Regulatory Risks
In order to identify regulatory risks such as tort liability you must first define what tort liability is. The three types of tort liability are negligence, intentional torts, and strict tort liability. The tort of negligence is one that many companies fall into. This tort is committed without intention, through careless actions or through actions that are done without first considering the consequences. In order to complete this task effectively a company must first take a critical look at themselves internally paying particular attention to activities that on the surface look innocent, but when probed deeper show an unintentional problem.
Another common tort is the intentional tort. The intentional tort includes defamation which means a statement that is untrue and is made by one person or party to another regarding a third party. Defamation consists of either slander, which is oral or spoken about defamation or libel which is written or broadcast defamation. The one consideration regarding defamation is in support of the media. The media enjoys a qualified privilege which means they cannot be charged with defamation for printing or broadcasting information that is untrue as long as no malice is involved.
The final tort that we will review is the strict liability tort. According to the text this tort “is absolute liability for conduct with few, if any, defenses available.” This means that the organization or individual has an obligation of liability because harm results.
In order to effectively manage regulatory risks a company must first learn the about each of these types of torts and then take a look at their operating behaviors to ensure that they are doing everything possible to ensure that they are not committing and infractions regardless of whether they are intentional or unintentional.
References
Jennings, M. M. (2006). Business: Its legal, ethical, and global environment (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson.