| Course | DBA-8070 Seminar in Law, Ethics, and Global Society |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Module 1 written assignment: the foundations of business law |
| Length | About 612 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DBA 8070 Module 1
The Same Rules in Forty-Nine States: The Uniform Commercial Code and a Millwork Maker's Contracts
Student Name
Doctor of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
DBA-8070: Seminar in Law, Ethics, and Global Society
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
The Same Rules in Forty-Nine States: The Uniform Commercial Code and a Millwork Maker's Contracts
Introduction
Our company builds custom cabinetry, wall paneling and reception desks for hospitals, universities and offices. In a typical year we buy hardwood from mills in Pennsylvania and New York, hardware from a distributor in Ohio and finished panels from a supplier in North Carolina, and we sell to general contractors from Connecticut to Florida. We rarely think about which state's contract law governs these deals. This paper argues that the reason we can ignore the question is the most valuable feature of American business law: a largely unified body of commercial rules.
Sources of Business Law
Mayer et al. (2012) describe the sources of U.S. law as constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations and the common law developed by courts, operating at both the federal and state levels. Contract law is mainly state law, which could mean fifty different rule books. For the sale of goods, however, every state has adopted Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, with Louisiana adopting most of the code but not Article 2, so the basic rules on forming, performing and enforcing sales contracts are close to identical wherever we trade.
The Value of Consistent Expectations
North (1991) defined institutions as the rules that structure economic exchange and argued that their main function is to reduce uncertainty and the cost of transacting. A common sales code does exactly that. When our purchase order and a mill's acknowledgment contain different terms, U.C.C. § 2-207 decides which terms become part of the contract in Pennsylvania just as it does in New Jersey. Our purchasing staff learn one set of rules, our standard terms work in every state and disputes are predictable enough that most are settled by a phone call.
Macaulay (1963) adds a qualification. In his study of manufacturers, he found that businesses often rely on relationships and reputation rather than on contract law, and rarely sue. Our experience fits: we have never sued a supplier. But the code still matters, because it sets the background everyone bargains against. We can rely on trust because both sides know what would happen without it.
Business Abroad: More Varied Influences
Three years ago we began buying figured veneer from a supplier near Udine, Italy. The two countries have both joined the 1980 United Nations sales convention, so its rules governed our veneer purchases unless the contract opted out. Its rules, known as the CISG, differ from the code's on several points; for example, its approach to mismatched forms is generally read as closer to the traditional mirror-image rule, so a reply that changes material terms tends to operate as a counteroffer. Beyond the treaty, we faced Italian rules on payment and customs, a different language and a different expectation about how formal the written contract should be.
Research on legal systems shows that such variation has economic effects. La Porta et al. (1998) found that legal protections for investors differ systematically across countries by legal origin and that these differences are associated with financial development. Their study concerns finance rather than sales, but it supports the general point that the content and consistency of law shape how business is done.
Conclusion
A unified body of commercial law gives domestic firms consistent expectations, lowers the cost of trading across state lines and provides the background that lets trust work. Abroad, a treaty such as the sales convention offers partial uniformity, but firms still meet varied rules and customs. For our company, the lesson is practical: our domestic terms can be standard, while every foreign contract needs its governing law, forms and payment terms set out deliberately.
References
La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1998). Law and finance. Journal of Political Economy, 106(6), 1113-1155. https://doi.org/10.1086/250042
Macaulay, S. (1963). Non-contractual relations in business: A preliminary study. American Sociological Review, 28(1), 55-67. https://doi.org/10.2307/2090458
Mayer, D., Warner, D., Siedel, G., & Lieberman, J. K. (2012). Foundations of business law and the legal environment. Saylor Academy.
North, D. C. (1991). Institutions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 97-112. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.5.1.97
U.C.C. § 2-207 (Am. L. Inst. & Unif. L. Comm'n 2022).
What the DBA 8070 Module 1 instructions ask for
DBA-8070 weights twelve discussions at 48 percent, four written assignments at 20 percent, two synchronous events at 12 percent, including an oral argument worth 10 percent, and a final project at 20 percent; the open text is Mayer, Warner, Siedel and Lieberman's Foundations of Business Law and the Legal Environment. The syllabus does not tie its four written assignments to particular modules, so this page sets one beside Module 1. TESU's description of the course asks why one shared body of law makes trade at home easier by keeping expectations steady, and how that compares with the mix of influences a firm meets overseas. Use a real organization's transactions to show where uniform rules help, and support the argument with research as well as legal sources.
Inside the DBA 8070 Module 1 example
The paper opens by listing the firm's suppliers and customers across states, so the reader sees how many legal systems its contracts could touch. A section on sources explains why contract law is state law and how the code's adoption makes sales rules nearly uniform, noting Louisiana's exception. North's account of institutions explains the value of consistency, applied to mismatched purchase forms under section 2-207. Macaulay's finding that firms rarely sue adds a qualification the paper turns into a point about background rules. A section on the firm's Italian veneer purchases contrasts the sales convention, and La Porta and colleagues support the claim that legal variation matters economically.
Reading the DBA 8070 Module 1 grading rubric
Mentors grade DBA-8070 written assignments on accurate legal content, scholarly support, analysis rather than description, application to an organization and doctoral writing in APA style. In Module 1, credit goes to papers that explain the sources of law correctly and show why uniformity matters, not only that it exists. Pairing legal sources with research on institutions or law and economics meets the course's description of an empirical and academic exploration. A qualification, such as evidence that firms rely on relationships, shows critical thinking. A concrete comparison with a foreign transaction answers the module's call to set domestic consistency against international variety.
Common DBA 8070 Module 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students lose points by summarizing the textbook's chapter on legal sources without an argument, by stating that all U.S. contract law is uniform when only the sale of goods is broadly harmonized or by treating international business law as a single system. Others cite no research. Build the paper on transactions you know, explain which rules govern them and show what consistency saves. Add one empirical or theoretical source on why legal institutions matter. Compare one foreign deal precisely, naming the treaty or law that applied. Send the deals your company signs and a free first DBA-8070 draft on them comes back. A short comparison of how one clause would be read under the code and under the treaty makes the contrast concrete.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
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DBA 8070 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DBA 8070 Module 1 sample paper?
The written assignment above explains how the Uniform Commercial Code gives a millwork maker consistent sales rules and compares its Italian veneer contracts.
What are the sources of U.S. business law?
Constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations and court-made common law, at both federal and state levels.
Has every state adopted the UCC?
Every state has adopted the Uniform Commercial Code in some form, though Louisiana has not adopted Article 2 on sales.
What is the CISG?
The 1980 United Nations treaty on cross-border sales of goods, which governs many sales between businesses in member countries unless the contract excludes it.
What textbook does DBA-8070 use?
Mayer, Warner, Siedel and Lieberman's Foundations of Business Law and the Legal Environment, an open Saylor Academy text.