Georgia Highlands College

BUSA 2106 – Environment of Business

Fall Semester, 2007

T 6:30-9:15, CRN # 80009, W202

 

John Reiners … jreiners@highlands.edu

Office: W 121, Main Campus

Phone: 706/368-7510 (Bus Dept) … 706/295-6327 (Bus. Department) … 706/295-4450 (home)

Office hours: MTWR 1:30-2:30, or by appointment

 

Prerequisites:  READ 0099; ENGL 0099

 

Materials:

            1) Reed, O. Lee, et al.  2005.  The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business.  McGraw-Hill, 13th ed.

            2) Handouts, cases, internet sites, & exercises as assigned.

3) Class PowerPoints, assignments, and syllabus are available on WebCT at http://highlands.view.usg.edu

 

Course Description:  This course is intended to introduce students to the legal environment of business in the United States.  The course provides an introduction to the political, social, ethical, environmental, and technological issues which form the context for business.  The course includes an overview of the American legal system, a review of trade regulation and antitrust laws, a review of employment law, and discussion of selected issues such as consumer protection, product liability, and environmental protection.

 

Course Objectives:

·         To understand law, rule of law, classifications of law, & sources of law

·         To understand the court system and litigation process

·         To distinguish law from ethics – and their different relation to society, government, & business

·         To understand the how the US Constitution applies to business

o        how regulatory agencies apply constitution to businesses

·         To understand tort cases in business

·         To understand the specific laws affecting business:

o        Securities regulation

o        Trade and antitrust laws

o        Employment laws

o        Environment protection

·         To write and speak logically and clearly about legal issues in business.

 

Method of Instruction:  Each class will have specific objectives; and assignments, exams, and projects are tied to these objectives.  Classes will include lecture, discussion, individual presentations, group exercises, and individual projects.  Active student involvement and participation is an important part of the learning process (and of your grade).  Teaching methods stress application of business concepts to real life situations and understanding business principles that are evident in the daily headlines. 

 

Note: this syllabus is provided as a guideline to help student understand the content, the expectations, the assignments, and the grading procedures of BUSA 2106; and some variations from this syllabus may be necessary during the course.

BUSA 2106 – fall semester 2007 -- page 2

 

Grading:                     Exams (5 – drop low)                                      50 %

                                    Individual projects                                           40 %

                                       E-mail (bio & best/worst law)                            --

                                       Homework (11 – drop low)                 10%

                                       You be the judge cases (4 – drop low)             10%

                                       Legal Project/presentation (1)                          10%             

                                       Quizzes (7 – drop low)                                   10%

                                    Class participation/exercises                            _10 %

                                                total                                                                100 %

           

Class participation:  Attendance is critical to success in this class and in the business world.  Good attendance means arriving on time, being attentive, and staying for the full class.  The instructor should be notified any time the student is expecting to miss a class or be late.  Participation includes in-class exercises, discussion, and e-mails to instructor.

 

Exams:  There will be four exams plus a final; they will typically include 35 multiple choice questions and three essay questions.  Students may substitute their average or median test grade of four tests for their fifth test grade. The questions will be based on materials covered in class PowerPoints, class discussion, and the text. 

 

Quizzes:  Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class and collected at 6:40.  The quizzes will be open book, open notes – and students are encouraged to collaborate with other students.  The low quiz grade will be dropped.  But no make-up quizzes are given.

 

Individual Assignments: During this semester each student will analyze specific business cases or legal issues.  Seven individual assignments are scheduled (more details will be provided later):

            1)  E-mail re biographic information:  Students will send e-mail with basic biographic information; brief job history; personal questions/interactions with legal system; and examples of a best and worst business law or government regulation.

            2)  Homework:  End of the chapter questions will be assigned as homework for the chapters covered.  Homework will be collected and discussed at the beginning of class.  The low homework grade will be dropped.

            3)  You Be the Judge cases:  Students will be required to respond to several true/false & multiple choice questions and write up a brief verdict.  The low grade will be dropped. 

            4)  Legal presentation:  Each student will be assigned a legal topic/case.  The student is responsible for 1-2 minute presentation to class summarizing the topic/case to the class and presenting a relevant example of this issue from the news media.  Students will also submit an outline of their report including a summary of the issue, identification of relevant event, explanation of the relevance, and a copy of the news article.

            5) Quizzes:  Quizzes will be given during the semester at the beginning of class.  Quizzes will focus on application of legal principles, and students may use their book, notes, and other students to answer the questions.

            6) Extra credit assignments:  Each student has the chance to earn an additional two points for an up-coming test by summarizing a current business legal issue for the class.  A 1-2 minute presentation in front of the class will describe the situation, identify the key legal issue, and briefly discuss the expected outcome.  A copy of the article and an outline of the student’s presentation are required.

 

Calculation of grades: Grades will be scored numerically with A's for 90+, B's for 80-89, C's for 70-79, D's for 60-69, and F's for 59-.

BUSA 2106 – Fall Semester 2007  -- page 3 -- Class Schedule --- tentative

Date

Topic

Assignment

Aug 21

Introduction … law & business … Stella awards & McD’s case … types & sources of law

 

Ch 1 …

Aug 28

 

Types of law … terminology … ch 1 bus discussion … ethics

Ch 1-2;

Ch 1: 1, 3-4, 6-8, 10, 13, 14-16;

Quiz 1

Sep 4

Court system … personnel … state & federal courts … power of judicial review

Ch 3

e-mail  with bio & 2 b/w laws

You be the judge 1

Ch 3: 1-9

Sep 11

Court system … international law

 

Ch 3, 18

Ch 18: 1-4 … Quiz 2

Sep 18

Exam 1

 

Ch 1-3, 18

 

Sep 25

Return exam 1

Litigation process … ADR

 

Ch 4-5

Ch 4: 1-4, 6-9, 11-17

Quiz 3

Oct 1

ADR & US Constitution

 

 

Ch 5-6

Ch 5: 1-4, 6, 9, 12-13

You be the judge 2

Oct 2

US Constitution

 

Ch 6

Ch 6: 1-2, 4-5, 8-12

Quiz 4

Oct 9

 

Oct 9

Exam 2

 

Last day to drop with W

Ch 4-6

 

 

Oct 16

Contracts & Property

Ch 7-8 ; Ch 7: 1-5, 9-11, 15-16

Ch 8: 1-3, 6-12; Quiz 5

Oct 23

Torts

Ch 9

Ch 9: 1, 3, 5, 7-8, 10, 13-14, 16, 19-20

You be the judge 3

Oct 30

Criminal law

 

Ch 10

Ch 10: 1-9 … Quiz 6

Nov 6

Exam 3

 

Ch 7-10

 

Nov 13

Return exam; regulatory process Employment law & discrimination

Ch 12, 14

Ch 14: 1-4; Quiz 7

 

Nov 20

Discrimination

Ch 15: 1, 3-6, 8-9, 13-14, 18

Nov 27

 

Securities regulation

 

Ch 16

You be the judge 4

Dec 4

Exam 4

Ch 12, 14-17

Dec 11

Final Exam @ 6:00

 

 

Page 4                                                  ASSIGNMENTS & POLICIES

 

Assignments:  All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date due.  All assignments are to be clearly titled (including student name and date) and to be typed.  Please assume that nothing will go right.  Do your work early and be pleasantly surprised when all goes well.  Keep copies of all your assignments.  I encourage everyone to find a study partner(s) to work with and discuss class problems.  Note: all assignments must be completed individually.  Late assignments are accepted but penalized -- by midnight of date due = 5% penalty; within one week = 20% penalty; later than one week = 50% penalty.

Written assignments:  Writing style counts!  Clarity, organization, and grammar will be evaluated as part of your grade.  Hard copies of all assignments are expected unless otherwise noted.  DO NOT USE PLASTIC COVERS for your assignments; I prefer a simple staple in upper left hand corner.

Internet assignments:  Students need to demonstrate competence in sending e-mail.  Be sure to use your GHC e-mail account (or set up this account to forward mail to your current address).  As well, use of internet sites in research for presentation and class projects is encouraged.  Be sure to use good reasoning and analysis in your choice of internet sites!  Electronic submission of assignments must be in Microsoft WORD documents.  E-mail is notoriously unreliable.  If you are submitting an assignment by e-mail, always be sure to keep copies of that assignment and the corresponding e-mail.   

Attendance:  Just like a business environment, 100% attendance is expected.  If you must miss a class, you must notify me (by e-mail preferably) BEFORE class.  Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class.  Students arriving late must see the instructor to be counted.  Consistent or severe lateness will be counted as absence from class.  Attendance means being on time, staying the whole class, and being attentive. 

Internet usage:  Students need to demonstrate competence in sending e-mail messages to instructor.  Students should regularly check for e-mail messages from me.  Use of internet sites for research & support of assignments is encouraged as long as students carefully evaluate the source of the information.

Make-up exams:  Students are allowed to drop one exam.  Students who miss an exam will automatically use that exam as their dropped exam. 

Save all graded assignments:  Just in case.

Classroom decorum:  Students are expected to behave in class as if they were participating in a professional business meeting at work.  Courteous and civil behavior is expected.  Pagers and cell-phones are to be turned off during class.  Students who must be “on call” during class may set they phones to a silent ring, but they must have my permission.  Students are asked to be recognized before speaking.  Interruption of others or talking while others are speaking is unacceptable behavior.  The instructor has the right to reassign the seat of any student.

Computers:  Laptop computers may be brought to class and turned on only with the instructor’s permission.  All class projects can be completed using desktop computers at home or the college computers in student labs.

Plagiarism and cheating:  Plagiarism (presenting the work of others as your own) and cheating on exams are expressly forbidden.  Students caught plagiarizing or cheating will receive a failing grade on that assignment and will be subject to dismissal from the class. Students are referred to the Floyd College Academic Integrity Policy at  http://www.floyd.edu/subwebs/academicaffairs/academicintegritypolicy.htm

Financial Aid Students:  Federal regulations state that if students did not attend classes and received failing grades, then their federal financial aid is reduced accordingly.  Students who have earned at least one passing grade on an assignment for the semester will not be affected by this regulation.

Students with special needs:  Any student who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should make an appointment with the College Access Center (706: 802-5003) to coordinate reasonable accommodations.  You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your specific needs.

Food & Drinks in Class:  Food and drinks in class can be very distracting.  Please limit any food or drinks during class; and please consume them quietly with the consideration of fellow students in mind.

Extended Absence Policy:  Students who have circumstances that require them to miss more than 15% of the class sessions for the term must receive written permission from the Division Chair before any course assignments can be completed while missing class.  The student must be in good academic standing in the course to make the request. All approved coursework must be completed by the end of the semester in which the course was begun.

All students: Please contact me if you are having trouble.  Please do not wait until you have failed assignments or tests; if you don’t understand something see me.  I will do all I can to assure your success in this class.