Some of the main legal risks being faced by the company include: employee lawsuits, cyber issues, product liability, patent / licensing and criminal investigations / compliance.
Employee Lawsuits
An employee lawsuit is a legal issue of paramount importance for IBM Canada. Discontent employees can file a claim against the company for: sex / age discrimination, pregnancy, race, gender, disability, wrongful termination and other injuries. Matters related to salary deductions, payments, and other dues; if not properly dealt with, can also bring litigation for the company.
Cyber Issues
The operation of IBM Canada mostly includes the use of: technology, internet communications and resources. As cyber legal issues pose a significant threat for the company. The instances of data theft due to: unauthorized access and hacking can bring huge financial penalties for the company.
Product Liability Issues
Liability issues are arising from any damage occurring to: a client or customer (due to a software / hardware product issue). If any software is released that results in loss of: data or damage to the hardware. This can invite heavy penalties and sanctions for the company. Similarly, a faulty hardware component that causes any financial loss or other problems to the customer can bring a financial penalty to IBM. As any delay in the delivery of a hardware or software product, can result in financial loss to the clients of IBM Canada. (Marjorie, 2011)
Patent and Licensing Issues
Use of third-party software and patents of new products is a significant legal issue for the company. Any violation of license agreements or copyrights can result in huge financial penalties for IBM.
Criminal Investigation and Compliance Default Risk
There are numerous law enforcement agencies and departments that regulate the it industry. As a result, there might be incidents when the company or its executives are targeted for: investigation and prosecution after bogus complaints. There might also be cases of negligence from: a department or a specific provision of law. Non-compliance to guidelines of regulating authorities can bring: criminal liabilities or legal action against the company. ("Corporate Legal Risk - Management and Mitigation,"2007)
Step 2: Evaluating the Legal Risks for IBM Canada
When we evaluate the legal risks for IBM Canada, we can categorize them into different groups depending on their severity such as: critical risks, important risks and least important risks. All these events that may cause heavy financial losses to a company and can be brought under critical risks. These may include: product liability and cyber risks. Similarly, other liabilities can be categorized into different areas based on their severity.
Step 3: Devising a Risk Management Plan
IBM Canada can manage employee litigation risks by: implementing clear and detailed employee policies in the workplace. These can serve as the first line of defense, against the threats of employee lawsuits. Developing an employee manual would help greatly in this matter. as, all managers can be given instructions to treat subordinates with respect and equality. To militate against these possible risks, an employment lawyer can be consulted regularly to: review the policies and bring about necessary changes in it.
IBM Canada can deal with cyber issues and risk by implementing explicit policies related to computer usage of the employees as well as access. The policies can be reviewed and revised from time to time when required.
They can deal with the product liability issues, with the help of an end-user licensing agreement. Individuals will need to accept the agreement before installing any piece of software on their computer. The legal viability of these agreements may be questioned sometimes, however, there are numerous instances when courts upheld the terms of them. IBM Canada can also minimize the product liability risks by outsourcing the work (i.e. computer parts / manufacturing) to subcontractors. The risks associated with the performance or functioning of final products can be moved to subcontractors. A subcontractor can be made legally responsible to any loss due to errors and defects in the final product or a specific part. For timely delivery of the products, project timelines need to be planned and implemented in an effective manner. Patent and licensing issues can be dealt with, by ensuring that the technical teams do not infringe on any patents during development work of software or hardware.
IBM Canada can deal with criminal investigations and non-compliance risks by: adopting the policy to cooperate with all government agencies. This would help to insulate the company and the employees, from any risks in cases arising from a violation of various regulations. (Marjorie, 2011)
Step 4: Implementing the Plan
IBM Canada needs to implement the risk management...
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