Final Paper and Course Journal

FIL 312 Section 91

Summer 2019

Dr. C. Varner

July 12, 2019

About Myself

First beginning about my past, I was born in Colon, a province next to Panama in 1998. I

was by my Indian parent which is why I have a mixed culture between Indian and Panamanian

and I follow Hinduism as for religion. I lived in Colon City, which is a small city, till I graduated

high school and moved to Panama to work and start college. Currently I am majoring for a

double major in International Business and Communications at Quality Leadership University in

partnership with Illinois State University and the University of Louisville. I am also an intern at

Philips Panama where I have been interning since last summer. Most recently, I am just

anticipating graduation, preparing for the future and trying to plan for what's to come.
Henry V Movie Link to Leadership

It is inevitable to take tough decisions when one is a leader. This movie has taught us and

has given us a glimpse of how we must make difficult choices and be courageous enough to

overcome our obstacles and achieve our goals. In this movie, King Henry despite being young

depicted several attributes that seem to make him a leader, for instance, standing up for his

kingdom, the spirit-lifting speeches he gave whenever his troops would feel down or defeated, by

demonstrating a strong front without a drop of fear in his face, he protected and kept control of

his people and his troops, he never let anyone else rule his troops besides himself and more.

One of the biggest examples of leadership from King Henry V in this movie is overall

taking his country to war with France in order to proclaim territory, increase monetarily, show off

the power that he has, etc. Many others in his position would fear losing, or creating chaos, but

he was not like that. He was even threatened by the French to not to take up action against them

but Henry did not let that get into his or his country’s minds. Moreover, he even does not let the

people within his own country that do not want him to go to war to stop him from doing it. He

always seems determined to do in order to gain and makes sure there is nothing stopping him

from doing it but still doing it in the right manner and not harming anyone in the way of it.

By keeping his team, group, troops motivated, King Henry V shows off how he does not

force them to achieve a goal, but encourages them to think that they can achieve it. In the movie,

his soldiers had doubts about this move and were not sure if it was the right choice, or if they

could win the war, but Henry made sure to make them analyze why this winning this war was

important, increasing their courage by demonstrating them the advantages that they had. He gave

them speeches about the honor that they would carry if they became part of the ordeal and if they
won. This aspect also seems important for a leader since it makes him/her never lose hope and

spread around to the rest of the team.

Besides all the battle, war and conflict between England and France, King Henry V is

able to concentrate and win over in another part of his life by not giving up. The King was able

to show off how he was able to win France over and handle a successful battle against them by

not giving up on his goal. He was also able to show this off his not-giving-up spirit when

attempting to conquer not anyone but the French King’s daughter. He could have gotten anyone

else but conquering the heart of the enemy seemed like a bigger challenge than going to battle

with France. More importantly, he displayed a clear leadership skill when he approached by

convincing her that both countries had gone from foes to allies. This demonstrated how King

Henry V set aside his ego that many people in power would use to take control of the situation

by holding the country hostage and controlling the people within to do what they want.

All in all, this movie has portrayed a character that utilizes their position during an

upperhand situation to become a good leader. After all, there might be many people with the

same situation that are not necessarily being an example in utilizing leadership skills to confront

obstacles that they are faced with. One main thing I learned from this movie about leadership is

doing the right and considering other people’s situation when you are in the position of benefit.

This could also mean in other words to always stay humble but to also keep believing in the

hustle.
Course Journal

July 18

The professor beggined the class by explaining the importance of a multicultural

environment. He gave an example of how astonished he was when he came to know about a case

in which a Bangladeshi woman had specialized in English and her native language is Bengali. He

also gave an interesting introduction about how the International Business degree was given in

the past. He mentioned that at the beginning of the course there were no credits for language

courses, but later a faculty member encouraged it since it is supposed to be a multicultural

environment.

Even though I thought politics would be mentioned many times in this class, it was

mentioned only several times. At the beginning of the class Dr. Varner showed us two cartoons

from the 1930s about a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz. This cartoon depicts a tornado of conservative

states coming together against a state that was non-conservative. Interestingly enough this topic

was referring about an ongoing debate today and during the 30s about the issue regarding

abortion rights.

What I learned the most about in this class where the examples of the cases mentioned.

For instance, the professor mentioned about cases, such as Otis Wood vs. Lucy Lady Duff

Gordon from 1990, and Lucy vs. Zehmer which was the first case the professor learned in law

school. Dr. Varner explained a case which really caught my attention was the Ketho vs. Bryan

case. In this case, the defendant had installed an automatic gun in his parents old farm so that it
could shoot at anyone on the leg who was trying to get in illegally. He did this because people

were breaking in and stealing from the place. This was an interesting case since it was

considered as self-defense right.

This day, I also learned different words in the law industry. Some of them, Dr. Varner

explained, were derived from the French. For instance, the word “tort” from “tort case” refers to

wrong. Another word that the professor mentioned but I already knew was defamation which

means saying bad things about someone.

Besides words, I also learned about how law could apply differently in different countries

during different points in time. For instance, how in Prussia, historically part of Germany, in

1890, it was decided that pensions would be received at the age of 65. They did this to prove that

the government would not be stealing any money, however, this point was not proven since the

life expectancy back then was approximately 40 years old. Moreover, I also began to have some

idea about the different percentages that someone would get paid depending on how much

income they would be receiving. Something very interesting about pensions was mentioned that

the government is not required to pay them, but they are required to pay social security in the

U.S.

Another useful topic discussed was about how pensions were handles or paid by

companies. Dr. Varner gave us insightful examples about how companies in the U.S. give various

pension plans in which employees own stock in the company. Additionally, there is even a

government regulatory agency, the Pension Benefit Government Corp. (PBGC), that assures

companies are investing enough money in pensions. Many are even opting out of pension

because they it is a battle between them, the government, and the employees. Moreover,
companies are not required to pay pensions to their employees or provide them pension options

since, as mentioned above, this is not required by law.

June 19

This day Dr. Varner explained several concepts about law, such as acceptance, parts of a

contract and a little bit about the history of the U.S. When it comes to contracts between a

customer and a salesperson who is making an offer, the sign of the customer is the one that

matters and is the one that is rectified when looking at a contract. We also reviewed the parts of a

contract which are offer, acceptance, consideration (giving up your part of the contract) which I

learned in a class title Business Law.

We were also able to discuss a case to contextualize as an example. The case was the

Lucy vs. Zehmer’s case in which Lucy offers one of his friends $50,000 cash in exchange for the

Ferguson Farm. He proceeded to make a written contract, in which they stated a “more or less”

size of the land. Dr. Varner explained, however, that it is necessary to mention the specifics in a

contract, for instance, the exact size of the land. It is important to give a size approximate in land

contracts because size might vary for various reasons. The professor also mentions that if there is

a married couple at one end of the contract, both of the members have to sign it if the ownership

of the land is shared. The problem with this case, however, was the fact that Lucy did not sign it.

Lucy vs. Zehmer case went to court and the professor mentions that Lucy is the plaintiff

who is the one taking the legal action against Zehmer. Lucy is asking for an action to be taken so

that he can receive the land that is stated in their contract. Zehmer, being the defendant,

mentioned that this was not a serious situation when signed and that in fact both parties were

drunk when the contract was signed. The court states that a contract is an agreement and that it
should carry the signatures of both parties which it did not and that it was agreed probably

verbally but under the influence of alcohol. The case was also taken to the Court of Appeals and

then the Supreme Court of Virginia in which witnesses were not presented but only trial records

and arguments made by lawyers were included. The court appealed that the responsible parties

should have been responsible for their words and acts.

After this example, the professor mentions the essentials of a contract for it to be

accepted. These principles indicate that the contract has to be put into writing and signed by all

parties involved. There should be deliverance involved meaning that after one of the parties has

signed the contract, it should go to the other party for signing. The professor also mentions parts

of sales contract which are the offer, acceptance and consideration. In these types of contracts,

both sides of the contract must give up something or do something that they are not legally

required to do.

June 20

On this day we learned through a little more detailed about law in different countries

throughout time. For instance, Dr. Varner mentioned how France and Japan are rich in nuclear

energy and this energy is what caused the Japan tsunami and scared the Germans away from

their country. We were also able to learn about how Germany and the U.S. differ culturally. The

professor gave us a simple, personal example for us to understand regarding light. Americans

tend to on every light once it starts getting dark. On the other hand, Germans only on theirs when

they really need it. This is because in Germany it costs 41 cents per kilowatt, which is expensive

compared to what is paid in the U.S.

 The professor also mentioned other countries as examples. For instance, he mentioned

that comparative advertisement is illegal in Europe, however, it is not in the U.S. due to the free

speech act. This is also not allowed in Panama, but it is allowed in other Latin American

countries, such as Colombia.

An example that resonated closely to international business and law was when the

professore mentioned how a Martin Luther King Statue competition in the 1830s was won by a

Chinese who created it, Tocqueville. People were surprised because they believe that the prize

would be won by an African American.

Next, the professor mentioned the definitions of the course which was the law of nations

or the relationship between law and nations. He also explained some key terms and concepts.

Individual sovereignty means that there is no international legislature. Public international law

refers to the law of nations, while private international law refers to conflicts.

The phrase “law of a just war” means that there is nothing in the world. It means that the

wrong is against you since you have done everything reasonably to solve the problem. Due to

this, you must take military action in order to win. However, in order to take action you must

have the means to do it in order to win. In other words, you can only do this with a reasonable

cost.

June 21

During this class, I was able to learn that there are forces in the international law. These

forces are custom law, bilateral law and pairing. Custom law represents how we should behave

with one another. Bilateral law represents an agreement between two parties where both must
comply to the rules. Finally, pairing is when a diplomat enters a different country, he enters with

a law bubble. This means that the law of his nation protects him in other countries.

The professor also gave some examples about the U.S. For instance, he mentioned that if

President Trump would want to build a wall on a private owner land, he must pay for that

property which is 90 percent owned. Texans would be determining how much they would charge

for that piece of land. Dr. Varner also explained about NAFTA which is a free trade agreement

between the three North American countries from 1984. He mentioned how there is an

agricultural trade between the US and Mexico, which is five times bigger than what it was before

the trade agreement which allows them to have a competitive advantage in a business

perspective. After all, due to the this trade agreement, Mexico has become US largest buyer of

corn.

June 24

On this week, the professor explained a little bit about U.S. history. He explained how the U.S.

got their independence and were divided into 13 colonies, each one with their own charter. He

also mentioned the Articles of Confederation from 1787 in which all the colonies get together in

Philadelphia in order to unite the United States, come up with a Constitution and fight to become

an independent republic. Another point mentioned this day was the Trail of Tears which was a

forceful removal of Indians from the eastern states to the state of Oklahoma.

June 25

We discussed in class about the trademarks and patents needed according to the laws. The
professor also mentioned about how these laws were being handled and applied in different

countries and different situations. On this day we also spent by watching the Henry V movie

written by William Shakespeare from which I learned a lot about leadership as mentioned in the

previously.

June 26

On this day, the professor spoke about Henry V (1415), Henry VI (son of Henry V and

Kete) (1422), Henry VII, Henry VIII (who later had 6 wives), Henry VIII (married Catherine of

Aragon and had a daughter named Mary). Through the examples of this literary text, the

professor emphasized in the law depicted back then. He mentioned how Henry VIII went to the

Pope to get a divorce since theirs was not a real marriage. The Spaniards did not like this idea

and went to the Pope as well to complain, but Henry refused to change his verdict. Due to this

dilemma, Henry established his own church and puts himself in charge which then became the

Church of England. After getting his divorce, Henry was able to take on his next wife Amberley,

with whom he has a daughter named Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Amberley gets executed for being

disloyal. After this, he gets another wife whom Henry gets a son, but he died as an infant. After

this, Mary was able to reign and after her Elizabeth.

Some vocabularies and concepts learned this day regarding international law were the

Division of States, the Adverse Possession Doctrine and the Ancient English rule. The professor

mentioned that the states were divided into counties, townships and sections. He mentioned that

there are 36 sections in Illinois and that one section contained 640 acres. The Adverse Possession

Doctrine was a principle of law that occupying something is important. Finally, the Ancient

English Rule means that if you possess a piece of land for more than 20 years, it remains yours.