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The Nature of Agency Within a Business

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Submitted By glockcoma75
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The Nature of Agency within a Business
Due to the complexity of a business and the many functions that an owner and/or governing body must handle on a daily basis, it seems quite normal for an employee to be authorized to purchase, order and receive items needed for the business. This vital function allows an individual to act on the owner’s behalf by obtaining supplies and/or merchandise which is needed to supply the company without the continual involvement of the owner. In regards to this paper, the issue that arises is that at what point does an employee become an acting agent of the company, and thus has the authority to make decisions which can affect the business; the example, of course, would be in the case of the Quick Takes fiasco where an employee signed what she believed was a receiving slip but which was in fact a binding legal contract for use of equipment.
Acting Agent or Employee with Responsibilities?
At the root the problem is whether or not Janet could be considered an acting agent of the company and, as such, can make decisions and/or sign off on binding contractual agreements. As explained in the simulation video by Hal, Janet does have the authority to order and purchase items for the business. Additionally, Janet was also told by Hal to arrange the trial usage of the video editing machine. This statement alone could be construed as giving Janet permission to act on behalf of Quick Takes, regardless of any written document stating this fact. With these facts in mind, it is plausible that contract formation was achieved in the video simulation, albeit with a hint of deception in the way Plaintiff presented the contract. An Alternative method to contract formation
The author feels that if Non-Linear Pro had true intentions of starting a business relationship with Quick Takes, the events should have transpired differently. First

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