Every aspect of the everyday life of a modern man is affected by the law that determines his or her rights and duties. Probably due to its omnipresence defining law appears to be rather difficult (Meiners, Ringleb & Edwards, 2012; Mann & Roberts, 2013). Even though the law reflects the philosophy of society and is based on relevant values, it is not synonymous with justice or morals (Mann & Roberts, 2013). From the most general point of view, the law functions as a tool of social control, which means that its purpose consists in regulating human relationships. (Mann & Roberts, 2013). From the point of view of business, which is only a kind of human activity, the law defines the rules and regulations for commercial activities (Meiners et al., 2012).
The functions of the law may be termed differently, but the key principles would be more or less the same: the primary role of the law is to maintain the stability of the system by regulating the behavior of the subjects (whether it means prohibiting, requiring or permitting an action), while at the same time allowing social changes. Apart from that, the law is supposed to resolve conflicts and maintain the values proposed by the society (Meiners et al., 2012; Mann & Roberts, 2013). A properly organized legislative system is necessary for any society to exist.
Given the enormous scope of behavior that the law is expected to regulate, there exist a classification of types of legislation. For example, substantive law is responsible for determining rights and duties, while procedural law is expected to ensure that the duties will be performed and the rights respected. Similarly, different kinds of activities give the reason for creating separate kinds of law (for example, the law of torts or property law). Still, in either situation the primary function of the law is performed.
Personal Experience with Law
Employment law is the part of legislation that is aimed at regulating the relationships between employers and employees (Collins, 2010). Given the fact that my first working experience (sales assistant) was not related to being in a position of power or working with legal issues, employment law was the central part of legislation that I came in contact with. Obviously, from the point of view of the company the law was regulating every other aspect of its activities, but personally I was a witness of the employment law functioning. The employment contract is considered to be a very specific kind of contract since it appears to convert labor into a “commodity.” Still, in essence, it is “a consensual relation of two parties involving an exchange” (Collins, 2010, p. 6). I have not encountered any difficulties in either agreeing upon the terms of the contract (it was perfectly transparent and consistent) or terminating it. By agreeing to the terms of the contract, I demonstrated that they seemed satisfactory to me. Similarly, by signing the contract, the employer took up certain responsibilities concerning our relationship.
A part of employment law that our managers were particularly concerned with was the discrimination. The law explicitly states that workplace discrimination is out of the question, and our managers would emphasize that our company would not tolerate this kind of behavior. I would like to point out, however, that this part of out relationship did not appear to require the intervention of the law. While it seemed obvious to us that the law was to be abided, some kind of solidarity and sympathy was established between us. Still, it should be pointed out that no particular conflicts arose during the short time I was working with the company. While I have not been informed about any kind of prior difficulties concerning the issue, I do not believe that it is improbable for such kind of conflict to arise. I would conclude that employment law, apparently, played an important part in the company’s everyday life, but it was not the only set of regulations that influenced our behavior.
References
Collins, H. (2010). Employment law. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Mann, R., & Roberts, B. (2013). Essentials of business law and the legal environment. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Meiners, R., Ringleb, A., & Edwards, F. (2012). The legal environment of business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.