Discuss About The European Policy For Intellectual Property?
With the increasing ramification of economic changes and complex business structure, each and every organizations needs to manage their ethical, social and legal issues in determined approach. In this report, demonstration of legal, regulatory and environment issues have been taken into consideration. It is observed that if company wants to create effective brand image then it will have to comply with all the legal, regulatory and environment laws and regulations. In this report, data has been prepared on social and political laws followed by Woolworth Company. It is evaluated that Woolworth Company has been running its business on international level. Therefore, it needs to establish harmonization in domestic and international. There are several laws and regulations which should be complied by Woolworth Company such as ethical compliance requirement, data privacy act, workmen compensation act, discrimination act and environmental act. It is evaluated that if company could maintain effective legal compliance and ethical program in its value chain activities then it will create effective brand image and valuable business working of organization. Law is the system of rules, usually enforced through legal bodies and institutions.
Woolworth Company has been complying with all the domestic and international rules with a view to implement proper level of compliance program at large. In this report, regulatory and environment laws and regulations, social, culture, international and political issues have been discussed. The main focus of this report is to evaluate how Woolworths company has complied with all regulatory and environment laws and regulations, social, culture, international and political issues (Sitdikova, et al. 2016).
It is a major Australian company which has been running its retails business all over the world. The main headquarter of company is in Bella Vista, Australia and all the employees of company are accustomed by the orders and instructions given by Bradford who is CEO of company. This company has increased its overall revenue by 25% to AUD $ 59 billion. This company has several strategic alliances with a view to create value on its investment and expanding its business at large (Posner, 2014).
Company has mission to grab at least 40% market share in retail business by rendering best level of services and goods in market.
It has vision to increase client’s satisfaction in retails business and diversifying its business at large.
Woolworths Company has been providing all types of groceries items to clients. It is observed that company has integrated with various strategic alliances and expanded its retails stores business through cyber computing enterprises resources planning.
With the global marketing of business, Woolworths Company has followed international marketing functions. It is observed that company has complex business structure in which more than 1,120,000 employees are working. Company has faced several legal and corporate governance issues throughout the time. The main legal issue is related to payment of tax under double taxation avoidance agreement. In this legal issue, it is observed by evaluating the annual report of Woolworths Company that company pay tax only in Australia. However, the main issue was paying tax in New Zealand. It is evaluated that company pays only nominal taxes in New Zealand and save its tax payment in New Zealand. Related party transaction is one of the main strategic plans which company used to manipulate the prices of goods and services to reduce the overall profit. Woolworths Company increases the price of the goods and services sold by its Australian venture to its New Zealand venture with a view to reduce its New Zealand venture profit. This level of business functioning reduce the tax burden in New Zealand venture of Woolworths Company. However, this level of strategic implication increases the overall tax burden of Woolworths Company in Australia but at the same time it reduces the overall tax in New Zealand. This level of strategic planning is not ethical but it covers in tax planning program of Board of directors of Woolworths. It has been observed that Woolworths Company is more inclined towards saving its overall cost of production of its business ventures. Company has followed this level of practice to beat the competition in New Zealand so that it could sell its products and services at low profit margin. This is one of the core competencies of Woolworths Company while selling its goods and services in New Zealand venture (Pearson, 2009).
It is evaluated that company has complied with GAAP and IFRS rules in its legal reporting compliance. However, in some of the cases, Woolworths Company have to face conflict while determining harmonization in GAAP rules and IFRS accounting standards in its reporting frameworks. For instance, as per the GAAP rules impairment loss of company should be charged from the cash generating units of company. On the other hand, if company follows IFRS rules and standard then it will have to charge its impairment test from goodwill and then remaining amount is charged from the cash generating units. However, company has complied with IFRS rules and standards with a view to make its reporting international. There is another legal issue which is related to the working hours of company. Woolworths Company has been paying salary to its employees less than its minimum wages described in workmen compensation act. This level of strategic planning of company reduces the overall cost of production but also destruct the brand image of company at large. This level of its business practice has increased its legal risk to comply with the applicable rules and regulation of employment act. Company has to pay minimum wages to its employee with a view to implement ethical and legal business practice. However, keeping organization culture as per the requirements and perception of clients is the best management practice but it also pose high threat in complying with the applicable corporate laws and regulations.
There are several regulatory compliance and laws which are followed by Woolworths Company to make its legal compliance effective (Pearson, 2009).
Fair work act 2009-
This act contains all the laws and regulations regarding the effective working. It is observed that if company fails to provide best quality of goods and services to clients then company has to face high amount of penalties. As per the rules and regulations of Fair work Act 2009, each and every company in Australia needs to deliver best quality of goods and services in market (Whish, & Bailey, 2015).
The lawful implications of discriminated laws and regulations of Woolworths Company in context with sexual, ethnic and age issues has been considered. Woolworths Company ensures that HR and legitimate divisions are all around prepared to deal with these issues. Woolworths Company ensures to set up with every one of the candidates’ resumes and demonstrate that it enlists the most qualified people and less inclined towards discrimination in its hiring and business functioning. However, discrimination at work place could be significant issue in an incorporated work environment. General gatherings and meetings with staff helps Woolworths Company’s administrators to mitigate these legal problems in easy and determined approach. Company has believed to be proactive and step out these issues previously they begin in value chain activities.
It is evaluated that no employee should be discriminated in organization on the basis of race, sex, gender and cast. Woolworths Company has followed this work discrimination act and maintained equality between all of its employees. Company has implemented proper level of policies and program and maintains equality in its corporate culture. In addition to this, organization culture of Woolworths Company is completely based on the values, belief and perception (Williams & Hardison, 2013).
Woolworths Company has followed all the legal compliance and laws to formulate effective business functioning. It is evaluated that if company wants to take any strategic decision then it could be done by passing resolution in general meeting. Company conduct general or special meeting to pass resolution for business decisions. These corporation act provide all the corporation compliance program and legal laws which company needs to follow to maintain effective corporate (Glenn, 2014).
Woolworths Company is listed company and it has to comply with all the listing rules and regulation of Australian stock exchange. However, company has faced various legal penalties due to its non-effective legal compliance and failed to disclose its material information to stakeholders in its listing reporting frameworks. Therefore, it could be inferred that if Woolworths Company wants to increase its business sustainability then it will have to comply with all the listing requirements and corporation act 2001. If company could comply with all the domestic and international rules then it will result to effective legal compliance program in Woolworths Company. However, as per the listing rules and regulation of Australia, Woolworths Company has to comply with applicable listing rules on quarterly basis or at the time when it comes with initial public offer or further public offer in market (Suter, 2016).
Lawful Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance or “LGRC”, stands for arrangement of procedures, guidelines, factors and frameworks utilized by corporate legitimate offices to receive, execute and screen an incorporated way to deal with business issues. While Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance in Woolworths Company is the summed up set of instruments for dealing with corporate and legal issues. However, the corporate governance department of Woolworths Company is the main domain of administration and consistence incorporates IT GRC and money related GRC. These three domains of Woolworths Company are used by management department to comply with the ethical and legal issues in company’s business functioning, especially in extensive partnerships that have strong legal compliance (Watson, Fleming & Zizzo, 2015).
Legal risk of Woolworths Company arises with its incapability to comply with the applicable rules and regulations (Shavell, 2014). However, with the changes and amendment in corporate laws, Woolworths Company has faced various issues while complying laws and regulations. these law corporate administration alludes to a framework in which corporates or associations are overseen. It involves working of connections between the administrations, advisory groups of the Board, and representatives of Woolworths Company. Corporate administration structure of Woolworths Company empowers associations to satisfy its objectives and goals for the reason that its capacities are not postponed around dangers of revolutions of its value chain activities. Legal department of Woolworths Company needs to focus on issues of legal compliance and corporate governance (Bird & Park, 2015). There are various issues related with neglecting to consent to specific directions. Actually, the degree of dangers or legal compliance risk in Woolworths Company depends upon the complexity and legal risk management capabilities. Despite issues included, the cost of consistence is substantially less than the dangers developing out from resistance to new rules and amendment. In watching business morals, the assets associated with consistence of Woolworths Company states and governments to make employments and enhance societal position of its residents (Nonet, 2017). By expand; consistence is advantageous in that it makes corporate bodies to satisfy their social commitments to individuals from the general population. Some of these expenses additionally include parts of direct uses made by associations to follow security issues, when gone along; these controls guarantee buyers get fantastic products and ventures. Despite the fact that high at times, the expenses of consistence guarantee reasonable exchange and permit preparations of products and ventures that meet buyer prerequisites, needs and needs (Wong, 2001).
There are several areas in which Woolworth Company has failed to comply its applicable rules and regulation. The main legal risk arise when company faced harmonization in its domestic GAAP rules and IFRS accounting standards. This legal risk arise in case of legal compliance in the reporting of financial statements. It is evaluated that company has used IFRS accounting standards and domestic rules compliance in the reporting of financial statements. The main legal risk arise when there is conflict between GAAP rules and IFRS standards. For instance, in case of implementing impairment test, company has faced issues while harmonizing between GAAP rules and IFRS standard. As per the GAAP rules all the impairment loss must be charged from the cash generating units. While, as per the IFRS rules, company needs to charge its impairment loss first from the goodwill amount after that remaining loss could be charged from other cash generating assets of company (Rembar, 2015). This level of conflict create legal compliance risk while reporting of financial statement of company on international level. However, following IFRS rules and standards reduce the legal reporting compliance risk of company in determined approach. Another legal risk which company has faced throughout the time is related to using false social media advertisement. Company has showcased its products and services to the extent of its limits and made false promise which are not legal and ethical as well. Furthermore, company has also sold its business units to other organization which may also result to creation of cartel for its rivals in Australia. The main problem or highest legal risk is related to failure to comply with the applicable rules and regulation due to the consistent amendment and laws. For instance, if there is changes in regulatory requirement of applicable laws then in that case if company is not maintain its legal compliance program up to date base then in this case it will make company failure to comply with these newly applicable rules and regulation. This will not only result to imposition of penalties but also destruct the brand image of company at large (MacCormick & Weinberger, 2013).
It is evaluated that legal risk management is the main important part which must be followed by Woolworths Company in its legal compliance program. It is to the way toward assessing elective administrative and non-administrative outcomes of non-compliance of legal law and applicable rules. Indeed, even with the legitimate domain, this procedure requires learning of the lawful, monetary and social components, and information of the business world in which lawful groups operate. In a hierarchical setting, Woolworths Company’s legal administration department manage for the procedure to which an association sets the proper resistance, recognizes potential dangers and organizes the resilience for management of legal risk in light of the association’s business goals, and mitigate all the legal and compliance issues. However, Woolworths Company has managed its regulatory related risk. In this company, this risk is relate to risk of having organization’s permit to work “pulled back by a controller, or having conditions connected (reflectively or tentatively) that offensively affect the financial estimation of an endeavor” (Woolworths Company). This company has strong legal compliance department but in order to increase the effectiveness of company’s business functioning, it has to hire legal experts who have tremendous level of legal and laws related knowledge. Woolworths Company’s legal department is accompanied with 19 legal experts who comply with all the domestic and international rules and regulations in determined approach (Hammit, et al. 2013).
Woolworths Company might be liable to the directions from government organizations, and institutional commissions. It’s critical to comprehend the particular directions that apply to your organization’s business functioning, and the related principles transactions. For example, details, arrangements, benchmarks or laws, Woolworths Company look over to maintain a strategic distance from punishments as well as suit through its legal compliance program. It’s additionally essential to know when changes are introduced and amendment is made in Australian economy with the particular rules and regulations. Woolworths Company needs to follow Proactive administrative policies and programs (Pollack, 2017).It requires executing particular arrangements, strategies and conventions to determine that Woolworths Company will be following all the rules and regulations in consistence well ahead of time of issued laws and regulations. However, if Woolworth Company wants to manage its risk then it will have to implement proper level of compliance program and effective legal compliance analysis. Exact estimation of probability of occurring of uncertain even in legal compliance of Woolworth is very hard and results is once in a while, if at any point, conceivable or cumbersome to get. Vulnerability to failure to comply with the applicable laws and regulations of legal compliance program of company includes risk in complying with newly introduced laws and meeting with imposition of penalties and traits. In the legal risk management program, Woolworth’s company examination plans to refine, not resolve, and recognized legal compliance uncertainty. The last piece of legal risk management part examination is to work in parameters or factors for the components which affects the company’s compliance (Goho, 2016). For instance, harms for a claim may go amongst $X and $2X if company fails to comply with the particular legal requirement in Australia. For instance, Woolworths company entered into strategic alliance with other organization for its integrated business and if that resulted into cartel in government eyes then company will have to face high level of penalties and break down of its business functioning.
It is determined that if Woolworths company find any legal risk then management department should evaluate the impact of it on business and how company could mitigate these risk. It is evaluated that legal risk could be managed only when company hire an effective legal compliance department. All the law experts will evaluate all the applicable rules and regulations of government on country with a view to save the company from penalties and regulatory charges at large (Sitdikova, et al. 2016).
After evaluating the annual report and other external factors of business, it is evaluated that Woolworths Company has legal risk in complying with the foreign exchange management laws and regulations and listed laws (Edwards, 2014). With the complexity of listing rules and regulations, company failed to comply with the listing requirements while issuing its initial public offers and further public offer. It is considered that Australian listing rules and regulations are very complex and if company wants to comply with these rules then it will have to hire listing laws experts. Another short term legal risk arise for corporate governance requirement in which foreign exchange management laws, employment act and other applicable rules. If company fails to achieve these laws in short term then it will also hamper the long term legal risk of company. In addition to this, if company appoint a legal department in company then it will increase the overall cost of production of company. Failure to comply with the listing rules and regulations result to destruction of brand image and imposition of penalties on company. Top management department of Woolworths Company have found the reason of its long term and short legal risk which is related to the complex legal laws applicability and less effective legal department. If company could hire efficient legal experts in its legal department then it may increase the overall efficiency and corporate governance rating. Another legal risk in Woolworths Company is related to establishment of harmonization in domestic legal compliance and international legal compliance. It is evaluated that if company has to follow IFRS rules and standards (Posner, 2014).
It is evaluated that Woolworths company could mitigate its legal risk by following proper level standards regulatory requirements. However, changes in existing laws and regulation may increase the vulnerability in legal compliance risk. Woolworths Company has several strategic options to avoid these legal risk such as hiring law experts, outsourcing its legal requirement program to big legal compliance firm and implementing proactive compliance program. If Woolworths follows these regulatory compliance program then it will increase the overall efficiency of company and mitigate the possible legal compliance risk in determined approach. Communication and proper proactive compliance requirement may also help company to comply with domestic and international laws. It is evaluated that if company should indulged in following international compliance program over applicable domestic rules and regulations. This strategic option will not only help Woolworths company to comply with applicable rules and laws but also strengthen its brand image on international level. The main damage which Woolworths Company has stroke is related to its legal compliance issues. Company has to face high amount of penalties and charges due to its non-effective legal compliance program. This level of non-effectiveness has several impact on the company such as destruct brand image, increase overall cost of productions and reducing the efficiency of company in market. There are other several strategic options such as minimizing the business operation to domestic level of non-listing of company’s share. However, in this case, company may minimize its legal requirement but will also destruct its business functioning. If company wants to minimize these legal compliance issues then it will first have to hire legal experts who have up to date laws related knowledge and can comply with all the applicable rules and regulations. In addition to this, in Australia, there are several legal experts firms who take outsourcing of legal compliance and help companies to comply with their applicable rules and regulations in easy and determined approach (Tricker & Tricker, 2015).
This company has various legal risk and uncertainty to run its business in long run. However, with the ramified growth and changing legal compliance, company has hired legal department to comply with all the applicable rules and regulations. It is evaluated that company needs to hire legal experts who have knowledge of all current laws and regulations. These experts are very well versed with all the laws and acts which company should comply. If Woolworth Company could hire these law experts then it may increase the overall cost but clean the company’s image in its stakeholders mind (Dinovitzer, Gunz & Gunz, 2015). For the most part, Woolworths Company is looked with boundless inner and outside variables that put a question mark on whether the Woolworths Company could maintain its business effectively in future time. Company has increased its overall annual turnover by average growth rate of 12% since last five years. Nonetheless, with the ramified economic changes and social, ethical factors of Australia, Woolworths Company may fails to maintain legal and ethical business. If Woolworths Company could strengthen its legal compliance program and ethical code of conduct then it may overcome all the possible threats and compliance issues. A Compliance Management System tends to be associated with key zones, for example, reputation, Market and product development, financial arranging and risk Management. Woolworths Company needs to adopt consistence Management System as that contains three key components that are related with each other. These are named as Board and Management oversight, Compliance program, and Compliance review. It is expressed when every one of these components cooperate, it empowers an association to be fruitful in dealing with their consistence obligations adequately (Williams & Hardison, 2013).
Conclusion
It could be inferred that if Woolworths Company have perfect Compliance Management System in its internal business functioning then it will strengthen the legal compliance program, minimization of risk and effective ethical business practice. A Compliance program incorporates following significant parts. These are work force, preparing and forms. These have been portrayed in later segments of the report. In addition to this, company could maintain ethical business practice only when it focuses on providing best quality services and products to its clients. Woolworths Company have set up effective code of conduct to its employees but customization of same as per the likes, perception, choices of employees will also strengthen its business practice in determined approach.
References
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