Legal Personality and Limited Liability as Covered in the Presentation - Essay Example

A Reflective Report on both the Group and the Presentation on Business Law Name: Institution: Instructor: Subject: Date: Table of Contents Introduction 3 Legal Personality and Limited Liability as Covered in the Presentation 3 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Limited Liability 3 Advantages 3 Disadvantages 4 The Illustrative Cases on Legal Personality and Limited Liability 4 Methods of Overcoming the Weaknesses of Group Presentation 6 Lessons about Group Presentation and oral presentation skills 7 Conclusion 8 Works Cited 9 Introduction Business law is a fundamental tool in resolving business conflicts. The presentation highlighted on legal personality and limited liability, the key components of the business law. In the presentation, members identified different definitions of separate legal personality and identified instances where legal personality can be implemented. Members also provided their understanding of the meaning of legal liability for a corporation. In addition, procedures followed before a company can be considered a legal person were identified.The advantages and limitations of limited liability companies, as well as the meaning of certain terms relating to limited liability we discussed at length. Legal Personality and Limited Liability as Covered in the Presentation The group presentation captured the fact that the legal liability of a corporation affects the corporation and not the members of the corporation. In other words, its members are not held liable for the company’s debts. Some companies have limited their liability to shares or guarantee. A company acquires the status of legal personally ones it has been registered accordingly. Advantages and Disadvantages of a Limited Liability Advantages A limited liability company (LLC) has similar advantages to those of a partnership and other business corporations. Its members have a monetary interest in the business. It does not require a board of directors or officers, and has no limit as to how many members constitute it. The management rules and structure of an LLC is very flexible. The members are protected by limited liability protection for all the members. There is a "pass through taxation," which means that the profits and losses of the business are reported for each personal income of a member. Disadvantages Ownership transfer is very complicate in a LLC because it requires the approval of all the members. Further, it is not is not easy to transfer funds or expand the business. Another obstacle to a limited liability company is that the company is not liable to have any recorded annual meetings, though meeting are held regularly to carry the members along with the on-goings of the business. The Illustrative Cases on Legal Personality and Limited Liability A case study of Solomon Vs Solomon was also discussed in detail, right from the group preparation and during the presentation. The case illustrates that even though Solomon and his family members were true shareholders Solomon Company, the company was different from shareholders given the fact that it was created under the established law. Members of the group also discussed the meaning of piercing of the corporate veil. They explored the distinction of corporate veil from an individual. In addition, the group members discussed instances under which the veil could be lifted and discussed the instances to create a distinction between them. The discussion of lifting of corporate veil was supported by providing a case study where two individuals were involved in a land dispute as a result of failure of one individual to transfer the land to the other after agreement. Members of the group also discussed the events that took place after the two parties involved in the dispute went to court and the decision that court made regarding the case. This was followed by a discussion of the distinction between fraudulent trading and risk taking. Strengths and Weaknesses of Group Presentation During group discussions, it was observed that group members demonstrated a number of strengths and weaknesses that resulted into either clarity of the presentations or misunderstanding of the presentation. An example of strength of the group is that some members were willing to contribute to the discussion of compositions of a limited liability company and the rights of members of a limited liability company. This gave each member the exposure to understand the case study where a solution was to be reached regarding liability for a breached contract in the case study where individuals and a limited liability company were involved.In addition, members of the group were able to provide accurate understanding of the meaning of legal personality and legal liability. During the discussion of a solution to the dispute between individuals involved in the contract, members were able to suggest the judgment that was reasonable to solve the case and reconcile the members involved in the dispute. Strength of working in groups is that members can discuss the case studies and come up with a consensus regarding the state of affairs. However, there are many weaknesses that were observed. For example, most members did not do enough research regarding limited liability companies and they could not contribute effectively towards understanding of the difference between limited liability and unlimited liability company. Another challenge of working in groups is the confusion and disagreements regarding certain terms used in Business law such as Legal person and legal liability. This resulted into confusion regarding the meaning of these terms with regard to business law. In addition, there were conflicting ideas among members regarding advantages and disadvantages of limited liability. This resulted into conclusion of group work with limited understanding of the exact advantages and disadvantages of these forms of liabilities. Weaknesses of working in groups was also observed during discussion of the case studies where each member had their own interpretation of the case study. This resulted into lengthy discussions that prolonged the group exercise. There are also a number of weaknesses of group presentation that were observed when members of the group converged to discuss and present the presentation. For example, each individual had his/her own perspective of a limited liability company and it was difficult to present these perspectives. The other weakness is that the presentation only provided advantages and disadvantages of limited liability companies but did not explain cases where these advantages and disadvantages could be observed. During the differentiation of legal person from a natural person, the presentation needed the ideas of each individual to be presented before coming into an agreed definition. The group presentation did not provide this. Furthermore, during presentation of the cases where lifting of the veil could be done in a limited company, some members might not have understood the concept that easily. Methods of Overcoming the Weaknesses of Group Presentation The group presentation made regarding business law resulted into a number of observations of weaknesses among members. Thus, there is the need to ensure that similar weaknesses are prevented during preparation of group work for presentation. For instance, members of the group need to consult the opinions of each other before coming to a conclusion. The agreed points should be backed by references that support the source of information. In addition, the approval of all group members will be sought before their ideas can be approved for presentation. In addition, the possibility of not considering the points of view from other members should be avoided by allowing each member to contribute. This can be done by allocating each member of the group a particular section of the presentation to research on. Their findings should then be used to present a section of the group work during presentation. For example, in the this presentation, it would be reasonable if some members are assigned the task of researching on the meaning of limited liability company, some members on the meaning of legal entity while others on lifting of the veil. These findings can then be combined to form the overall group presentation. Lessons about Group Presentation and oral presentation skills The presentation of the group work that was presented contributed to a number of lessons regarding teamwork and oral presentation skills. Firstly, it was observed that there is the possibility of generating a large number of ideas during teamwork. For instance in this presentation, members were able to contribute a number of advantages and disadvantages of limited liability companies. Other lesson that can be learnt from teamwork is that when all members are allowed to contribute equally to the discussion process, the outcome of discussion represents the ideas from all members and this enhances commitment to work in groups. In terms of oral presentation, it was observed that members could contribute their ideas in front of everyone else resulting into improvement of their presentation skills. In addition member of the group who did not have presentation skills could get the skills by observing their fellow members make presentations. The types of gestures and body movements during presentation can also be learnt during oral presentationprocess. It is also possible to learn polite languages during presentation process. Oral presentation skills are the basic requirements during group activities such as discussion. The presentation for this group was successful because of competence of members in their oral presentation. For example, the group presented an understandable meaning of Limited Liability Company in manner that could be understood by any listener. Furthermore, in order to represent a group of people at a particular event, contribution during the event is based on competent oral presentation skills of the person representing the group. Conclusion The overall purpose of the group presentation was to enhance a comprehensive understanding of the business law concepts on legal personality and limited liability. The business law provides an easy mechanism for conflicts resolution. There are several law components that should be taken into consideration in order for effectively run any business entity. Each business organization, right from partnership to limited liability companies have their own set of rules which must be followed right from creation to running of activities for amicable settlements to be reached easily. The precedent law on Solomon Vs Solomon Company shades more light on the component of a company acquiring a separate legal entity that is different from the members or shareholders who constitute it. Works Cited Kelly David, Ann E.M. Holmes, & Ruth Hayward. (2002). Business Law. Cavendish. Read More