Course Description
The Legal Environment of Business distance-learning teleweb is a survey course, emphasizing the regulation of business and public law. The intent of the course is to familiarize the business student with the extent of laws, rules, and administrative regulations that affect the operation of a private business in our capitalistic system, based on open competition.
What’s a Teleweb Class?
A teleweb class uses videotapes or DVD’s to supplement materials you will find on the Web and in your textbook. Telewebs also include computer use and electronic communication. This is a unique experience for students who is self-motivated and dedicated to learning course materials on their own schedule.
Required Text:
The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce, 4th Edition, Henry Cheeseman, ISBN: 0-13-146533-3, Prentice Hall, 2005. Your textbook may be found in any of the campus bookstores.
If you want to buy your textbook online you may do so by going to The Online Bookstore
Video Series
There are free videos that accompany this course available for check out in the Non-print section of the Clarkston Learning Resources Center (Library) that supplement the material in your text and WebCT Vista classroom. The tapes may be checked out for the duration of your class and are viewed in correlation with chapters in your book. Ask for the tapes for BUSA 2106.
How to reach me:
You may reach me via e-mail at dmoon@gpc.edu or call my office (678-891-1787) or cell (404-431-6795). Please do not call past
9:30 p.m. I am an administrator at the College and located on the Decatur campus. If you like to drop by my office, I am located on the
Decatur campus. Please call for an appointment first with my assistant, Peggy Davis, at 678-891-2428. Because this is a distance-learning class, we will communicate mainly via the Internet using WebCT Vista and e-mail. I will reply within 48 hours, except on weekends and the Fourth of July.
Your Responsibilities in the Class:
1. Your first job is to go to the Teleweb Orientation page, review my introduction and then thoroughly review this syllabus. Next, purchase your text and check out the BUSA 2106 videotapes from the Non-Print section of the Clarkston Library. The tapes provide supplemental material to give an overview of basic concepts.
2. Make sure I have an accurate e-mail address for you. While your work and assignments are posted in a WebCT Vista classroom, in the event of technical problems with the system, I want to be able to reach you as soon as possible via a communications source external to WebCT. Send me an e-mail after completing the reading of this syllabus with the following statement: “I have read and understood the syllabus for the BUSA 2106 class and agreed to comply with its policies and procedures.”
3. Since we're in a business law class and you will soon be business professionals, you must complete all work on time and in a professional manner.
4. You are going to have to manage time effectively, especially since there is a condensed time frame for the class. I tried to create in your course outline below a time management tool that lets you know when you should be reading certain chapters, focusing on certain concepts and when projects/assignments/tests are due.
5. First time teleweb students: if you're not familiar with WebCT Vista or need some refreshing, please take time to go to the student orientation page at http://www.gpc.edu/~gpcwebct/VistaOrientation/index.html.
6. In order to access the teleweb class, you must apply for a WebCT Vista user ID ( i..e., jdmithsu05) and password. Please visit http://www.gpc.edu/webct/ or http://gpc.edu/studentid to obtain your WebCT Vista user ID and password. Use your user ID and password to access our virtual classroom. Do not use your GPC e-mail ID.
7. Previous Teleweb students: each semester you must apply for a new, current semester WebCT Vista user ID and password. Students will not be able to access the current semester Teleweb with an old, previous semester WebCT ID and password.
8. Need help? Go to our WebCT Vista Help page http://www.gpc.edu/~gpcwebct/gethelp.htm If you're having trouble logging on with the current WebCT ID or having other computer problems, please contact our support desk at http://gpc.edu/webct/repform.html or call 404-299-4232.
9. Please visit http://www.gpc.edu/webct/analyzer to make sure your web browser version and capabilities are compatible with web C. T. Vista.
10. Have fun! Law is a hoot!
Course Objectives:
You should be able to demonstrate in your BUSA 2106 tests and projects an understanding of the following concepts:
How the government and the legal system impact business relations in the
United States.
The structure of the legal system today
The role of the regulatory system and the changes that have taken place over time.
The legal problems in the areas of employment discrimination, torts, contracts, environmental regulation, property regulation, consumer protection, securities regulation, antitrust law, and product liability.
How a law suit would proceed through the legal system
How entrepreneurship is impacted by legal decisions concerning organizational structure and function.
In addition, you should demonstrate the ability to analyze problems, and display the appropriate legal concepts through use of the case-study method, and you should have a strong grasp on legal terminology associated with the business community.
Course Outline and Requirements:
Week 1 June 27
Nature of Law and Critical Legal Thinking (Chapter 1, pp. 1-6, 11-24 , Chapter review pp.24-25, Video lesson 1)
Assignment One: Know Your Rights! Consumer law in
Georgia (see below) due June 29, 2005.
Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution and Ethics and Social Responsibility of Business (chapters 2 and 4, Video lesson 2, and chapter review pp.54 -57 and 108)
Assignment Two: Divorce American-style: Understanding Court Procedure due July 1, 2005
Negligence and Intentional Torts and Business Crimes and Criminal Law
(Video lesson 3, Chapters 5 and 7, Chapter Review pp. 140- 143 and 201- 204)
Week 2 July 4
Product and Strict Liability (Chapter 6 and Video lesson 18, Chapter review pp. 170- 172)
Assignment Three: Knocked out at the Ballpark!: Who’s Liable? Due
July 6, 2005
http://myphlip.pearsoncmg.com/blawcases/students/hypoth_cases_stu/negligence_bllprk_hyp.cfm
Intellectual Property and Information Technology (no video lesson, Chapter 8 and review p. 234)
Formation of Traditional and Online Contracts (Chapter 10 / video lessons 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, )
Performance of Contracts and Remedies for Breach (to Chapter 11 and video lessons 13, 14, 19)
Assignment Four Two Contracts for Donald Trump: Understanding Contract Law due July 8, 2005
Week 3 July 11
Midterm exam, July 12, 2005 covers chapters 2, 4, 5 6, 7, 8, 10, 11. Exam will be posted at 9:00 a.m. Your answers due back via e-mail by
11 p.m.
Agency Law (Chapter 13 , video lesson 24 and 25, chapter review pp. 388 -391)
Entrepreneurship, Sole Proprietorship, and Franchising (Chapter 14, no corresponding video, review pages 416 -418)
Withdrawal drop date July 15 Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies (Chapter 15, review pp. 445 – 448)
Domestic and Multinational Corporations (Chapter 16 pp. 453-476 and chapter review 483-489)
Week 4 July 18
Assignment Five Starting Your Own Business: Legal and Financial Building Blocks due July 18, 2005
Labor and Worker Protection law (Chapter 17, Chapter review pp.518 – 521, video lesson 30)
Equal Opportunity in Employment (Chapter 18, Chapter review 549-551 )
Assignment Six The Tough Woman: Employment Law Issues at Work due July 21, 2005
Site:
http://myphlip.pearsoncmg.com/blawcases/students/hypoth_cases_stu/discrim_employment_hyp.cfm
Administrative Law and Consumer Protection (Chapter 19, video lesson 29, review pp. 578-581)
Environmental Protection (Chapter 20 and review pp. 604-607, video lesson 29)
Antitrust Law (Chapter 21 and review pp. 633-637)
Week 5 July 25
Investor Protection and Securities Regulation (Chapter 22 and review pp. 667- 671)
Personal and Real Property (Chapter 23, video lesson 26 and 27, review pp. 700 -703)
Final Exam (comprehensive)
July 29, 2005 Exam will be posted at 9 a.m. will be due back to me by 11 p.m. via e-mail.
Due to course objectives, please note that only selected sections of several chapters are covered. Video lessons 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19-24 are not covered in BUSA-2106. They are material from future business law classes.
Evaluation Method
:Because this is a law class, you will not have the typical assignments you find in many of your classes. If you are a business man or woman, and you have a legal problem, it will not be presented to you in a fill in the blank or multiple-choice form. Life, of course, is much more complicated than that. So in keeping with the way that life presents us with problems, most of your assignments are case studies requiring research and analysis to determine the correct answer.
All projects/ tests will be returned to you with a grade within 48 business hours (excludes holidays and weekends!)
Knowing your Consumer Rights in Georgia: Legal Research Exercise 10%
Knocked Out at the Ballpark: Who’s Liable? 10%
Two Contracts for Donald Trump: Understanding Contract Law 10%
Divorce American-style Understanding Court Procedure 10%
The Tough Woman: Employment Law Issues at Work 10%
Starting your Own Business: Legal and Financial Building Blocks 10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 20%
Your grade in this class will be based on your performance on exams and your class assignments. The grading scale used is listed in the Georgia Perimeter College Catalog, for example, 90 –100 = A, etc.
Your first class project for the semester is the following:
BUSA 2106 Project:Understanding your Consumer Rights in Georgia: A Legal Research Exercise
You told several members of your family at a Sunday dinner that you are taking a law class in college, and suddenly everyone starts asking you for legal advice. Your mother ordered a sofa on sale at Rafferty’s Furniture and when she got it in her house, the colors did not look good with her wall color. She called the store and told them to take back the furniture, but they said they don’t give refunds on sale merchandise. Your Aunt Bessie said she bought a car at Honest Bob’s Used Cars on Memorial Drive and she has had it in the shop almost constantly since her purchase, with bad transmission problems and leaking oil. You have learned that the law varies from state to state, so you know that you need to find out what consumer law is available in Georgia to protect their rights. Starting at the Georgia Site (http://www.state.ga.us/) and going to the Business, Labor and Employment site, checkout consumer rights and see what remedies each of them has, if any. Write a clearly written answer for both situations, stating their legal rights in the State of
Georgia listing the website where you found your information. Please limit your answer for each situation to no more than two sentences! You may begin this assignment at any time and e-mail to me at dmoon@gpc.edu.
Withdrawal Policy
In order to withdraw with a W, you must do so before mid-semester (
July 15, 2005). It is the responsibility of the student who wishes to withdraw to complete all relevant paperwork before the drop date for a W. Students who withdraw after this date or fail to file the appropriate paperwork will receive an F in the course.
Turning in Projects and Tests on Time:
We live in a culture that values time. When you enter the business world you'll find that there is no excuse for being late with a project. Since I've lived about a thousand years, I have already heard the most interesting excuses ranging from my computer crashed, baby is sick, I developed a brain tumor last week and my personal favorite, my grandmother died. Being late with assignments and projects will jeopardize your grade. Assignments will lose twenty points for every day they are late. Your exams are timed and cannot be late or they will not be accepted.
Missed Tests and Assignments:
Make-up quizzes, assignments projects and tests are not given. Missing an exam or failing to complete your project assignments will result in a zero for those points.
Cheating or Plagiarism:
Any person caught cheating on exams or plagiarizing any outside materials or other works will be dealt with according to College regulations. Cheating includes any attempt to defraud, deceive or mislead the instructor in arriving at honest grade assessment. Cheating of any kind may result in a penalty ranging from grade of zero to grade death of the class. In addition the alleged violation will be referred to
College Court for penalty assignment, which may include suspension from the College. Please read the
Georgia Perimeter College Catalog for further information.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Center for Disabilities Services provides accommodations to students with qualified disabilities as defined by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Accommodations are individualized and flexible based on the nature and impact of a disability and educational environment. If you are a student, documentation of a disability from an appropriate professional is required. Each campus has a disability counselor. For additional information please visit http://www.gpc.edu/cds and/or call a counselor at one of the following locations:
Clarkston Campus and District Office
Decatur Campus and Rockdale Center
Dunwoody and Alpharetta campuses
Lawrenceville campus: 678-407-5146
The Regents Test
The University System of Georgia requires that all students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs in University System institutions including Georgia Perimeter College successfully complete all parts of a competency exam in Reading and English composition. This competency exam is commonly called the Regents Test and it is free of charge. A student has two attempts to pass the test before accumulating 45 hours of collegiate credit. Please sign up for the Regents Test when you enroll in English 1102. Do this in time to have two attempts before accumulating 45 credit hours!
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
No person shall, on the grounds, or race, color, sex, religion, creed, national origin, age or disability, be excluded from employment or participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity conducted by Georgia Perimeter College.
Affirmative-Action
Georgia Perimeter College adheres to affirmative action policies designed to promote diversity and equal opportunity for all faculty and students. |
