Business Regulation Essay
Business Regulation
How much business should or should not be regulated is a topic that is highly debated in today’s society. Mitchell Holt, in an article on Chron.com, discusses five areas of the government’s regulation on businesses that I feel are relevant to this project. At the end of this essay, I will offer my own opinion.
The first area of regulation involves advertising. One of the basic responsibilities of the Federal Trade Commission is to protect the consumer while ensuring that competition stays strong in the market. There are three divisions of the Federal Trade Commission: the Bureau of Consumer Protection, the Bureau of Competition, and the Bureau of Economics. Among many other things, these three divisions work together to monitor businesses and make sure they are abiding by the truth-in-advertising laws. According to Mr. Holt, there are three components to these laws. The first is that advertising in the United States must be truthful and non-misleading. The second is that businesses need to be able to back up claims made in advertisements at any time. The last component is that advertisements must be fair to competitors and consumers. Businesses can avoid many problems if they adhere to these three simple rules.
Employment and labor are the next areas of regulation. With these areas in mind, officials have developed laws concerning minimum wages, working conditions, safety and health, benefits, and many more. One of these main laws is the Fair Labor Standards Act. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed this act in 1938. As explained on the Society for Human Resource Management website, “The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.” Even though this act has been amended several times since its origination, it still has a major impact on all
How much business should or should not be regulated is a topic that is highly debated in today’s society. Mitchell Holt, in an article on Chron.com, discusses five areas of the government’s regulation on businesses that I feel are relevant to this project. At the end of this essay, I will offer my own opinion.
The first area of regulation involves advertising. One of the basic responsibilities of the Federal Trade Commission is to protect the consumer while ensuring that competition stays strong in the market. There are three divisions of the Federal Trade Commission: the Bureau of Consumer Protection, the Bureau of Competition, and the Bureau of Economics. Among many other things, these three divisions work together to monitor businesses and make sure they are abiding by the truth-in-advertising laws. According to Mr. Holt, there are three components to these laws. The first is that advertising in the United States must be truthful and non-misleading. The second is that businesses need to be able to back up claims made in advertisements at any time. The last component is that advertisements must be fair to competitors and consumers. Businesses can avoid many problems if they adhere to these three simple rules.
Employment and labor are the next areas of regulation. With these areas in mind, officials have developed laws concerning minimum wages, working conditions, safety and health, benefits, and many more. One of these main laws is the Fair Labor Standards Act. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed this act in 1938. As explained on the Society for Human Resource Management website, “The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.” Even though this act has been amended several times since its origination, it still has a major impact on all
Cited: "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938." Society for Human Resource Management. U.S. Department of Labor, 07 Oct 2008. 25 Nov 2013. . Holt, Mitchell. "Five Areas of Government Regulation of Business." Chron. The Houston Chronicle. 25 Nov 2013. . Twyman, Tracy. "Facts About Smog." eHow Health. Demand Media, Inc. 25 Nov 2013. .