the legal system is used with respect to recognizing or protecting that right. The challenge now is to sustain the company’s profitable growth while making sure that the company’s values are never violated again. Because responsible corporations have the highest standards of business conduct, Siemens has engaged several of the world’s most respected compliance experts to help them review and strengthen their compliance program. When the review is completed, Siemens will be a model of transparency and good conduct for all corporations around the world. Personal and corporate reputation is a valuable asset. Individuals are directly linked to uncompromising success of any organization by complying with applicable laws, regulations and internal guidelines. Compliance is thus a central pillar of business regulation, at the same time, an integral part of all business processes. Achieving outstanding performance and maintaining the highest level of ethical integrity is certainly not a contradiction. On the contrary, this mindset and approach have made some companies and individuals strong. The message in from the government is clear and straightforward; good business means abiding all business regulations as stipulated by the U.S. Constitution.