Corporate environmental management- business paper Assignment

Corporate environmental management- business paper - Assignment Example Although there has been increasing awareness about the connections between business and the environment, there is a gap in the knowledge base about how to best address the environmental issues that affect business performance. The project with McDonald’s contributed to this knowledge base by providing an example of how best to manage resources in order to minimize environmental pollution. The collaborative project was highly publicized so that EDF’s work received numerous accolades. Because the research project received widespread attention, it enhanced industry-wide awareness regarding EDF’s corporate environmental agenda. It had a positive effect on the public perception of EDF so that the company could continue to pursue its agenda of promoting the use of economics in the analysis of environmental problems. EDF specialized in advocating the use of market based incentive systems to improve the environment. The joint project with McDonald’s enabled EDF to capitalize upon this expertise. EDF was an environmental group that possessed a combination of economic, scientific and legal expertise enabling the company to address environmental concerns effectively. The focus of the collaborative project with McDonald’s was to reduce the restaurant’s use of material and generation of solid waste. It involved economic analysis in which the company possessed expertise. Therefore the project was concluded successfully and received positive press coverage. By collaborating with large corporations, EDF would be able to keep pace with the change that is taking place in the industry. In order to maintain the effectiveness of its program, the company would have to keep pace with the changes in market drivers and regulatory drivers. This objective was met when EDF participated in the collaborative project with McDonald’s. The environmental group specialized in the use of economic analysis to address environmental problems. When McD onald’s implemented the plan, it improved the effectiveness in supplier chain management. By implementing new management mechanisms and accountability procedures, McDonald’s was able to improve business performance. Because the project was highly publicized, it raised awareness about the connections between business performance and environmental issues. Although the project focused upon materials improvement and waste reduction opportunities, it raised awareness about the effectiveness of using market-based incentive systems to address environmental problems. Since this was the area of EDF’s specialization, the collaborative project contributed to the company’s ability to affect market-based behavior. As a result the company gained reputation that would interest other companies to hire their expertise as well. Therefore from EDF’s perspective the collaborative project with McDonald’s was a success. Question 2 The successful completion of the collaborative project with McDonald’s enabled EDF to promote the use of economic analysis in addressing the connections between business performance and environmental issues. Therefore the environmental group should follow up the McDonald’s project by developing innovative solutions for environmental dilemmas. In setting the strategic focus, EDF would have to consider several factors. One of these factors was maintaining the diversity of approaches. After the

Conflict in the Niger Delta Essay Example for Free

Conflict in the Niger Delta Essay The conflict happening in the Niger Delta stated in 1990. The tensions involve foreign oil corporation and members of some Niger Delta’s minority ethnic groups, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw. The instability continued from the 1990s until recently even though there are major changes in the government structure. The area surrounding the Delta is now heavily militarized by the Nigerian army and police forces, and numerous armed groups belonging to the ethnic groups (Barrett). According to the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (â€Å"Minorities at Risk. A Country Case Study†) violence and high crime rate is a common scenario in the Delta because of the stiff contest for oil. Government atrocities with civilian as victims are also recorded in the area. One of the most conflicted areas in the Delta is Oganiland. Located in the southeast of the Niger Delta, Oganiland is a region comprising 404-squale-mile of the area. Shell and Chevron set up their exploration and drilling facilities in the area upon the discovery of oil deposits in 1957. The rich oil deposit in Oganiland is considered as Nigeria’s first petroleum deposit for commercial purposes. During the exploration of the two largest foreign oil companies, government authorities and agents forced residents of the area to leave. This government-initiated forced evacuation on the area affected almost half a million ethnic minorities belonging to the group Ogonis and other ethnic groups (Agbu). They also attest that the government and the foreign oil companies did not conduct any consultation with them and offer any damages. Despite the strong opposition from the affected minorities, the federal government supported the atrocities by amending the Constitution that the government has the full ownership on all lands within Nigeria and compensation will be based on the crops and products located in the land during the taking and not the actual value of the land. These further allow the taking of foreign oil corporations on almost all of the lands in Oganiland with the help of the government (â€Å"Minorities at Risk. A Country Case Study. †). In the 1980s, the situation of Oganiland and the Oganis deteriorated economically, socially, politically and environmentally. Dissatisfaction and discontent among the people in Oganiland steadily mounts that in 1992 they formed the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). It became the main organization campaigning for various issues of the Oganis, primarily ethnic and environmental rights. MOSOP became the main opposition of the Nigerian government and foreign oil companies in Oganiland (Agbu). The conflict between MOSOP and oil companies escalated that it resulted to violence disrupting some of the oil companies’ major activities in the area. MOSOP required $10 billion as royalties since the companies started and for the degradation of the environment in Oganiland (Olusakin). However, according to Agbu (2004) the oil companies, Shell, Chevron and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, with the help of government authorities answered the MOSOP’s demand through violence also. Mass actions and protests started to occur in a daily basis in Oganiland that resulted the banning of public assembly by the government. It also pronounced as acts of treason any disturbances of oil production and related activities in the area. Militarization and repression rose in 1994 where in four village chiefs were murdered. The head of MOSOP, Ken Saro-Wira was detained because of the killings. Hundreds were also arbitrarily arrested and detained because of the killings. By June of the same year, there were almost 30 villages totally ruined, almost 2,000 deaths and leaving nearly 100,000 Oganis as internal refugees (Human Rights Watch). In 1994 Saro-Wira with other eight Ogani activist were arrested and sentenced to death. They are executed though hanging by the Nigerian government. The deaths of Saro-Wira and his companions enraged the people of Oganiland that resulted to more disruptive and violent actions against the oil companies. The militancy of the Oganis inspired other ethic groups to start their own struggle against the government and the foreign oil companies (Olusakin). The Ijaws organized the Ijaw National Congress and Ijaw youth organized the Ijaw Youth Congress. These two groups raise the political consciousness and militancy of the Ijaw people. They started to lay down their demands against the irresponsive central Nigerian government and to the foreign oil companies. They are asserting that these companies should have direct and concrete plans to uplift the lives of the people in the Niger Delta (Obi). Recently, armed and more militant groups like Niger Delta Peoples Vanguard (NDPV), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and the Nigerian Delta Vigilante (NDV) were organized. Although these groups were formed because of the continuous environmental degradation, government neglect and social and political unrest in the area, they are now in conflict on varying ideologies and forms of actions (Obi). Most of them aim to gain control of the area’s rich oil resources. NDPVF and NDV are in conflict with each other. Violence between the groups rose resulting to disruptive activities in Port Harcourt, the Delta’s oil capital. Supporters of NDPVF transferred to NDV escalating more the conflict between the two groups (Agbu). After the local and national elections of 2003, NDPVF announced their all-out war against the government (Olusakin). However, MEND is closely affiliated with NDV. They reached their international reputation when they hijacked oil tankers crossing through the country and nearby countries. They arbitrarily detained workers in the tankers for months and demanding for ransom for their release. Last year, they attacked various oil installations and facilities of oil company Shell that resulted to oil price increase. They also attacked a facility of Chevron, forcing the company to halt operations in the region for that year (Obi). In 2005, the central government called the National Political reform Conference. Representatives of the Niger Delta raised various concerns on the development of the region. Numerous non-government and human rights organization have also called the attention of the central government to introduce reform in the region. There are proposals to divide the region into two, Eastern Niger Delta and Western Niger Delta, to make developmental projects easier to implement (Taylor). The ventral government should also convert new states in the region with at least one city in every state. Taylor (2007) said that federal offices and ministries should also set-up their branches in the region to make government services more accessible to ethnic minorities in the region. The government is also urged to enact legislations compelling oil companies to implement developmental projects in their host communities and strictly follow environmental laws. International civil society groups have also suggested that the central government implement policies to have more transparency in the revenues and fiscal matters on the oil industries. The Washington-based Human Rights Watch (2002) also strongly recommends that state security forces should be investigated and persecuted on their abuses on the civilians in the region (p. 5). The conflict in the region is already decade-old and seems will never end. The Nigerian government should seriously implement reforms and developmental projects in the region to alleviate poverty among its people. The more delay on these developments needed, the more people will be agitated to join the armed resistance fueled by inequality among the oil company and the ethnic minorities of the Niger Delta. Works Cited: Agbu, Osita. (2004). Ethnic Militias and the Threat to Democracy in Post-Transition Nigeria. Uppsala: Nordic African Institue. Barrett, Ejiroghene. â€Å"Why the Troubles in the Niger Delta. † New African 456 (2006): 40-45 â€Å"Minorities at Risk. A Country Case Study. † 2 April 2009. Center fro International Development and Conflict Management. http://cidcm. umd. edu. Olusakin, Ayoka Mopelala. â€Å"Peace in the Niger Delta: Economic Development and the Politics of Dependence on Oil. † International Journal on World Peace 23 (2006): 3 Obi, Cyril (1997). Globalization and Local Resistance: The Case of the Ogoni versus Shell. Ibadan: University of Ibadan. Obi, Cyril (2001). The Changing Forms of Identity Politics in Nigeria under Economic Adjustment: The Case of the Oil Minorities Movement of the Niger Delta. Uppsala: Nordic African Institute. Taylor, Darren. â€Å"Niger Delta and Lack of Infrastructure: Major Issues in Nigeria Elections. † Voice of America. 22 March 2007. 2 April 2009 http://www. voanews. com/english/ archive/2007-03/Niger-Delta-Conflict-and-Lack-of-Infrastructure-Major-Issues-in-Nigeria-Elections. cfm â€Å"The Niger Delta: No Democratic Dividend. † October 2002. Human Rights Watch. 2 April 2009. http://www. hrw. org/legacy/reports/2002/nigeria3/nigerdelta. pdf

Does Business have Social Obligations? Essay -- Business Management St

Does Business have Social Obligations? In today's society people are being laid off or losing jobs everyday. Many times it is because a company is going out of business, or may not need as many employees. The company often times cannot afford to pay extra workers. During these circumstances, a question of responsibility and obligations begin to rise. Should businesses in today's free market economy have an obligation to be socially responsible for these actions which the businesses or company carries out? Businesses operating in a free market economy have limited obligation to be socially responsible. People who lose their jobs because a company is going out of business do not have a choice in the matter. They have not done anything wrong , but happen to be in the wrong place...

Book Review on The Lucky One Essay

In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance – when you least expect it sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined. What if someone had saved your life before you even met? How far will you travel to find love? Will you engage in a journey of love and luck that will change your life forever? Will you take the quests to happiness when you know to yourself that you will be taking risks and that the journey you will take is a trial-and-error thing? For him, that was all possible. He was a wonderful man. And when a man is that special, you know it sooner than you think possible. You recognize it instinctively; there will never be another one like him. He was Logan Thibault, a one of a kind man who sets out a journey to find a girl, who was believed to be his lucky charm. Meeting her embarks the roller coaster ride of love, luck, fortune, romance and big secrets. Literary Work and Comment The literary work of Nicholas Sparks is a brilliant one. He had narrated a story of love and romance, of luck and journey. But like any other stories, this depicts lives of people. This is less dreamy and is more realistic even at times pragmatic – in spite of the belief in a lucky charm. The story revolves around the life of a U.S. Marine during his third tour of duty in Iraq and the photograph he had found. That was a photo of a smiling young woman half buried in the dirt. His first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm. Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives. Theme and Purpose This story is melodramatic and is more realistic. The author has always written stories where happiness and tragedy meet, full of little coincidences that may change people’s lives forever. The stories he wrote often are sentimental, since they are always about quests for love and romance and all about sadness as well. The author had presented us how a marine lived his life during the times when he was on a duty in Iraq. A lot of scenes in the novel were inspired with the timely events that had happened in Iraq back in 2008. During that time, that war in Iraq dominated the front pages of newspapers and is headlines on almost all television networks all over the world. But then, what the author is pointing out here is that stories about military men and personnel are often personal and focuses on their families or the struggles they faced upon returning home. Thus, the author wanted the readers to have a picture on their minds on what a marine officer is encountering mainly the preparations before the war, during the battle and after their duties. The author wanted us to be more aware on how a marine fought battles. He wanted his readers to experience, even by just reading his work, how to deal things when you are in a real battle in a vast battlefield. Bottom line of it all, the author wanted us to picture out strengths and determination from the main characters of the story. He wanted us to know and feel that pursuance on a certain thing you are into could give you a prosperous life. He is giving us an example, for us to reflect on ourselves, how to deal with problems. Problems are our enemies and every day we are dealing with it. We are living in a great battle field and for you to win and conquer it all, we must have strengths in ourselves and be determined enough to pursue everything we ought to do. We must believe that we can beat every problem that will come in our way. This are just spices in gaining a fruitful life ahead. Techniques Used The author had offered us a good story line. This story is surely be loved by avid romance novel readers most especially because of the beautiful plot he had created. The twists and turns of events are unpredictable that will surely make you crave for more of his works. The very first thing I had noticed was the flashback technique the author had used which is very common for all stories; using this may not let readers enjoy because they already know this kind of technique. So he had come up with a technique that you will notice from this certain novel and that is by using the voice of the characters. The author is writing in the limited third-person omniscient, thus allowing the reader to feel almost â€Å"first-person† closeness with the character, while still allowing all the characters to participate. Each chapter is told through the perspective of a single character. For example, in chapters labeled â€Å"Thibault,† only Thibault’s thoughts are included. Anything another character does is seen through his perspective, one that Thibault must only assume. If he’s talking to Beth, he can intuit what she’s thinking, but the readers are never allowed to know for sure. Until, of course, the next chapter arrives (perhaps labeled â€Å"Beth†) where she might reflect on what she’d actually been thinking. It’s a powerful form of writing and the author had used it effectively. He had overcome the challenge to make each character’s voice distinct enough to be immediately recognizable. In other words, the readers were able to â€Å"know† who’s talking, even if the chapter hadn’t been labeled at all. There was a learning curve associated with this. It made the development of the relationship between Thibault and Beth a bit more difficult (since it was only through one person’s eyes at any given time), but on the other hand, it made the characters themselves a bit easier to craft. And some voices were more difficult than others. Then, of course, there’s the challenge of keeping the story â€Å"linear.† That’s a bit tougher to do when writing with this form of literary voice. This kind of technique used by the author is somewhat confusing at first but as you go on reading the story, you will gradually understand and grasp the technique implied. It is so great that someone had done this kind of technique in writing because not all writers, regardless of what genre they are into, are good in narrating stories with this kind of technique. Opinion This is a great story indeed. Nicholas Sparks had written such a beautiful romance novel. His work is elevated by a very persuasive manner of storytelling. Readers are not expected to read his books because they are true but because they ought to be true. The story is very well plotted. The sequencing of events as well as the techniques used is very much commending. Sparks writes in such a way that it keeps you informed, seduced, captivated, and never bored. The chapters move along swiftly and it is written so well that you are not struggling to make it through each chapter. Each chapter would focus on a particular character and the chapter would be titled with their name: Thibault, Beth or Clayton. I loved that we got to delve into every characters lives. Everyone was explored with the same amount of back story. You never felt a lack of information. The storyline stays true and builds to an exciting climax. Sparks knows how to build a story and keep a reader anxiously turning pages. This is my first time to read a Nicholas Sparks novel and I surely bet this wouldn’t be the last because I had enjoyed reading it. The way he presented his work to his readers is so much appealing that you will surely crave for more.

The Law of E-Commerce

English law has long been recognized as respecting freedom of contract. In other words, the state has not, generally, laid down legislation which has interfered with the freedom of parties to agree the terms of their contracts. In more recent years, there have been a number of inroads into the principle of freedom of contract, particularly with respect to consumer protection. It very much remains the case that English law does provide parties with considerable flexibility both as how they conclude contracts and the terms that they include. Offer and acceptance In order for a contract to be binding under English law it requires an offer, acceptance, intention to create legal relations, consideration and capacity. With regard to electronic commerce, the contractual requirements need careful consideration. Offer A supplier offers an unconditional offer which could be accepted by any potential customer. If the customer informs the supplier that he or she accepts the offer ,there will be a binding contract. On the other hand, the supplier could provide to the customer what is known in legal terms as an â€Å"invitation to treat†. This is not a binding offer, but an â€Å"invitation† for the customer to make an offer, which the supplier can then accept. It is very important for suppliers wanting to sell goods through on line to ensure that their websites and other on line advertisements are interpreted as invitations to treat. If a supplier's website constituted a formal offer to provide certain services or goods, the supplier may be in breach of the local laws (both civil and criminal) if there are certain kind of customers who would not ordinarily be entitled to make the purchases which are being offered. For instances, the sale of alcoholic products to minors and guns or other weapons into all countries, when some countries restrict more carefully the circumstances in which guns or other weapon can be purchased. Acceptance English law is generally very flexible about how an offer can be accepted. Acceptance could be communicated by an acknowledgement (e.g. email) or by physical act such as the shipping of the goods. What is more uncertain under English law is when acceptance takes place – particularly in an Internet contract. The general rule is that an offer is not accepted until acceptance is communicated to the offeror. So far there is no case relating to this rule which applies to contracts made over the internet. But however, there is case law which applies to other instantaneous forms of communication, such as telexes and facsimiles, provided that such communications are sent during the business hours. With the global use of electronic trade, the question of when each business day begins may be difficult to determine – particularly when the customer cannot easily work out where the server accessed is based. The major exception to the general rule on acceptance concerns acceptance by post. In the majority of cases, acceptance takes place when the acceptance is posted and not when it is received by the offeror. The â€Å"postal† rule means that the contract will already have been made and the offeror will be bound to complete his obligations, provided that the other party can prove that the acceptance letter has been posted. In some ways, notwithstanding its instantaneous nature, acceptance by electronic means does have similarities to postal acceptance. A common carrier will assume the responsibility in transmitting the message (in this instance the carrier is the Internet Provider). With this kind of communication, it is not easy to determine the receipt with respect to email sent over the internet. What this means is that the sending party will not know when or if the acceptance has been received. Given the fact that it is not clear when acceptance of an offer will occur, any supplier should take care to consider how and when acceptance will take place. This has long been the principle adopted in EDI contracts, and those doing business on the Internet have to ensure that they do not leave anything out for questioning later in the contract. Any supplier should have no difficulty in exercising control over the manner in which the only contracting process is conducted. Unlike the Internet most real world contracts are formed on a person to person basis, either by a face to face conversation or verbally over the phone. By contrast, most Internet contracts are remotely made, impersonal and above all automated. If there is any ambiguity or uncertainty over the transaction but a more likely issue to whether there was a contract at all. Contract terms and liability English law gives the contracting parties the freedom to set many of the terms upon which they will contract the business. But this will be subjected to two areas where the law will imply terms. First, certain terms will be implied by statute. Secondly, the law will imply terms just to give â€Å"business efficiency† to a contract. This happens where either parties have forgotten to deal with an issue expressly in circumstances where they would have done so had they thought about the issue at the time f the contract was finalized. The main terms implied by statute in contracts to sell goods is the Sale of Goods Act 1979. This terms will imply to any contract that: * the goods will be of satisfactory quality; * where expressly or impliedly known by the supplier, the goods will be reasonably fit for the buyer's purposes; * where goods are sold by reference to a description, the goods will correspond to that description. This term is particularly important for internet sales where a buyer may make a purchase of certain goods having visited a supplier's website. If a supplier provides services, the implied term for the services will be that they will be dealt with â€Å"reasonable skill care†, and within a reasonable time frame (Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982). Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, these terms cannot be exempted in any circumstances with respect to consumers. Sometimes in the contract for a business, a supplier can exclude liability for breach of these implied terms where it is â€Å"reasonable† to do so. Not only the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 in which the implied terms under the Sale of Goods Act can be exempted, but the Act also imply other liability can be limited as far as the services concerned. The main provisions deal with: * liability for death and personal injury – this cannot be exempt under any circumstances; * liability in negligence other than for death and personal injury – this can be exempt where reasonable; * liability to a consumer – this can be exempt only where reasonable (except in the case of liability for breach of the terms implied under the Sale of Goods Act; * liability when dealing on the supplier's standard terms and conditions – a supplier can only be exempt liability to his customers where it is reasonable to do so; There are a number of matters with regard to the reasonableness that the court will take into account when questioning each case individually. The questions are undoubtedly related to the insurance carried by both parties; what other sources were open to customers; and whether the buyer knows or ought to know the exclusions and limitations clauses incorporated into the contract. If there are any ambiguities in the terms of the contract, the court will be in favour of the customer. And the supplier will be left to prove that his exclusions are to be reasonable with respect to doing the business. No doubt that many online contracts will incorporate standard terms and many sales will be directly to consumers, the Unfair Contract Terms Act will play a role in determining the exposure a supplier may face in providing the services or goods using the Internet as a communication mechanism. The UCTA will only be using the English law system for a contract of consumers if they are based in the UK and for a contract where there is a choice of law other than English law, when it is selected for the purposes (mainly or wholly) of trying to avoid the effect of UCTA. Apart from the Unfair Contract Terms Act, there is one exception with regard to the contracts conducted over the Internet. It concerns the international supply contracts where the offer and acceptance of the sale of goods take place in different countries or the goods are physically shipped from one jurisdiction to another. Many companies wishing to sell goods through the Internet could use this exception whereby the purchaser accesses the server to order goods from other location which is outside of the English jurisdiction. It should be realized that this exception can be applied even where the English law is governing law of contract. When a contract is considered to be an international one, the Unfair Contract Terms Act will not intervene and a supplier is free to limit or exclude his liability without having to look at the UCTA to see whether if it is reasonable to do so. Although it is likely to apply to sales to businesses only in the light of certain parallel consumer legislation – the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994. In addition to UCTA, any supplier considering doing businesses over the Internet must also bear in mind the impact of the Regulations when dealing with the consumers. These Regulations incorporate into English law of the European Community Directive on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts, which provides the entire states of the European Union cases in which it is unfair to limit or to exclude certain rights of consumers by contract terms. If the terms of the contract is considered to be unfair, then it will be declared as void. Furthermore, the Regulations could assist the consumers if the consumers are asked to pay a penalty in the event they fail to complete their contractual obligations and when the supplier restrict the consumers' legal recourse in the event of a breach (for instance, by making the consumer go to arbitration). It is for this reason that it was suggested that the international supply contract with the exception in UCTA will only be of real benefit to those selling goods to businesses. Furthermore, there are also other helpful pieces of legislation which a consumer can depend on: * The Consumer Credit Act 1974 – if a customer has paid for the goods by credit card and the value of each item is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 or more then the credit card company assumes the same responsibilities as the supplier does and a consumer can make a complain to them. * The Misrepresentation Act 1967 – may give a customer the right to return goods and have his money back if he/she has been told something factual about them that made him/her decide to buy but which turns out to be untrue. * The Trades Description Act 1968 – if a seller makes a particularly gross misrepresentation about an article or if he or she is regularly misrepresenting the qualities of any goods then this may warrant a complaint to and investigation by Trading Standards who have the power to prosecute. * Misleading Prices Regulations – the law does not control prices as such but does requires that prices are accurately displayed or advertised. If a seller has incorrectly displayed a price a customer cannot force a sale at that price but it may warrant a complain to Trading Standards. So how can businesses conducting sales over the Internet protect themselves from the inevitability of pricing errors? Hence thousand of orders can be placed with online retailers before they can detect the problem. When the prices are incorrectly displayed and contracts are formed, the sellers are forced to choose between accepting that price as a financial loss in goodwill or trying to consider the contracts under the doctrine of unilateral mistake. Otherwise to avoid the contracts to be binding with customers with the incorrectly pricing, the sellers should employ protective methods of contract formation that assist them to prevent loss. The risks and costs of pricing errors Many online errors result from the fact of proofreading mistakes and software problems, but a lot of mistakes keep increasing because many sellers online tend to change their prices more often than normal and convenience high street stores [1]. Furthermore, online businesses execute sales automatically and therefore lose the added safety of having the human eye confirm the price. The Internet, with all the richness of information resources, can cause some harm. Many of the online shopping combine with chat rooms, emails and bulletin board which in turn can result in a flood of orders and thousands of sales being processed before the sellers is able to pinpoint and correct the mistake. For instance, in 2001, Kodak offered a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½329 digital camera for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 [2]. At the time the case was decided that Kodak's automatic confirmation email formed legally binding contracts [3], and in the end, the company was forced to honour the sales. The incident caused the company substantial losses of more than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2 million [4]. Kodak argued that, if there was a contract formed, that contract could be void by reason of â€Å"mistake† (i.e. the price of the goods offered was so low that there was obviously a mistake). Kodak's refusal to fulfill orders was widely reported. The common law view was that Kodak would lose any actions brought against it because 1) its standard terms were unfair to the consumer; 2) a camera worth à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 being sold as a special offer for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 was not an obvious mistake; and 3) Kodak's reply not only to acknowledge the sale, but used the words â€Å"this contract†, Kodak forced to accept the orders. In another example involving Argos, a catalogue online retailer, who advertised a TV on its website for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.99, one one-hundredth of its normal price. Argos received orders worth over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 millions, none of which were acknowledged. Argos argued that there was no contract between the customers and itself, because Argos did not confirm any orders as far as the product concerned. The case was decided confidentially and it is believed that Argos did not fulfill the majority of those orders. The equitable doctrine of unilateral mistake When the online seller make honest and honourable mistake on pricing which result in big losses, their mistake could be considered based on the doctrine of unilateral mistake. What this means is that one party's mistake could make the contract voidable when the mistake concerns a basic assumption on which the contract was formed and has a material effect on the agreement that is adverse to that party [5]. Furthermore, the effected party must prove that: a) the mistake is such that enforcement would be unconscionable, or b) the other party had reason to know the mistake or should have known that the price was a mistake [6]. An unconscionable contract is defined as â€Å"no man in his senses, not under delusion, would make†¦.and which no fair and honest man would accept†¦.† [7]. The contract, if was formed, must cause hardship to the effected party [8]. In addition to this, the court would look to see whether the sale would cause the seller a big loss and not merely a diminished profit [9]. Alternatively, the online seller could also prove that the customers had reason to know or ought to know that the price was wrong [10]. â€Å"Reason to know† means that a person â€Å"has a duty to another† and â€Å"he would not be acting adequately in the protection of his own interests were he not acting with reference to the facts which he has reason to know† [11]. Rescinding the contract is the only remedy option under the unilateral mistake; it is not a basis for reformation [12]. It means that the seller cannot ask the customer to go ahead with the sale at the actual price. But instead, the seller must cancel all customer's order and re-offer the good at the actual price. However, after the re-offering the good the customer might not show any more interest in purchasing it. In some instances, the court might refuse to order rescission. The court will consider whether one party has so detrimentally relied on the contract it would be inequitable to order rescission [13], will be prejudiced by rescission [14], or cannot be returned to the status quo [15]. Furthermore, the court might refuse to rescind the contract when the mistake resulted from the seller's negligence or lack of due care [16]. Case of an e-seller policy Amazon.com provides an example of an online seller who has incorporated a policy into its website to deal with potential pricing mistakes. It provides a direct link to its pricing policy from its term of use. In its term, Amazon states that the price of any products is not confirmed till the customer completes the order. Additionally, Amazon further states that the items in the catalogue may be mispriced and the price will be verified before it's sent out. If the actual price is lower than the stated price, Amazon will charge the lower price and ship the good. On the other hand, if the actual price is higher, Amazon will either contact the customer or cancel the order and notify the customer of its cancellation. Despite all these precautions, however, Amazon has been involved in a number of argument concerning the incorrect pricing. Recently, in the UK Amazon made a mistake in advertising iPaq handheld computers priced at less than one fiftieth of the retail price. But fortunately, Amazon has managed to avoid big losses because its conditions of sale explicitly stated that the contract is not formed till the good was dispatched, giving Amazon the right to cancel most of the orders it has received. The contents of its conditions' statement were the same throughout. On the same token, in America, Amazon mistakenly put on sale a memory module priced at 10% less than the actual price and DVD's priced at 75% of their list price. Amazon in America emailed notices to customers, in according to their pricing policy, requesting if they could pay for the actual price of the products or cancel their order completely. Several customers filed complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau. But it is not clear how these complaints have been resolved. Conclusion In short, to avoid losses caused by pricing errors, online seller can employ a few measures ensuring that his business is protected. One of the thing the seller should do is he should include the terms and conditions in the contract stating that he reserves the right to cancel orders and an explanation that the customer's order only constitutes an offer, which the seller can accept by charging the customer's credit card or by dispatching the good. In addition, the customer should be required to assent to those terms and conditions by clicking â€Å"I accept† during the checkout process. The English cases indicate that the terms of a contract are binding if a seller has made sufficient efforts to bring the terms to the attention of the buyer and if the parties agree to the terms. It is very important that the buyer who buy things online ought to see and accept the terms before an order is placed. However, the terms should allow the sellers to reject orders at any stage before dispatch. Any automatic response to an order ought to let the buyer know that a binding contract has not been entered into and the price is subject to change until it is shipped. Although these precautions has taken place, a seller online may still face potential litigation and consumer complaints, concerning any incorrect prices confirmed by auto-reply emails. The Internet is undoubtedly will grow in importance and it is no more than a tool of communication just like the telephone, telex or fax. Furthermore, electronic contract is becoming more common and right now a substantial percentage of both commerce and consumer contracts is concluded in cyberspace. Although e-commerce contracts suffer some problem, but they can be overcome by applying the three basic questions, when was the contract concluded? What are the terms of the contract? and where is the contract governed? These questions would help us to deal with any contract whether it is formed electronically or by more traditional means. â€Å"It is the moral equivalent of being given too much change in a supermarket and pocketing the money instead of handing it back† ( Bill Thompson, technology analyst).