Business Law - Introduction to Agreement

Hey there, thanks for joining me for this video. We're going to be discussing the concept of agreement as well as its significance in forming what we call a valid contract. So we're going to discuss the agreement process, the role of both the offerer and the offerer and also delve into the elements of a valid offer. So with that said, let's go ahead and get started.

Now we're going to start by defining the concept agreement. Now agreement is a fundamental requirement for the formation of an actual contract. It occurs when two or more parties mutually ascent to the same terms and manifest their intention to be bound by those exact terms. Now the agreement process involves two key roles.

We have the offerer and we have the offerer. Now the offerer is the party who initiates the agreement by making an actual offer while the offerer is the party to whom the offer is made. Now that we understand a little bit about the party's involved, let's get into the elements of a valid offer. Now the first element is known as intent.

Now the offerer must demonstrate a genuine intention to be legally bound by the terms of the offer. Now this means that the offerer intends to create a legally enforceable agreement if the offerer accepts the offer. The second element is definite and certain terms. Now an offerer must include specific details regarding the subject matter, price, quantity, and other essential terms of the proposed agreement.

These terms have to be clear and leave no room for ambiguity in order for there to be a valid offer. The third element is communication. In order to have a valid offer, the offerer must be effectively communicated to the offerer. Now this can be done through a variety of different means and can include verbal discussions, written documents, or even conduct.

But the commonality is that the offerer must have knowledge of the offer as well as its terms. Now that we understand a little bit about the elements of a valid offer, let's go ahead and consider a few real life examples just to help illustrate these points. So imagine that you wanted to purchase a product, say a bicycle for example, and you see an advertisement in the local paper, which is an assumption because you would have to first be looking at the local paper. But for the purpose of this example, let's just say that for whatever reason you were.

And it had all the specific details. So it included the make, the model, as well as the price point for the bicycle. Now the presence of the advertisement itself demonstrates the first element of the offer, which is of course intent. While the specifics of the make, model, price, represent definite and certain terms, as well as the communication, which is the advertisement of the actual offer itself.

So we have all three elements of a valid offer present. Now by contacting the seller and expressing your willingness to buy the bicycle at that advertised price, you're inherently accepting their offer and forming an agreement. Another example could be when a company maybe sends a written proposal to provide services to a potential client. Now the proposal of course is going to outline the scope of work, which could include, you know, what is expected of the parties involved, any sort of fees, as well as the timeline to which the scope of work is supposed to be carried out.

Now if the potential client accepts the proposal by signing and returning the document, then the agreement is formed because all the necessary elements are present, right? We have of course the first element, which is intent, which is demonstrated by the formation of the contract itself. We have definite and certain terms valid communicating the scope of work, timeline, price, all those sorts of things, and then of course is communicated and writing. As we wrap up this video, I want to communicate that agreement is a very critical element to the formation of a contract.

It involves both offer as well as acceptance, where the offerer presents a valid offer with the intent, definite and certain terms, and effective communication to the offeree. The offeree then accepts the offer, demonstrating their mutual ascent to those terms. Now by understanding the elements of a valid offer, as well as the agreement process, individuals and businesses can navigate contract formation successfully. Hey, thanks for joining me for this lecture on agreement.

I hope you found the information to be helpful. And thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.