Posted by Niwantha Kodituwakku.

The month of March is not only the beginning of Spring but is also the beginning of one of the most thrilling college basketball tournaments. Sixty-four selected teams ranked from seeds, one through sixteen, enter a pool and face-off in single elimination to eventually have one winner crowned champion in the month of April. Not only is this exciting for the average fan, but it’s also exciting for businesses because of the large income generated by the tournament. However, although money is made, to what extent does the distraction of this tournament have an effect on businesses vulnerable to productivity, legal risks, and morale?

Recently, I read an article pointing out that the productivity of workers plummets during March Madness. This is obviously a huge concern.  The article posted on theguardian.com states that in 2015 up to about 1.9 billion dollars was lost due to the distraction of March Madness. Up to 50 million workers participated in March Madness and up to 9 billion will be wagered in filling out more than 70 million brackets.  This is a huge concern for businesses especially for companies that run on a quarterly basis. Loss of productivity for even a small amount of time will impact the performance of the company.  Also, the fact that gambling is taking place between workers is also a huge ethical concern. The fact that workers can’t morally say no to gambling shows that certain workers may be untrustworthy and in denial.

I think the general solution for this would be to abide by the concept “work time always must be for work” so they are free to watch during their break time.  Also, businesses should also look to capitalize on team building aspect march madness brings like employees wearing their team colors to work. This would help the company’s employees get more comfortable with their colleagues and building stronger relationships. Finally, speaking to the workers that gamble on march madness may lighten the concerns surrounding what’s right and wrong to do around the workplace.

Niwantha is a finance major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2018.

Posted by Maleesha Silva.

Katy Perry, Billy Joel, and Rod Stewart etc. have asked the United States government to “amend parts of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act” (Shaw). Some have filed a brief stating what they see is wrong with the law. Parts of the law allow people that use YouTube to upload music without permission from the artist. According to Bloomberg.com, “Revenue from such services increased 29 percent last year” (Shaw).  The artists feel that their music is essentially being stolen due to the fact that they do not receive money, however, instead the websites receive the revenue through advertising.

According to the artists, because YouTube allows users to upload music without permission from the artist, the artist loses money. This is due to the fact that because the music on YouTube is available for free, there is no purchase that needs to be made. Similarly, BloombergTechnology reports in the TV industry there was an attempt to create a law “intended to curtail online copyright infringement” (Shaw).  However, this attempt ultimately ended up failing, and no law on the issue was passed.

Maleesha is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Tejas Oza.

This article is about the parents of a marine killed in a osprey crash are suing Boeing. This helicopter crashed at a military base outside of Honolulu including 21 marines and a navy man, two marines were killed.

“The lawsuit accuses Boeing Corp., Bell Helicopter Testron Inc. and Eaton Aerospace of negligence and recklessness.”( McAvoy http://www.military.com). This article stood out to me because we learned about negligence today during class. We learned that this is one of the most common types of lawsuits and occurs when someone suffers an injury because of another failure to lineup to a required duty of care.

The case goes deeper into explaining that the aircraft flew into unstable conditions for a prolonged time and suddenly the engine stalled. This situation did not violate any regulations, but with intense research it was found that the safer way would’ have been to find a safer and more stable path to ensure everyone’s safety.

This article was very intriguing, and eye-opening, not only because this can happen at any moment, but because negligence is a very common law suit.

Tejas is a business law student at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University.

Posted by Natasha Dizon.

Chris Collings, who usually eats organic food, had Chipotle once a week. After eating at a restaurant, Collings experienced cramping and diarrhea. The doctors told Collins that this was the result of one of the twenty-one ingredients consumed at Chipotle and that he had E.coli.

Hundreds of other people got sick in the Seattle area, Boston and California. E. coli, salmonella, and norovirus were found to be in the food. As a result, Chipotle is facing more than seven lawsuits from people affected by the contaminated food. Anonymous former workers of Chipotle claimed that poor hygiene was common during busy service times; people with dirty, unwashed hands were handling the food. Changes have been made even down to how and where the tomatoes have been sliced.

In my opinion, the whole crisis could have been avoided. I say this because poor hygiene and improper preparation of the food took place and could have been the reason for the diseases. As a result, chipotle suffered by facing multiple lawsuits and a bad reputation. The money they lost could have been avoided.

Natasha is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Natasha Dizon. 

Today, technology is very advanced with data that can be accessed and tampered with and though a simple passcode or a touch of a finger, your phone can be opened. Smartphones are something that everyone has these days. iPhones have iOS 8 and it can be hacked into through “backdoors.”

Recently, Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik are two residents of California who are being investigated by the FBI. They are suspects for being in contact with the Islamic State. They are also suspects in assisting the shooting that took the lives of 14 innocent people and injuring 22 others. Farook was suspected of using his iPhone 5C to get in contact with other terrorists. Therefore, investigators want to tap into his phone, and unlock the data. The couple died in a shootout with the police. The FBI believes that they were part of terrorism.

In my opinion, yes I think that it is wrong to hack someone’s phone without their permission. Apple has a point where if they do it for them, the company would be pressured or expected to do the same for everyone. By doing that, the whole protection and lock screen code would be completely pointless. But in this certain circumstance, I would agree that the phone should be unlocked only because the lives of millions of people are in danger. If the people are being suspected of murder and terrorism, the right of privacy should not an option.

Natasha is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University.

Posted by Maleesha Silva.

Anna Alaburda was a 2008 graduate of Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL). She graduated with honors and had even went on to pass the California Bar Exam. However, she was unable to find a suitable job after graduation and decided to sue TJSL. The plaintiff claimed the defendant, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, committed the act of fraud. She states they lied about employment information after graduation and how much graduates actually made after attending TJSL.

Alaburda “sought $92,192 in lost income” and “$32,475” in tuition (Zaretsky). However, she ended up losing her case in a 9-3 verdict. Part of the reason the jury ended up siding with the Thomas Jefferson School of Law was because Alaburda had been offered a job before after graduation, yet rejected it. They probably felt that this conflicted with her claim that the school lied about how many students are employed after graduation, due to the fact that she herself was offered a job.

In my opinion, I feel Alaburda should have won her case if she was able to prove that the Thomas Jefferson School of Law had actually committed fraud by falsifying information about their employment rates and graduation salaries. However, it is apparent by the outcome of this court case that she was not able to sufficiently prove her claim.

Maleesha is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Andres Garcia.

On Wednesday March 2, 2016, Sports Authority decided it was time to file for bankruptcy and close almost a third of its total locations. Sports Authority has been crowned the fourth largest U.S. sports store.

The decision came after the company failed to pay a $20 million payment of January. In the next couple months, numerous stores will be closed and leases associated with those locations will be removed. The company disclosed more than one billion in liabilities and assets that have been estimated between $500,000 and $1 billion dollars. The business organization has planned to borrow almost $595 million to maintain its operation during the time of bankruptcy.

This is an unfortunate situation for Sports Authority, filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, suggests that the company has a concrete plan for the future. Sports Authority believes it is best to reorganize and pay its creditors in the near future.

The company understands that if it borrows money today in the long run they will turn that debt into net profits. It is difficult to measure the factors that influenced the business to go through a down sloping hill. However, the company must adjust to new marketing techniques in order to be successful in the coming years. It may also want to adopt to new consumer expectations and change in taste. If Sports Authority exceeds the techniques of its key competitors, it will be able to return to business and create desired profits.

Andres is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Andres Garcia.

Following the explicit shooting in San Bernardino, California, the FBI insisted Apple create a software that would aid them in their process of investigation. The proposed software would be inserted into the iPhone device belonging to one of the suspects in the mass shooting. The FBI asked Apple, Inc. after they could not guess the shooter’s password.

Apple, Inc. opposed the request and did not want to search their servers for the correct password. However, on Tuesday February 16, 2016, the court ruled that Apple must assist the FBI by handing out such private and confidential information. The decision enraged Apple CEO, Tim Cook, he stated that the verdict would invade the privacy of Apple customers.

I would definitely agree with Apple CEO, Tim Cook; the government ruling will greatly affect many personal lives. The decision may be unethical. I believe the government was in favor of the FBI. The court only looked at how the decision will positively affect the FBI at the moment. However, there can be harsher repercussion for individuals in our society. By granting the FBI permission to search someone’s data and information, the US government is essentially attacking a person’s privacy and security. The decision will sooner than later lead to more hackers infiltrating our personal devices.

Andres is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Abul Hasnat Juned.

Mr. Valdez, a veteran logistics executive of Amazon.com, has been sued by Amazon.com because of violating a non-compete clause. That clause prohibits him from joining any rival for 18 months after leaving Amazon. Valdez worked as a senior executive of the operation department in Amazon, whose job was to supervise Amazon’s international supply chain expansion.

Valdez did that for 16 years until he was hired by Target. He was appointed as a seasoned supply chain leader in Target for concentrating on Amazon’s international supply chain expansion. Amazon made allegations against Valdez saying he has shared information in a highly competitive area for both companies, which was about moving and shipping products in the most effective manner.

However, according to Amazon, Mr. Valdez will take advantage of his knowledge of Amazon’s strategy for e-commerce by revealing it to Target. Target is stating that they are very cautious about not getting any proprietary information about Amazon from him. On the other hand, Amazon is saying that trade secrets were shared by him during the interview process.

It is also a matter of fact that Target is trying to improve their e-commerce section. Although Target is behind in the market of e-commerce, it is working to increase its sales and to do that it has signed with an online delivery service Instacart.

Instacart will deliver the Target groceries to the customers in some cities. Information about the time when Valdez left Amazon is not stated in the lawsuit. However, Valdez received the confirmation from his attorney to start at Target from March 28, 2016, according to the lawsuit.

Abul is an accounting major at the Felicinao School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Abul Hasnat Juned.

Apple Inc. and the U.S. government are headed to court because the government is trying to force Apple to hack into the iPhone of the dead San Bernardino attacker, Syed Rizwan Farook. The reason why the government’s wants to access Farook’s phone is that it may contain evidence regarding the San Bernardino shooting in which he killed 14 people.

Investigators are trying to find out what happened and also if there were any other collaborators from ISIS. Last month, Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ordered Apple to create software to help the FBI disable security features on the phone. Also, the magistrate judge ordered Apple to make software that erases all the information from the phone if a password is wrongly entered more than ten times. If Apple creates such software, the FBI would be able to electronically run possible combinations to open the phone without losing data.

On the other hand, Apple risks losing business if they help the government in unlocking phones, because it would undermine the privacy of its customers. Apple wants to show that they are true to their customers. By taking a stand, they might bring in more consumers. There is also another risk for the Apple Company in unlocking the phone because phones could possibly be accessible to hackers and other countries. Companies, such as, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are offering their support for Apple and using it as a market strategy to gain respect from the public.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said, “It’s too much for the government to conscript a company into writing code that undermines the security of the products they sell.” While the government says that Apple has helped them to extract data from such phones at least 70 times for law enforcement, Apple says the government is trying to force them to create a software that does not exist. Apple is arguing that the government is violating the company’s constitutional rights by threatening the privacy of its customers. Apple is taking a stand not only for their customers’ privacy, but also for the company’s profit because if they help the government to access the phone, their business profits would rapidly drop.

Abul is an accounting major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2019.