Foundations of Business, Part 8

Question 1: Describe the origins, the mission, and the main functions of the Federal Reserve.

Answer 1: The Federal Reserve (“Fed”) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created in response to the Great Depression in order to prevent such a financial crisis from occurring in the future. It is not privately owned and is not a for-profit enterprise. Its mission is to influence the conditions which it believes will lead to fuller employment, stable prices, and reasonable interest rates. The Fed sets the nation’s monetary policy, supervises and regulates financial institutions, attempts to minimize risk in the financial system, and offers financial services to banks, the government, and foreign financial institutions.

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Question 2: Identify OSHA and describe its main objectives. Identify the main criticism leveled against OSHA over the years.

Answer 2: The Occupational Safety and Health Act was implemented in 1970 to create the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA’s primary stated objective is to ensure that businesses in the private sector provide their workers with safe and healthful working conditions by preventing job-related injuries, illnesses, or fatalities. OSHA accomplishes these goals through the issuance and the enforcement of its rules, referred to as standards for workplace safety and health. OSHA initially received considerable criticism for creating what its critics considered confusing and overly burdensome regulations, in addition to what were often characterized as inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement of its rules. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Question 3: Describe the purpose of seeking a U.S. patent. Identify the three basic types of patents.

Answer 3: According to the U.S. Patent Office, the purpose of obtaining a patent is to grant “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention created by the patent holder. Typically, a patent remains in effect for 20 years from the date when the patent was applied for at the U.S. Patent Office.The three types of patents are a utility patent, offered to anyone who invents or discovers a new process, machine, or device or any “new and useful” modification of an existing such process, etc.; a design patent, which may be granted to anyone who devises a new and original design for an existing article of manufacture; and a plant patent, to offer patent protection to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces a new variety of plant. For further information, go to http://www.uspto.gov.zza4zz

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