Governance Regulation and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Governance Regulation and Ethics - Essay Example Consumer transaction the seller is well informed and consumer on the other hand are ignorant thus the need for the government to impose some form of control on consumer transactions. The governments through legalisations impose regulations which govern the business dealings and any business must be conducted with the confines of the law. Features in the movie and chapter 8 The right to know First in conducting business the business world is required to perform disclosure. This in the perspective of the consumer is the right to know. It is important so as to protect consumers from personal harm which includes economic loss and physical injury. The manufacturers are bound to disclose some information to consumers so that the consumers are able to make informed choices. The right to know is an individual right premised on the freedom of choice and freedom of contract. If a business person lies to a consumer in regard to the choice made by the consumer, then the business person denies th e consumer the freedom of choice. This in essence is a manipulation of the consumers’ decisions and thus violates their individual rights. Moral philosophers opine that an individual with all the relevant information is responsible for his decisions whether they were mistakes or not. On the other hand those who withhold relevant information to decision makers are accountable to any harm arising from such a decision made without the relevant information. Relevant information is necessary for economic interest of the decision maker. A good example is where the consumer is informed about the quality of a certain product. In this case the consumer is able to compare the quality of the various brands and at the same time bearing in mind the prices of the various brands. The consumer is able to choose a quality product at reasonable price in such a case (Woodroffe, Lowe, 2010 pp. 78-79). Regulations of quality standards- consumer health and safety The government ensures that the ec onomic rights of consumers are protected by ensuring that consumer are offered adequate and complete information as discussed above and that they are also offered reasonable contract terms. However the government may find that regulations relating to disclosure are not enough to protect the interest of the consumers, it may take further step to impose regulations on quality of products and services. The government regulations in form of quality standards include: imposing minimum educational requirement and also licensing professional suppliers, imposing the standards for the practices and procedures of all sorts in business, specifications for the services and goods, and a combination of any of the above standards of quality. The various governments attempt to ensure enforcement of the above quality standards by inspections, licensing, reviews, and approvals of final products before they are released into the market is to ensure that they are safe for the consumers. The government have imposed such quality standard on various industries which include the food industries and textile industries. Regulation of trade practices – South Africa The general rule is that under commercial law applicable in many countries and general principles of contract the seller is liable for any misrepresentation made to the consumers. However there is an exception to this