LAW AND MANAGEMENT

When law and its legal systems under State and its Constitution have a ubiquitous role in society, all organizations and entities have to study law and its overarching roles and functions in their respective domains. All disciplines of knowledge and their operations in the end, come to law for final refuge of legal rescue. Legal impact on all kinds of social and economic environment needs law and legal systems for orderly functioning of mutual relations.

Management as a discipline with all kinds of functions and their respective skills relate to any organization through finance, strategy, human resource, personnel, labor, operations etc. Management plays a very serious role in efficiency and effectivity of both human and resource relations. Interrelationship between law and management can bring a symbiotic cooperation between socio-economic entities on one side with their intraorganizational affairs or activities within an organization with that of law and legal systems of State and its Constitution on the other side for legalities and regulations.

Then, what should students of law and management study ideally to understand this symbiotic cooperation? There are three stages to this study. First, a preliminary stage where public law concepts and foundational aspects of management are undertaken. Definitions of State, public and governmental authority and its roles, limits and judicial review by a court of law form part of main focus. This cannot be avoided as trade and commerce and its allied issues within India as well as outside India are governed by the important Constitutional provisions like Part XIII – Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the Territory of India, Taxation, Property, Registration and Entries in the Lists of Seventh Schedule etc., by which corporate houses run and make profits. Other public law concepts like constitutional and administrative law, Montesquieu’s separation of powers, legislations relating to trade and commerce, parliamentary sovereignty, international trade and global governance, impact of globalization on public law, consumption and production of resources etc., also form as sub parts of the first stage. Whereas from management point of view, the art and science of management, human behavior and team management, hierarchy, authority, power, decision making, leadership and ethics play key roles. A second stage is one where private law aspects are brought into and studied with certain boundaries of public law. They are law of obligations through contract, agreed terms and conditions, misrepresentation, breach, termination, frustration and remedies.

Law relating to torts and their liabilities, negligence and foreseeability also play a crucial role in this as sub parts of the second stage. Whereas from management point of view, nuances, values and principles of political, legal, cultural and economic environment in which businesses take place with various inter relational actors, international trade, globalization, technology, innovation, risks and insurance form part of second stage. A third stage is an advanced stage on this interrelationship where foundations of management practices, accounting standards, mergers and acquisitions and frauds are looked into through legal prisms. Provisions of laws relating to crime and evidences come. And from management point of view are alternative development, innovation, resource planning, incentives, returns, project planning and controlling techniques like CPM and PERT.

Third stage is one where conflict between society through State and business through management come. It is in this stage, law and management really converge. Corporate counsels and managers meet here. State systems of law and administration interact with management systems of corporate boards. This is a crucial stage to be studied. At this stage, one sphere of operation automatically impacts the other. In a way, both spheres of operation simultaneously operate enriching and impacting mutually. Thus, these three stages in the study of law and management offer scope to understand relationship between these two interesting subjects–law that regulates social behavior and management that regulates organizational behavior. This study with three stages can also be increased in its content depending upon degree of interrelationships to be studied by students of law and management – Bachelors, Masters or other advanced levels.

However, this interdisciplinary method gives equal weightage to both and gives large benefits to diverse business interest groups, big companies, international collaborations and facilitates ease of compliance. At the employee level, efficiency, competition, motivation, performance and multi-tasking become target goals for appraisal and assessment. This study is best suited for employees in any organization or corporate counsels in any law firms who want to grow in their career ladder to higher positions from midlevels onward in any organization or law firms.