To Agree or Not To Agree This week, you have been learning about the essential requirements of all contracts. The initial step toward forming a contract is agreement. Agreement has been satisfied when one party makes an offer to a second party and that second party accepts the offer. Consider the following situation: Johnny and Sally are students at Nononline University. Sally often admires Johnny's iPod in the Business Law class that they take together. One Friday night she decides to send Johnny the following e-mail: "Hi Johnny. You know I just love your MP3 player, all the music that's on it and the playlists you have created. I'd like to offer you $400 for the MP3 player and all the music on it. If I do not hear from you by midnight on Sunday, I'll consider my offer accepted. Thanks. I hope you decide to sell. Sally" Johnny ignores the email and does not respond. Sally and her boyfriend go to Johnny's dorm room Monday afternoon. Sally attempts to give Johnny $400. He refuses the money and refuses to give Sally the MP3 player. Johnny claims that he never accepted Sally's offer. Sally insists that he did and goes to get campus security. Sally's boyfriend waits with Johnny in his room. Based on your reading for this week Is there agreement and a contract? With these thoughts in mind: Post a statement by Day 3 that declares whether or not you believe there is agreement in this case and who should legally be entitled to the iPod, as well as the reasons for your determination. Read a selection of your colleagues' postings. Respond by Day 5 to two or more of your colleagues' postings in one or more of the following ways: Ask a probing question. Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting. Offer and support an opinion. Make a suggestion. Expand on your colleague's posting. Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you learned and the insights you gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from the Learning Resources and any additional sources. Notes from teacher: A contract is a legally enforceable promise. The parties must manifest by words or conduct their mutual assent to a contract. Usually this is done when one of them makes an offer and the other accepts it. Additionally, the contract must involve an exchange of consideration; the parties must have the legal capacity to contract; and the contract itself must be legal. Also, some contracts must be in writing; in the United States, the most common contracts that must be in writing are those involving a sale of goods for more than $500. Offer and Acceptance This week we will discuss the first requirement for a valid contract: that the parties have reached agreement on the terms of their deal. While all requirements for forming a contract are essential, the fact the parties agree on a deal is the most important element an.

1. To Agree or Not To Agree
This week, you have been learning about the essential
requirements of all contracts. The initial step toward forming a
contract is agreement. Agreement has been satisfied when one
party makes an offer to a second party and that second party
accepts the offer. Consider the following situation:
Johnny and Sally are students at Nononline University. Sally
often admires Johnny's iPod in the Business Law class that they
take together. One Friday night she decides to send Johnny the
following e-mail:
"Hi Johnny. You know I just love your MP3 player, all the
music that's on it and the playlists you have created. I'd like to
offer you $400 for the MP3 player and all the music on it. If I
do not hear from you by midnight on Sunday, I'll consider my
offer accepted. Thanks. I hope you decide to sell. Sally" Johnny
ignores the email and does not respond. Sally and her boyfriend
go to Johnny's dorm room Monday afternoon. Sally attempts to
give Johnny $400. He refuses the money and refuses to give
Sally the MP3 player. Johnny claims that he never accepted
Sally's offer. Sally insists that he did and goes to get campus
security. Sally's boyfriend waits with Johnny in his room.
Based on your reading for this week
Is there agreement and a contract?
With these thoughts in mind:
Post
a statement
by Day 3
that declares whether or not you believe there is agreement in

2. this case and who should legally be entitled to the iPod, as well
as the reasons for your determination.
Read
a selection of your colleagues' postings.
Respond
by Day 5
to
two
or more
of your colleagues' postings in one or more of the following
ways:
Ask a probing question.
Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
Offer and support an opinion.
Make a suggestion.
Expand on your colleague's posting.
Return
to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your
initial posting. Note what you learned and the insights you
gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
Be sure to support your work with specific citations from the
Learning Resources and any additional sources.
Notes from teacher:
A contract is a legally enforceable promise. The parties must

3. manifest by words or
conduct their mutual assent to a contract. Usually this is done
when one of them
makes an offer and the other accepts it. Additionally, the
contract must involve an
exchange of consideration; the parties must have the legal
capacity to contract; and the
contract itself must be legal. Also, some contracts must be in
writing; in the United
States, the most common contracts that must be in writing are
those involving a sale
of goods for more than $500.
Offer and Acceptance
This week we will discuss the first requirement for a valid
contract: that the parties have reached agreement on the terms
of their deal. While all requirements for forming a contract are
essential, the fact the parties agree on a deal is the most
important element and the very core of the contract.
Offer and Acceptance: the process by which the parties reach
agreement; that is both parties intend to contract is often
referred to as reaching mutual assent. An offer is a promise
made to another person called the offeree. An acceptance is the
offeree’s approval of the proposal made by the offeror. It shows
a willingness to be immediately bound by the proposal without
further negotiation. A contract is formed as soon as the

4. acceptance occurs. It is essential that the offer by seriously
intended, definite, and communicated to the offeree by the
offeror. To determine whether a valid offer and acceptance
occurred first determine if the offer ended before the acceptance
occurred. If so, there is no contract. Ways in which an offer can
end are: lapse of time; rejected by the offeree; the offeree
makes a counteroffer, the offeror revokes the offer; either the
offeror or the offeree dies or becomes incapacitated; and the
offer becomes illegal or impossible to perform. An important
way to determine whether an offer has been made is the
objective theory test. This theory states that a party’s intention
to make an offer is guided by what a reasonable person (the
offeree) would have thought the offeror intended.
Resources:
Reading
Course Text:
Goldman, A., & Sigismond, W. (2014).
Business law: principles and practices
(9th ed.). South-Western: Cengage Learning
Chapter 7, "Agreement: Offer and Acceptance"
Of the four requirements of a contract, the first and foremost
element of any contract is agreement, which is reached by an
offer and its acceptance. In this chapter, you will explore
agreement, what constitutes an offer (and what does not), and
how a party accepts (or does not accept) that offer.
Focus on
the definitions and concepts provided throughout the chapter.
Review and think about the examples and short cases in the
chapter that demonstrate the major ideas being conveyed and
illustrate the ways in which offers can and cannot be made and
accepted.
Chapter 8, "Consideration"

5. The second of four elements of a legally enforceable contract is
consideration. In this chapter, you will explore the concept of
consideration, its nature, what it consists of, and any
agreements that can be enforceable without consideration.
Finally, you will be introduced to the equity doctrine of
promissory estoppel.
Focus on
the definitions and concepts provided throughout the chapter.
Review and think about the examples and short cases in the
chapter that demonstrate the major ideas being conveyed.
Chapter 9, "Capacity"
In order to have a legally enforceable contract, the parties to
that contract must be competent. In this chapter, you will
explore the definition of
Capacity
, then review the categories of individuals who are considered
incompetent and therefore have limited capacity to enter into
contracts.
Focus on
the definitions and concep
ts provided throughout the chapter.
Review and think about the examples and short cases in the
chapter that demonstrate the major ideas being conveyed.