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SYLLABUS:
BUSINESS LAW I
BA 230, Winter
2005
PROFESSOR
NANCY KING
OFFICE
PHONE: 737-3323
EMAIL:
kingn@bus.oregonstate.edu
OFFICE
NUMBER: Bexell #336
CLASS MEETING TIME AND PLACE: Section 003 meets Monday and
Wednesday, 10-11:50 a.m. in Bexell 207.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: 1) Demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of the legal environment of business including the judicial
system, legislative system, and administrative agencies; 2) Demonstrate
understanding and skill applying business law concepts to business problems
including those involving contract, tort and criminal law issues; 3)
Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze news reports of current legal
proceedings and issues and relate them to the material covered in the course;
4) Demonstrate the ability to analyze the meaning of selected judicial cases
including the management implications of legal rules drawn from those cases; 5)
Demonstrate the ability to use the Web to research basic legal issues, to find
cases and other legal reference materials and to access and download materials
for the course; 6) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of contemporary
legal issues related to managing a business including the impact of global
business markets, e-business, and technology; 7) Demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of sustainability and sustainable business practices, business
ethics, and social responsibility as well as the legal implications of business
problems.
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Text: Roger LeRoy Miller, Frank B. Cross, and Gaylord
Jentz, Essentials of the Legal
Environment (2005), with accompanying Online
Legal Research Guide (2005).
Course Website: Available
on the COB Website, click “student services,”
“course material,” “BA 230”,
click on the section with my name, Nancy King. The section Website contains the
syllabus and other materials for my sections of the course.
Additional
materials will be provided in class and/or on this Website.
Text Website: http://www.swlearning.com/blaw/ele/ele1e/ele1e.html
(includes practices quizzes for
each chapter; to access: click “interactive study center”, from the drop
down menu at the top, select the chapter that you want; then, click “interactive quiz”).
Office Hours:
Bexell Hall
Room 336, Tuesday, 10:45-11:45 a.m., Wednesday 1 - 2 p.m., Thursday, 3-4
p.m.. Drop-ins during office hours are
welcome; outside office hours appointments may be made. Office Phone: 737-3323. Email is encouraged. Send to: kingn@bus.oregonstate.edu.
READING/WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Generally
the assigned reading for each class includes one chapter from the Miller, Cross and Jentz text and/or
additional assigned readings as listed on this syllabus. See Assignment Schedule at the end of this
handout for the due dates for reading assignments. You are required to do the reading
assignments in the text before the
class for which it is assigned. Tips:
1) Prepare written answers to the questions at the beginning of each
chapter titled “Chapter Objectives.”
Some of these questions will be included on chapter tests and/or the
final exam. 2) Make sure you read the
court opinions (“cases”) in the chapter carefully and that you understand them.
You may need to read the entire chapter before reading the cases to fully
understand the courts’ opinions.
In
addition to the assigned reading, you will have 4 writing assignments. See Assignment Schedule at the end of this
handout for the due dates for writing assignments. Writing assignments must be typed and must be completed by class start time on the
due date. Your writing on these
assignments must be your own work. A
writing submission on these assignments that is too similar to that of another
student will result in neither student receiving credit for the assignment. It
is academic dishonesty for a student
to submit another student’s/person’s work as the student’s own work (in part or
whole) or to assist another student in the process of submitting another
student’s/person’s work as his or her own work. Late homework is not accepted
(see petition rule). You may always
turn in your writing assignments early to cover any absence that you know you
will have. To turn in work early, email them to me (in Microsoft Word) or turn
them in at my office (Bexell 336).
Brief Description of Writing Assignments:
·
Ethics: This assignment requires you to consider ethical issues in
scenarios involving management of a company, to read materials about corporate
social responsibility, and to write about your insights from an ethical and
social responsibility perspective.
·
Web Research Problems: This assignment requires you to use the Internet to
access Websites containing legal reference materials and to read and analyze
business law materials on the sites. You will prepare written answers to the
problems.
·
Legal Reasoning: this assignment involves reading and analyzing
judicial opinions, and writing about the meaning of those decisions.
·
Sustainability: You will do a written assignment involving
sustainable business practices. This
topic is not covered by your text, so it is important to be in class to learn
about sustainability and sustainable business practices.
Directions and other materials to complete these
assignments will be given in class and may also be posted on the course web
page.
SUSTAINABILITY: Consistent
with the
CLASS PARTICIPATION: Class participation points will be
assigned based on your participation in activities in class. These activities
are generally not announced in advance and you must be in class and participate
to earn the participation points. Most
class participation assignments are worth 10 points. To receive full credit for class
participation, you need to earn 100 class participation points. For example, the class may do a problem in
class and students who participate in the exercise will be asked to turn in a
record of their participation for class participation points. Also, a short “pop quiz” on the reading for
the day may be given as a class participation exercise. Pop quizzes will be
graded. There is no make-up of missed class participation points; however one
extra 10 point opportunity will be provided that will count toward the maximum
points for class participation.
CHAPTER TESTS
Four
chapter tests covering multiple chapters will be given as listed in Homework
Assignment chart at the end of this syllabus. A chapter test may be given
anytime during the class period. Your
three highest scores count towards your grade for the class. Questions may be objective or short
answer/essay. If you miss one or more chapter tests because
you are absent, late to class. or leave class early you will not be allowed to
make-up the test(s) or be given more time to complete the test(s). See Administrative Rules for Final Exam and
Chapter Tests, below.
Hint: You can take a practice quiz to
prepare for chapter test or review for the final exam by using the interactive
quizzes on the Text Website.
FINAL EXAM: The final exam is comprehensive and
may test any material (lecture, text, class problems, etc.) covered in the
course, however emphasis will be on the material covered beginning with Chapter
9 (Business Organizations) through the end of the course. See Administrative
Rules for Final Exam and Chapter Tests, below, for rules on using one sheet of
your notes on the Final Exam.
ADMINISTRATIVE RULES FOR FINAL EXAM
& CHAPTER TESTS/RULE ON NOTES FOR FINAL EXAM:
The Chapter
Tests are closed book, no notes will
be allowed.
On the Final Exam, you will
be allowed to use one page of notes for the Final Exam. These
notes must be your own notes (prepared only by you), typed or handwritten on an
8 ½ x 11 piece of paper; both sides may be used. You may be required to
turn in the page of notes with your final exam.
You may not photocopy pages
of the text, Power Point slides or any other materials from the class to
include in this page of notes. You may
not use the notes of other students, whether from this term or a previous
term. Failure to follow this rule will be considered evidence of academic
dishonesty. Note sheets may be examined by the instructor during the Final Exam
or may be required to be turned in with you test materials.
Identification for exams/rule on no
electronic equipment.
You are required to bring your student I.D. (with your picture) to the final exam. You are required to present your I.D. when
you turn in the final exam if asked. No
computers, cell phones, PDA’s, or other electronic equipment are permitted in
the final exam or in chapter tests.
STUDENT
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSIGNED MATERIALS
For all exams and chapter tests, you are
responsible for all materials in the text or other reading materials that are
assigned, unless expressly excluded. All
aspects of a chapter or other reading assignment will not necessarily be
covered in class and current material outside the text will be discussed in
class; consequently lecture material will be emphasized on the tests and
exams. You are encouraged to be present
for all classes and to take good notes.
WRITTEN PETITION FOR EXCEPTION TO
SYLLABUS RULES
If you have
a serious emergency or other extreme circumstances that prevent you from
complying with the rules in this syllabus you may make a written petition
for an exception. No make-ups of
chapter tests will be allowed until you have missed at least one chapter
test and then only if an emergency or other extreme situation caused
missing the Chapter Test(s). The
rule allowing you to miss (or drop) one chapter test already allows for routine
situations beyond your control which cause you to miss a class -- for example,
illnesses not requiring hospitalization, doctor’s appointments, court
appointments, work schedule conflicts, child care problems, and travel home for
a holiday or break or travel delays on returning to campus are not reasons to
petition to make up a chapter test because the ability to drop one chapter test
already allows for this.
Petition format/Time to Appeal: You must make your petition in
writing and state the circumstances and reasons you believe that an exception
should be made. Include your name, email
address, and class number (BA 230) and Section number on the petition.
Petitions regarding late homework or missed chapter tests will not be
considered unless received by me within one week of the due date or test date. Petitions to take the final exam on a date
different than the scheduled date must be made in advance, at least two weeks
in advance except for emergencies, and will be granted only for extreme
circumstances. You must deliver your petition to me by email. Do not deliver petitions
to my office, faculty services, or through the mail. If you are unable to take the final exam on the scheduled date for any
reason other than a conflict between two or more exams, I reserve the right to
substitute a 12 page, double spaced, research paper on an assigned legal topic
in lieu of the scheduled exam.
GRADING
Source of Grade: Available
Points
1. In Class Participation Points (10
points each) 100
2. Chapter Tests (4 chapter tests at
100 points each,
high 3 grades
count; maximum 300 points)
300
3. Writing Homework (4 assignments at
50 points each) 200
4.
Final
Exam
400
Maximum Possible Points 1000
**Unless there is a calculation error, grades are final unless
questioned within one week of receiving the grade and before the last day of
class.
**Course grades will be on a “+/-“ grading system.
You may calculate an estimate of your course
grade at any time during the term by adding up the points you have received and
determining if you have at least the minimum percentage of available points to
earn the applicable grade as follows:
A
>= 93% C >= 72%
A- 90% C- 70%
B+ 88% D+ 68%
B 82% D 62%
B- 80% D- 60%
C+ 78% F <=59%
DISABILITY
ACCOMMODATION
Students
with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any
emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need
special arrangements in the event of an evacuation, should make an appointment
with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the
term.
This syllabus is a guide, not a
contract, and therefore may be changed as necessary. If changes are made, the instructor will
announce them in class and place them on the board, generally at least one
class in advance of the due date for an assignment, etc.
Assignment Schedule
Includes Reading Assignments; Due
Dates for Writing Assignments
Schedule for Chapter Tests; and Final Exam
Date
Week of
|
Monday’s Class
|
Wednesday’s
Class
|
|
Jan. 3 &
5 |
Read: Chapter 1: Business and Its Legal
Environment. |
Read: Chapter 1 and Appendix to Chapter 1.. |
|
Jan. 10
& 12 |
Read: Chapter 2: The Court System. |
Read: Chapter 3: Alternative and Online Dispute
Resolution. |
|
Jan. 17
& 19 |
Martin
Luther King Day (NO CLASS) |
Read: Chapter 4: Ethics and Business Decision Making. Chapter Test Today (chapters 1, 2, and 3). |
|
Jan. 24
& 26 |
Read: Chapter 5: Constitutional Law. Writing Assignment #1 Due Today: “Focus on Ethics,” text
p.143-146: prepare written answers to Questions
1, 3, 4 and 5. |
Read: Chapter 6: Administrative Law. |
|
Jan. 31
and Feb. 2 |
Read: Chapter 7: Criminal Law and Cyber Crimes
(skip Criminal Procedure, pages 227-238 – do read Cyber Crime, pages 238 to
end). Chapter Test Today (chapters 4, 5, & 6).
|
Read: Chapter 8: International and Comparative Law (Reading
Assignment limited to pages 246-260; prepare answers to chapter objective
questions 1-4 only) Writing Assignment #2 Due Today: Web Research Problems (problems
will be handed out in class and posted on the course website at least one
week in advance). |
|
Feb. 7
& 9 |
Read: Class Handout on Sustainable
Business Enterprises. Important Note: The material for this class on sustainability is not found
in the text. It will be provided in the form of supplementary reading
assignments, PowerPoint slides, and lecture material. |
Read: Chapter 9: Business Organizations (skip
“private franchises,” p. 302-307; prepare answers to chapter objective
questions 1-2, and 5 only). Writing Assignment #3 Due Today: “Focus on Legal Reasoning”: Katsky
v. Nike, Inc., p. 275-277 (prepare written answers to Questions 1, 2, 3 and 4; see Web
Links on page one of the Course Web page for tips on using the Lexis database
to locate the Bolger v. Young Drug
Products Corp., 463 U.S. 60 (1983) case). |
|
|
Monday’s Class |
Wednesday’s Class |
|
Feb. 14
& 16 |
Read: Chapter 10: Contract Law. (skip
“third party rights,” p. 345-347; prepare answers to chapter objective
questions 1-3, 5 only)) Chapter Test Today (chapters
7, 8, 9 and Sustainability). |
Read: Chapter 11: Sales, Leases and E-Contracts
(skip “Title, Risk & Insurable Interest” through “Revocation of
Acceptance,” p. 377 through middle of p. 395; prepare answers to chapter
objective questions 1, 5 only) Writing Assignment # 4 Due Today: Sustainable Business Practices. |
|
Feb. 21
& 23 |
Read: Chapter 12: Torts and Product Liability. |
Read: Chapter 13: Intellectual Property and Internet
Law; Chapter 12, cont’d. |
|
Feb. 28
and Mar. 2 |
Chapter 13, cont’d. |
Read: Chapter 14: Employment Law. Chapter Test Today (chapters 10,
11, 12 and 13). |
|
Mar. 7
& 9 |
Chapter 14, cont’d. In Class Extra Credit Opportunity Today – you
must be present to participate. |
Read: Chapter 15: Employment Discrimination (skip p.
546 [discrimination based on age] through top of page 560) -- do read “defenses to employment
discrimination starting at p. 560 to end of chapter) Practice
test in class today
(chapters 14, 15) (this is not graded). Discussion
of Final Exam |
|
Mar.14-19 |
Finals Week: Final Exam on all material
assigned and/or covered in the class for the term. Date/Time: Monday, 7:30
a.m., building_______ and room______ to be announced later. |
|
Last revised 12/29/04