Contract Law

Introduction

A consideration is a reached agreement between two parties, which exhibit legal competence. It is an agreement to do or not to do something which must be legal for consideration. In contract law, consideration applies to almost every aspect. This is because it involves mutual benefit between two or more parties. Apart from charity organizations, most of other organizations enter into deals from which they can benefit. Therefore, when the charity gave a statement like, “We never get anything for nothing these days”, there were some connections between this comment and the concept of consideration in contract law. These have been reviewed in this essay.

Concept of Consideration

The charity said that it did not get anything for free these days. This means that for every deal in which they enter, they have to pay back. When the charity heard that all the artists of the record label were booked all summer, they probably did not believe it. They thought that the decline was caused by the fact that the performances at the closing of the Olympic Games would be for free. Therefore, they thought that the artists were not all booked. In the concept of consideration, the promising party gives the party being promised something of value (Calamari 1998). This is normally in exchange for something valuable that is coming from the promised party to the promising one. Therefore, their implication was: we declined to allow some artists to perform in the celebrations because there were no benefits for the record label.

The statement from the charity expressed resentment. They were surely not happy with the response. However, this is to be expected from a charity. The main work of charity organizations is offering goods and services for free. They do not look into profit margins or mutual gains. This is because profits are not their main drive. Therefore, they expect that other firms take the initiative. In the statement, they make it exceedingly clear that they have utterly nothing to offer. This was also seen in their request when they said that the performances would be free of charge. Therefore, they make it clear that it is a normal scenario for most business oriented organizations. Their main drive is profit making, and they do not offer such an opportunity. Therefore, this statement should not be treated with as much seriousness as it may seem to hold (Bhadbhade 2010). However, it is necessary to communicate and convince the charity that the reason for the decline was not monetary. As a business affairs manager, there are a few considerations that I can make in regard to this issue. This nationwide charity could be of enormous benefit in time to come. They get invited to national celebrations and concerts. This can be extremely profitable for the record label.

The charity could have just been expressing disappointment in their statement. However, the statement can be analyzed to come up with some other vital implications. It could also mean that their offer also had something in it for the record label. This can be a derived meaning from the statement. Looking at the situation, the festivals to which the artists have been booked are mainly based in UK. However, the closing celebrations of the Olympic Games are attended by people from every part of the world. These are people from virtually every country in the world. In the music industry, there is nothing as beneficial for the artists as publicity (Holmes 1991). The games are also attended by influential people who are there to have fun. On the one hand, this could be used to convince the charity that their offer is not free of charge. There is some publicity to win from it. On the other hand, this may cause a reconsideration of the answer given to the charity. This is where the concept of consideration comes in again. The record label receives publicity and advertisements of both itself and its artists in exchange for their performances. Therefore, accepting to go for the celebrations may also be another valuable consideration. However, the record label does not have an obligation to attend the celebrations. If the prior arrangements cannot be cancelled, it is vital to proceed with them.

The concept of consideration in contract law applies for any business organization. Therefore, the statement from the charity should not be viewed as an offending one. It should rather be viewed as a definition of any business organization that has entered into a deal with the charity. It is the initiative of the charity to provide services free of charge. Their gains are well known to them. They should not shift any costs to other organizations that are not charity. However, the label's gains are mainly caused by indulgence into profitable deals. Therefore, the concept of consideration is inevitable in the organization's everyday undertakings (Emmanuel 2003)

Every action has its consequences. There is no single action that does not bear something, be it negative or positive. However, there are some actions which may not seem to have consequences. This is because their consequences are seen in the long run. The fact still remains that the consequences are there. There are other actions whose consequences are straightforward and are seen in the short run. In such cases, it is easier for a doer to plan and make radical decisions without much time wastage. However, if the consequences are long run, the actions have to be evaluated and then determined after consideration of all the factors. This situation has been brought about by this statement. The concept of consideration applies for the long run and might be invisible for the short run. Starting with the short run, the artists have already been invited to various festivals in the UK all summer. These bookings mean profits and gains for the record label. There can be many kinds of gain. First, there is the monetary gain. After their performance, there will be cash inflow into the record label. Fame for the artists is also another benefit from the same (Blum 2010). Lastly, other artists with growing talents may be willing to join the record label after the performances. This amounts to success for the record label.

If these concerts are cancelled, this would mean the loss of all these benefits. The alternative would be performances at the closing celebrations of the Olympic Games. This means no payments, since the charity specified that they would be free of charge. For a profit making organization, this is an unbearable fact. For a charity organization, this would be an easy undertaking because that is what they do. Looking at the other side of things, there is the long run effect of an action. As mentioned earlier in the essay, the crowd at the closing Olympic Games is more favourable than that in the UK. This is because it incorporates people from all parts of the world. Therefore, the concept of consideration is applicable for the long run analysis (Calamari & Perillo 2004). Gaining popularity from such a population means attaining a worldwide fame. Therefore, this statement should also be seen as a warning statement. It is warning the record label that the decision being made is not ideal for its future. It shows the complete application of the concept of consideration in real life situations.

It is extremely evident that the statement was ambiguous. Either way, it summed up to the concept of consideration. On the one hand, it was expressing the decline of the record label as a result of this concept. It was also putting across the fact that this concept is applied by most organizations that deal with the charity. This must have been the obvious and intended meaning. In this case, the record label can decide to talk them out of their belief regarding the decline (Burnham 2011). The record label can also decide to reschedule some of the appointments of the artists to make them available for the Olympic Games’ celebrations. On the other hand, the statement can be seen as an acknowledgement of a fact. A business organization should not be obliged to engaging into unprofitable activities. The concept of consideration always has to apply. For example, if the charity offered a deal that was more profitable than the prior appointments, it would have been wise to consider it. Therefore, the motive of an organization should be respected by its members, as well as other people (Atiyah 1971). The concept of consideration might not apply to the charity, but it applies to the record label. Therefore, it is the decision of the owner of the record label on whether the artists should or not perform for free.

Conclusion

The statement offered by the nationwide charity organization was short. From the essay above, it is clear that it had quite a number of implications. The essay has shown that all these implications sum up to the concept of consideration in contract law. This is where the charity views the record label as an organization that is only interested in monetary gain. It also shows that the issue can be evaluated from many different angles. This can prompt different decisions taken by the record label. However, the decision made should be for the benefit of the record label, whether short run or long run.