M E M O R A N D U M
Good day Ma’am/Sir!
In line with the recent developments, here are my suggestions to improve and relieve your managers’ dilemmas. First stated would be my observations on the impact of non-disparagement clauses of businesses. The question to answer would be are they beneficial for the company owners? Presented within the first heading is the problem of the marketing manager of KlearGear which is: “are non-disparagement clauses good for business?”
I. ARE NONDISPARAGEMENT CLAUSES GOOD FOR BUSINESS?
A non-disparagement clause delimits an individual from taking action that negatively has an effect on an organization, its products, services, reputation, and management. These statements are commonly found in virtual settlement contracts and almost some of the employee and employer engagements. Some of the existing clauses briefly describe the prescribed actions and others may build a dictionary style like a list.
A standard clause would appear as something like: “Non-Disparagement - agrees to take no action which is purposeful, or would reasonably be expected, to cripple the Company. And ruin its or their account or which would reasonably be expected to lead to unwanted or preferential publicity to the Company” (KM Standards LLC, 2014).
Being the new marketing manager of KlearGear, I would like to emphasize and maintain the provisions of the current non-disparagement clause of the company. It would be best to keep it in our provisions and continue to uplift the reputation of the enterprise. However, as a precautionary measure and to avoid losing more clients, I would like to open a suggestions page so as to give room for improvement in our company. After all, every business must always check for better changes. It is not every day that we can always mask the flaws of our products and that having a deeply involved client database could have us better improve the services and outputs that we have. But then again, customers who could destroy the reputation and image of the company are best avoided by having the non-disparagement clause included in our terms and agreements. Having no such clause could be detrimental to our growth and therefore, I have chosen to establish alternatives that may improve the products.
Following the discussion mentioned is expounding on the factor of settlement agreements. The propriety of settlement agreements are as follows:
II. THE PROPRIETY OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS
Settlement agreements are those documents which spell out the conditions and terms agreed upon by those involved when they both concur to settle a possible claim or other proceedings in court (ACAS, 2013). Like all settlements, those such as these have their benefits and negativities immediate. But, then again, it is always better to consider both.
It was in 2002 when ten federal judges in South Carolina voted to ban secret settlements between clients and companies. These were considered a pivotal move since these judges thought it vital for the public to be informed of harmful products that could endanger the lives of consumers. This event was done while citing the Ford-Firestone tire tread case that was settled through agreements that blinded the public. It was a constitutional settlement because had the public been informed, more lives will be saved.
In this regard, I would prefer that only individual settlements could be disclosed to the public eye. But, as all companies would agree, it is not wise to reveal all secrets. I believe that the things told must only be those which concern life or death and those which may affect the public’s safety.
III. THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR TYPO
Having a typo that could have been avoided had there been careful eyes who monitored the legwork then they error had the possibility of being prevented. If I were the General Electric Manager, I would only allow Prudential to get the interest since it is fully stated in their terms and conditions that they are only entitled to the smaller cut and therefore only get the fair amount leaving General Electric with more dollars to celebrate for (Margolick, 1991). Also, having hired lawyers to proofread legal documents was supposed to be the top priority of Prudential which they may use to their advantage.
General Electric must not be put at fault for the misgivings of Prudential. It is only ethical to get what the company deserves.
Based from the three presented scenarios, it can easily be judged that most managers face many dilemmas. This is true as many of these managers absorb different changes in the workplace that only their level can handle. A precautionary measure would be to consider all conflicting interests that exist in the situation; such as those which harm one or more parties. As it must be remembered, ethical decision making requires that people consider the consequences of their actions and its effects on others before handing over a decision. As an example provided for by the three scenarios present, members of the top management must always consider how their decisions impact the stakeholders, employees and creditors of the companies. Likewise, a manager of the production must consider the effects of his operational decisions on the workers of the production, the customers and suppliers.
The reason that I have suggested the mentioned courses of actions was because I took into consideration all of the parties involved starting from those of the main production down to the customers. I wanted to devise a plan that could be more beneficial for the company and for its customers without forsaking the chances of losing a loyal customer database. Having a more democratic solution could as well allow the company a better chance of having more rooms for improvement thus attracting more customers in the future. Increasing the market value of our products while keeping a loyal clientele could also improve the reputation of the company thus opening it to different people across all walks of life. It truly is a challenge being one of the change agents in a corporation for in every decision that a manager makes, all must benefit. It would be unfair to only think about the company for in return they must give something back to its sources of income; who are the clients. Stating for example the scenario in the first part, having a suggestion page for KlearGear could improve the products of the company while having a medium for the customers to release their concerns. Through this manner, there will be an established rapport and trust coming from both parties.
Thank you for the opportunity!
Sincerely,
References
ACAS Guide. (2013). ACAS Guide: Settlement Agreements. Retrieved from http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/o/a/Settlement_agreements_(the_Acas_Guide)JULY2013.pdf
KMStandards LLC. (2014). Non-Disparagement - ContractStandards. Retrieved from http://www.contractstandards.com/clauses/non-disparagement
Margolick, D. (1991). At the Bar - How Three Missing Zeros Brought Red Faces and Cost Millions of Dollars. - NYTimes.com. Retrieved from New York Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/04/news/bar-three-missing-zeros-brought-red-faces-cost-millions-dollars.html
