Business Law and Events, Contract Law, Public Order, and Human Rights - Assignment Example

Question Business law and events: the government white paper on the future of events industry The events industry is one of the highly booming industries in the world right now. Our country is one of the few countries in the world which have supported art and made it an integral part of our heritage. In the events industry we have various forms of art staging performances on various venues, which include arenas, stadiums, social halls and more. Some of the forms of art that this white paper is looking to address include music, drama , acting, sports and other festivals, but these being the major ones. Reports from county and city councils indicate that there has been an upsurge of events, and they are taking place almost on a daily basis and the government control on the manner they are conducted has been minimal. The government has over the years given the artists the freehand to perform in government venues for free to develop their talents and make them part of this nation’s rich heritage. It has, however, been realized that many artists have transformed it into some sort of business, with astronomical collections at the venue entrances. A lot of event companies have come up, and many of them work without licenses and we know the kind of threat we are exposing our artists to. There is the possibility they will end up in the hands of unscrupulous event organizers who in the end will dupe them and not give them their dues. Of course we don’t have stringent provisions in our constitution to take care of that. The House of Commons must ensure that relevant laws are formulated to give check on the conduct in the entertainment industry. Events must be hosted with due observance of the existing laws that prescribe conduct in that industry. We don’t already have such laws in place. Everything in that new industry goes unchecked and unfettered and that is likely to expose it to dirt which will not only affect our local artist, but also those that are visiting to perform at the invitation of theses unregistered event organizers. It might be little known to many the number of performers who have been conned. Many have gone to the courts to report cases in which they have been duped into performing, only for the organizers of those events to disappear without paying them their dues. The numbers are rising and this house must come to their rescue. Laws must be put in place to stop the uncontrolled conning trend. This nation must continue to develop talents among its citizens, and we really don’t want to have things that discourage talent growth. It is no doubt that if the unscrupulous and illicit event organizers are not dealt with within certain provisions of the law of this land, many up-and-coming artists will shy of from developing talents which could end up being serious well paying careers. We should emulate countries like the United States have taken art based careers seriously, and their musicians are living on the first lane, with no worries about falling victim of the illegitimate event organizers. Many United States musicians have reaped big from art and the world knows them. Talk of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jay-Z, Will Smith, Beyonce, Britney Spears and the likes and you will know what I am talking about. Our British-born artists who have succeeded in music have done so on the American soil. For instance we have Estelle, Elton Elliot, and the late Amy etc. Those are examples of artist who devoted their lives to art and performance, and ended up enriching themselves through the power of controlled event industry. The United States government has over the years jealously defended the development and growth of performance based art talent through concerted legislations. Every conduct in the industry is guarded by the laws and any kind of contravention or intention to contravene is met with heavy fines and in extreme cases, jail terms. Nobody ever wants to walk that path, and therefore the industry has remained a well paying one, just as sports does in the United Kingdom. We need to come up with punitive measures to guard against the spiraling misconduct in the entertainment industry. This nation has the relevant ministry and relevant house committees which will be mandated to draft relevant laws to be brought to this house for proper adjustments, and then be passed into laws. There is need to have very strict legal threshold to govern conduct in the event industry, and this will assure the artists that the government takes their growth seriously and that such growths are not under threat in any way. This country also needs to make new copyright laws or just update the already existing ones, because as they are, they can no longer meets the needs of the fast changing industry. The industry is constantly mutating but the laws are static. They no longer suit the dynamic entertainment industry. This will ensure that the works of art of our citizens are not used by third parties without their consent. We have had cases in which people perform forms of art which are not originally theirs. The law is to make sure that any funds obtained from one artist performing another artist’s artwork is obliged to share the proceeds from any such performance with the copyrighted owner of that particular work of art. Because of the extent of growth that this industry has witnessed, we could also move with haste to ensure that those events are licensed because of the big sums of money they have started to reap. We could raise good money in taxes as well. The sports industry is the leading light on this front, and we can also start engaging the event industry, though on a small scale at the start. This will mop out the unlawful event organizing tendencies and only leave room for those that will have a clean bill of health. This is because taxation only deals with the lawfully registered event companies, and once such companies are taxed, they will be obliged to report the others which are unregistered (their competitors) but survive and thrive in spite of tax evasion. Question 3: Contract law: essay on contracts for event managers. Very often, there have been hue and cries concerning dishonored contract terms between the event organizers and the operators of the event venues. Before the start of the event, the stakeholders always agree on certain terms but as the event proceeds or after it ends, there is always a realization that some details of the agreement have been reneged on by either the venue operator or the event organizer. This has often led to court actions which in many cases have been hard to handle given the nature of the agreement, which was either done casually without any documentation, or without the presence of a third, neutral person to witness the agreement. This is always a contract which needs not be treated casually. Terms need to be laid down procedurally, and this would never leave room for those who are always on the lookout for those to dupe through trickery. The contractual terms need to cover a number of issues such as the conditions of the assets inside the venue, the control of the venue as the event unfolds and more. There are always issues surrounding broken property when the event ends. Event organizers always look for excuses and scapegoats to get away with such breakages of contractual agreements. Even the venue operators have had their share of reneging on the agreements (Winter, 2013). We have often heard of stalled agreements on who controls the venue as the event unfolds. Some event organizers have often insisted on having the venue operator to take care of the venue as the event proceeds, using part of the hiring fees to ensure that the security situation is stable until the event ends. The venue operators on the other hand have often been opposed to having the control of the venue at the time of the event. They have always had their reasons which, to many pragmatists, have been valid. People understand how sometimes the events turn chaotic, and a lot of breakages have to happen. These chaotic situations might sometimes defeat the security personnel hired. Therefore, if all this is to be left in the hands of the venue operators, then they become liable and answerable for any destruction that happen during the unfolding of the event. This is despite the fact that these chaotic situations are always directly attributable to the event and outcome thereof, which should be taken care of by the organizer of the event. The buck ends up being passed to the wrong person. Many times, the damages to the property at the venue always exceed the amount that was paid by the event organizer to have his/her event hosted at those venues, leaving the venues operators with nowhere to run to for justice. An agreement between the venue operator and the event organizer always outlines the obligations of each party to that particular agreement. It lays down the obligations of the venue operator and those of the event organizer. This essay gives an example of an agreement between the operator of the Los Angeles Events Arena and the organizers of the Video Music Awards (VMA). An agreement was documented and signed by the VMA organizers, the Los Angeles Events Arena operators, in the presence of a witness who also signed. Obligations of the operator: i The operator shall be responsible for stating the costs of hiring the arena which the event organizers either agree with or do not agree with. This could be subject to negotiations or haggling, but the final charges are what will be binding between the operator and the VMA organizers ii The operator shall not revise the charges after the agreement is signed between him/her and the VMA organizers iii The operator will, upon agreeing with the VMA organizers, show them around to ascertain the state of the property inside the arena. The law requires that the venue be handed to the operators in the state that it was acquired by the organizers. The organizers will be liable to any damages arising from the nature of the event. iv The operator should allow the VMA organizers total control of the venue, but give exemptions to that authority. For example, there are areas that will be designated for the event and others that are for exclusive use by the venues management. There should be a clear demarcation of the areas within the venue that VMA organizers have total control over during the event. They (the VMA organizers) should have their hired security staff in those areas. The areas for exclusive use by the LAEA management should be guarded by arena’s usual security personnel or as may be arranged for by the operators. v Hand in the lock keys to all the entrances leading to the areas agreed for use by the VMA organizers The obligations of the event organizers (the VMA organizers) will include: i Paying all the dues as mutually agreed upon with the venue operators, either before the start of the event or at the end of it. ii Arrange for the reparations to the damages that may have occurred at the venue as the event unfolded. This is the contract of indemnity. iii Ensure that the event takes place only within the demarcated areas, and without spilling over to the areas meant for exclusive use by the Arena’s management. Any spillovers to those areas will be deemed a contravention of the contract terms, for which the VMA planners may be sued. iv Take the venue operators around the venue to ascertain that indeed the venue remains in its original condition, or if some damages occurred, the extent of the damage is assessed and an agreement is reached regarding the repairs to be done to indemnify the venue management. v The VMA organizers must remain at the venue until the operators return to ensure that the handing over is done in the most procedural manner. This agreement will make sure that everyone sticks to and observes all the stipulated obligations, contravention of which, legal avenues may be explored to press charges against any party that is keen to dishonor their responsibility. Question 9: Public order and human rights: essay on an event failure There are situations where events have been so publicized by the organizers and so anticipated by the potential attendants that when it finally comes, the attendance is so immense and uncontrollable. The venues get jam-packed and one hardly finds a space to look the other way. There is a lot of public disorder that goes with over-attendance of an event. Too many people in a venue than the venue itself can accommodate often leads to a lot of criminal happenings. Buglers find their way into the venue and begin to terrorize peace that would be required for the event to go on smoothly. Crime takes centre-stage and even the event that people were so much psyched up with fails to take off. Most of the events normally take place in the night; this is the time when criminals hit hard. This will always be blamed on the event planners that did not put in place measures to ensure that the attendance at the event did not go beyond the numbers that the venue could accommodate. Entertainment laws are very clear on this. The tickets available for an event should take into account the capacity of the event venue. In cases where the number of tickets has been more than the space available at the venue, a lot of disorderliness has been witnessed. People go to events as a way of doing something out of routine, and they have the right to be entertained at those events once they have paid the entry fees and have their tickets either in advance or at the gate. They should not get anything less or different from the one they paid for. They should have sure security while they stay away from their homes in the night. Where insecurity sets in as a result of the planners giving out too many tickets and having a crowd that exceeds the capacity of the venue, which in many cases will be too hard to control, the planners are to blame for the insecurity that the attendants are exposed to. Not all people will attend the event to while the night away with some sort of entertainment, other will, yes, but others will use the event as a way to perpetuate crime and met terror on innocent individuals. Again, if the venue is too filled, there is the likelihood that a good number of people will not be enabled to view whatever will be going on at the main stage. Even those that had no intention to do anything different will have their attention diverted and will start to do other uncalled for things. Depending on the extent of the criminal acts that will be taking place, the event could end up cut short and people picking up injuries as they try to escape. Gross violation of human rights will take place. It will be double loss for the innocent attendants at the event. First of all, they will end up not getting the entertainment that they had paid for tickets hoping to get. Secondly, they will have been terrorized and got injured in the process. Scores could lose their lives at the venue or at the hospitals fighting for their lives after picking up injuries at the event venue. Public disorderliness is something event planners have been warned about many times before, and told that they should beware who attends the event. People should be frisked just to ensure that weapons are not sneaked into the venue. There should be adequate security at the event venues; that is something the attendants should be assured of. Disorders are not uncommon at events but they should be contained before they spiral out of control. They should never go to the extent of the event getting disrupted, let alone people ending up injured or dead. In cases where events happen in accordance with the law, the national police will always offer back up security to make sure that the attending citizens are secure till the event ends. Human rights must never be threatened at events. Lack of public order should be within the limits that are manageable by the available security staff. It is a provision of the law that once people acquire tickets to get into event venues, there rights hold; and the event planners must ensure that the prevailing conditions allow those rights to be enjoyed. The attendants must get the entertainment for which they paid because that would mean the utility of the money they have spent. They shouldn’t end up threatened instead. The planners take the responsibility for anything unlawful that hijacks the event, preventing it from taking off and threatening the rights and freedoms of those in attendance. The planners could be charged for the extent of abuse of human rights at the event. People will always have the right to be entertained at an event, and that is one thing that the planners should always know. Anything that prevents the events from taking off will always be blamed on its planners. Public orderliness should always be a priority to ensure that people are secure with their property and most importantly life. The government should always move with haste to ban event companies that fail to deliver the events once they are paid for. The companies that habituate this should be deregistered to make sure that only those that are reliable and trustworthy remain. In some countries, there are laws that oblige the event planners to host many more shows for free to make up for the events that led to abuse of human rights; they are called make-up events and take place most during the day and on weekends when many people are free to attend pro bono. These make-up events are normally meant to compensate the public who did not get the service when they paid for it. Question 10: Employment law: marketing campaign on event industry internships Interns are people who are through with university and college courses and have been absorbed in the relevant jobs to help them gain some working experience as they prepare to venture into the real world of full employment. They always work on small salary scales; but this never interferes with the output or their work-rate. They give their all regardless, because at the end of the day, they gain the experience that they need in the fields relevant to their area of specialization (Stephen & John 2009). There have been a lot of debates as to whether interns should be used in the event industry or not. Some employers do not offer interns jobs but others do it without a second thought. There are never very sensible reasons to refuse them job vacancies apart from lack of the needed experience. The event industry will always have some space to be filled in by interns for those who care to absorb them. Interns are known to be very hard-working wherever they are absorbed or offered opportunities to work. They are cooperative and are always determined to give their best. Being just out of school, they are always still very vigorous and psyched up about the jobs in which they are newly placed. They have the needed energy and are able to multitask. Event industry has so many activities, most of which require spontaneous thinkers to ensure that everything is rightly placed at any given time. Of course there are sections such as logistics in which they cannot be fully entrusted with the responsibilities. Such are reserved for people who have done them over time. You could however have them work under people who have always done it. The interns are always thought to be serious with their placements because they are thirsty for experience and always want to take it as a learning opportunity rather than as an opportunity to get good pay. It will always be heard to get good salary as an intern in the sense of the word, unless the company has decided to keep one on a permanent basis at the end of the internship period. A lot of benefits are attached to giving interns chances to show what they can do, but they always have a right to humane treatment while they are placed in companies. The labor laws the world over recognize interns and there are legal clauses that stipulate their rights and privilege in their internship positions. People know the event industry as a very involving one, once one decides to be in it either as an intern or as permanently employed. It involves a lot of spontaneity. Interns being fresh from college and wanting to amass experience will always be ready to do anything, even outside their area of concentration in order to please their seniors and in order to have experience. This would be the avenue for some bosses to infringe on their constitutional rights. Some of the employers who understand the benefits of having interns at their companies would always opt to rest their permanent employees and have their places taken up by the more active and vigorous interns who are always adherent to the regulations at the workplace. Rules and regulations will be nothing strange to them because they had them in those colleges; and will always not be troubled having to stick to rules elsewhere. They are always observant of the procedure at the workplace, and will be keen not to usurp powers of their seniors, unless they have been assigned roles. Morale is very important in any job. Employees need to be highly spirited about their roles at the company. Some however get bored by having to do the same thing over and over. This is the case for most of the employees, not just some. People would always want to do something out of routine, but this is not often the case in the events industry. Jobs are highly demarcated in this industry. Those concerned with publicity will have just that to do. Those concerned with ticketing will do just that. All the things done by the employees in their various capacities will always be geared towards matching the stiff competition in the industry. This nature of the industry (having to do the same thing over and over) often leads to boredom which leads to poor delivery of the employees. For the interns though, they will always take all that as a learning session and will less likely get bored having to do certain things routinely. They will always have fresh ideas (being fresh from colleges) on how to beat competitor and on how to improve the company’s brand. They will always be swift and quick when it comes to making decisions. They will always tend to think outside the box, and do things that are outside the ordinary. The event companies that will embrace internship programs will realize that they benefit more from having the interns at their companies. Profits and income will most likely rise as a result of the improved image of the company resulting from the innovative ideas of the interns. Events industry is a fast evolving industry and new ideas must always be devised in order to be a market leader or market beater. Most of these ideas are always learnt in school as the curriculum is always revised or updated to meet the needs of the present times. Some event industry bosses will tend to overwork them and force them to do things or carry out responsibilities that are so divorced from their area of concentration. This should be based on consent and not coercion. They should actually be remunerated for most of the things that they agree to do outside of their specialization; they actually know this right as stipulated in the labor laws. Any abuse to the rights should be a cause for legal action. They should have the appropriate protective wears and gears just like the permanent employees. They should never be belittled, taunted or bullied by those permanently employed. They shouldn’t be subjected to any form of discrimination at the workplace. Bibliography Winter, E. (2013) Entertainment Law - Glamour by Association? Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 176–178. Stephen, F. B. & John W. B. (2009) Invisible Hands, Invisible Objectives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy into Focus. London: Stanford University Press Read More