Employee Authority Levels in a Business Non-Linear

Employee Authority Levels in a Business

Non-Linear Pro-is filling a lawsuit against Quick Takes Video for the purpose of collecting money they claim is owed to them for the leasing of their editing equipment. Analysis of the issues presented in the video is explored in this paper. Some preventive measures that Quick Takes Video could have used are also included in this paper.

Lack of communication is the first issue presented on the video. Hal one of the Quick Takes executive failed to inform Karen the other executive. Karen learnt of the lawsuit from Mary her secretary. This bothered Karen as she felt been one of the executives Hal should have informed her of the lawsuit. Hal's excuse for not letting her on the details was that the lawsuit was not that bad, and he did not want to upset her. Since she was the ace salesman, Hal wanted her to concentrate on sales not legal problems that Quick Takes Video was facing.

To run a workplace efficiently and effectively communication and consultation among the top executives is very important. If there had been good communication in Quick Takes Video's workplace, the issue would have been prevented. Execution of priority actions and decisions regarding risk tolerance are made by the top management, and communication becomes an essential part in the identification of the risks an organization might face.

From the video, it is clear that the executives do not know Janet's level of authority. Janet accidentally signed the lease form without reading it as she assumed that it was a delivery slip when the product was delivered to Quick Takes Video's offices. Since she was out of town in L.A when the incident happened, Karen believes that the company cannot be held responsible for Janet's mistake of signing the lease slip in their absence.

To better understand how Non-Linear Pro-can sue Quick Takes Video, and they did not sign the lease slip, the executives of Quick Takes Video, got in touch with Henry their lawyer. Henry made it clear to them that when Janet signed the lease slip she acted on behalf of the company. She is considered an agent of the executives in law, thus whatever she does is legally binding for the company. Karen interjected and stated that Janet was not an agent and is not authorized to sign on behalf of the company. In his explanation, Henry told the executives that since Janet orders and signs for supplies and she is usually the go to person when salesmen need to work out any details as Hal has stated, this may be construed to her having authority and any third party would rely on that. Their lawyer advised them that it is better to stick on the original grounds of the product having worked as the executives had intended due to the fuzziness of the authority argument Cheeseman, 2012()

There are three types of authority stated in the video, express agency, implied authority, and apparent authority. Authority given directly to an agent is referred to as express agency. The principal and an agent are the two parties involved in this process. The principal needs to be cautious especially regarding the powers accorded to the agent, as the agent has the legal authority to bind the principal. The assumed authority that a person holding a certain position has is referred to as implied authority. This usually occurs when the principle has not directly given the agent any specific authority. Third parties will make the implied assumption that the person holding that position should have that kind of authority. The impression that the agent has more power than they should really have is referred to as apparent authority Campbell, 2000.

In the above scenario, since Janet handles the purchases for business, and Hal directs salesmen to her so they can work out any final details, it is clear that she has both implied and apparent authority. The salesmen can use this apparent authority as they got it from Hal against the business.