PREREQUISITES: BMGT 110. Obviously it helps if you have just done 380, because many of the legal concepts explained in 380 will be familiar to you;  the University strongly recommends that 380 be taken before 381. I strongly recommend that if you have not done 380, you talk to me before the start of the course.  You will be assumed to know about tort law, contract law, and business organizations.

Assuming you have completed 380, you have all the concepts you need to make this a relatively easy course. You understand a "duty of care" which is the standard an agent must meet towards his/her principal. Breaches give rise to negligence claims against agents or partners or corporate executives. You understand warranties, and negotiable instruments (in 381) come with warranties. You understand two-party contracts, and negotiable instruments are really only slightly loopy three-party ones where the bank becomes a third player in the transaction.  You understand the concept of "reasonableness" that underlies so much of the legal system, and it reappears over and over in 381.  And the same sort of questions roll over into BMGT 381: where should the risk fall? Who is in a better position to protect against possible loss? These are issues you should be ready for.

1. analyze real, personal, and intellectual property rights, obligations, liabilities, and remedies in the business environment

2. demonstarte ability to apply principles of commercial transactions, negotiable instruments, and banking transactions in the business environment

3. analyze and apply principles of secured transactions, creditor-debtor rights, and bankruptcy in the business environment

4. determine appropriate actions in the business environment based on an understanding of administrative law and consumer and environmental protection.
 

BMGT 381: Business Law II consists of the following topic areas:

• Topic Area 1: Property Law
• Topic Area 2: Negotiable Instruments
• Topic Area 3: Financial Regulation of Markets
• Topic Area 4: Employment, Consumer, & Environmental Protection

We start with a discussion of property law, and the transfer of property in wills -- a tremendously important issue in the light of the Boomers, because coming soon will be one of the biggest transfers of wealth from one generation to the next that we've ever seen.

We move on to look at the easy transfer of property via negotiable instruments.  This seems easy.

But then we realize that the one thing we invest most of our time and effort in -- our jobs -- aren't ours.  We have no property rights in employment.  Indeed, the US Constitution protects individual political rights, but not economic rights.

And as any union negotiator will tell you, when things get rough at work, the company can always declare bankruptcy and slip in to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  So much for that bonus you were promised at the end of the year.  We'll consider Anti-Trust as a means of controlling anti-social corporate behavior, but as we look at Consumer and Environmental laws, we'll see that the air you breathe and the sea you (used to) swim in can be fouled and you -- the individual -- have no property interest to assert.  Everyone owns it and nobody does.  Its the Tragedy of the Global Commons.

DATES
 

ASSESSMENT

Mid-Term       25%
Final Exam      30%
Two Essays     20%
Particiapation   25%

Writing Standards.  Faculty are strongly encouraged to base assessment on essays rather than on multiple choice or True/False questions.  When in doubt, the essay is to be preferred over other forms of assessment.   To some degree, there is an assumption on the part of faculty that you know how to write essays, and that your written English is up to it.  The current UMUC European Division Catalog states:

Students should understand that the quality of their writing will affect their grade point average.... Acceptable college-level writing expresses thoughts in a logical, well-organized form, using proper grammar and complete sentences, and correct punctuation and spelling.

Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are not acceptable and will mean a grade of F (Failure).  Academic dishonesty means (but is not limited to) getting someone else to prepare work for you, or helping another person with their assigned and examinable work. Plagiarism means passing off someone else's work as your own, and frequently involves copying reports or pages directly from other people's Internet sites - and I know there are other, on-line, Business Law course sites you can go to. You can avoid plagiarism by giving credit where credit is due - record the sources of your work, learn how to quote properly, and cite the books, articles or web pages you have used for your information. It may sound like simple manners, but failure to live by the rules has serious academic consequences.

GRADES

The final grade for the course will be based on the scores/grades earned from the exams, assignments (i.e. research paper, case briefings, etc), class participation and other assigned work. Quality and timeliness of completing all assignments will also be a factor in the determination of the final grade.

• A - 90% - 100% - Outstanding Scholarship
• B - 80% - 89% - Excellent Work
• C - 70% - 79% - Good Achievement
• D - 60% - 69% - Marginal or unsatisfactory Performance
• F(a) - Below 60% - Academic Failure
• F(n) Failure for Non-Attendance (students are required to withdraw if they are absent for more than 25% of the course.  If students do not withdraw, but remain absent, they receive a grade of F(n).

W - Withdrawal

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

By registering for this course, you have made a commitment to all the requirements for this course. The syllabus delineates the planned requirements for the semester. Other assignments, such as case briefings, problems, exercises, and so forth may be assigned either at the beginning of or during the course. Please note that the schedule is only a guide, and at times we may either fall behind or progress ahead, depending on the circumstances.

You are responsible for ensuring you have ordered the text in time to receive it before the class starts, and for attendance and participation, for keeping up with the syllabus reading, for answering the problems or discussion questions in the various conferences or other issues that arise during the class discussions, and for attempting to understand the issues explained in the course. It will be your responsibility in the assignments and exam to demonstrate that you have read and understood the textbook, lectures and course materials and discussion, and can apply that understanding and knowledge to practical problems.

Remember that there is a 20% component of the final course grade based on participation. You have made a commitment to participate regularly in the course conferences and all other online activities. Your participation grade will be determined by the quality and timeliness of your participation in all online activities and assignments.  This may seem unfair, but some minimum of student participation is necessary to make this distance education class into a course that is more like a real college course than just a correspondence course. At a minimum, you should pick up and respond to messages every other day (minimum three times per week). Your contributions needn't be lengthy essays: try to emulate how you would contribute to a conversation going on in a live classroom.  I also look for / expect a minimum of four (4) posts per conference:  your own postings AND a substantive reply to someone else's work.  I'd really like to see you working with your colleagues in the class rather than carrying out a dialogue with me, or worse - a monolgue conducted at the end of each conference when no-one has time to reply to you.

For a more complete explanation of my standards for participation: Click Here

If you are unsure about any of this, then contact me, please.