STEVEN

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON G. MIHAYLO COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS AND ITS LEGAL ENVIRONMENT (MGMT 246) COURSE SYLLABUS FOR SPRING 2012 PROFESSOR CHARLES H. SMITH
Course Schedule ScheduleSection Number 12979-1 Day Wednesday Time 7:00-9:45 p.m. Room SGMH 1502

Contact Information Office: SGMH 5349 Office e-mail: chsmith@fullerton.edu Office hours: Tuesday, 4:45-6:45 p.m.; Wednesday, 1:453:45 p.m.; and by appointment Course Procedures Introduction. Management 246 is a required course for all business majors. You should not take this course if you have taken a transferable business law course at another college (please check with the Department of Management). This course has no prerequisites. This is a survey course, so we will be covering a wide variety of legal and ethical concepts instead of studying a limited number of issues in depth. Open-Door Policy. My policy has always been open-door. Therefore, you should not hesitate to contact me in person or by e-mail1 or telephone. Please be advised that e-mails may contain confidential information such as grades. Therefore, consider whether other people (e.g., family members or employers) have access to your e-mail address before transmitting or requesting confidential information in an e-mail.
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Office telephone: (657) 278-5680 Department telephone: (657) 2782251 Website: http://faculty.fullerton.edu/chsmith

Reading. The text for this course is Cross & Miller, The Legal Environment of Business (8th edition, 2012). This is a new textbook for this course that we started using in Fall 2011. We will cover a significant amount of the text during the semester. Course readings will include chapters from the text plus a handout to which there will be a link on the PowerPoint presentation for Agency and Employment Law. Teaching Methods. The primary teaching method will be lecture though I will frequently request class participation. It is my policy that you attend and be prepared for each class session. Reading the text is important, but regular class attendance and participation will enhance and clarify the material presented in the text. On a more tangible level, case studies and examples discussed in class often become inspiration for exam questions. Academic Dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes such things as cheating, inventing false information or citations, plagiarism, and helping someone else commit an act of academic dishonesty. It usually involves an attempt by a student to show possession of a level of knowledge or skill which he or she does not possess (CSUF 2011-13 Catalog, page 69). For a more complete discussion of academic dishonesty in general and terms such as cheating and plagiarism in particular, please refer to the CSUF 2011-13 Catalog, pages 69-70 and 73. In accordance with the matters set forth therein, it is my rule to award a score of zero for any violation, and I reserve the right to report any violation to the appropriate CSUF administrator(s). Study Guides. The PowerPoint presentations used in my classes can serve as study guides as well as outlines for taking notes during lectures. Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices. Please turn off all cell phones and other electronic devices except for laptop computers during class. Note that off does not include vibrate. No one needs to talk on the phone or receive/send a text message during class. Penalties for violation of this admonition include confiscation, ejection, humiliation and other deleterious impacts. Additionally, while the use of laptop computers is 2

permitted during class, I reserve the right to revoke this permission at any time. Sleeping in Class. While not advisable, students often sleep in class. This is permitted though you may be subject to ridicule, especially if you later ask a question pertaining to something that was discussed during your siesta. Arriving to Class Late or Leaving Class Early. While also not advisable, it is better to attend part of a class than to miss class entirely. However, regularly being tardy and/or leaving early can be a symptom of a lack of focus which often results in a lower grade. In any event, please be quiet and courteous if you arrive late or leave early. E-mail. I plan to send group e-mails to all students enrolled in this class from time to time during the semester. Therefore, please check your CSUF e-mail account regularly so you do not miss important announcements which might involve procedural issues such as class cancellation or substantive issues such as changes in the course curriculum. Students with Disabilities. CSUF requires students with disabilities to register with the Office of Disabled Student Services (UH-101, (657) 2783112) in order to receive prescribed accommodations appropriate to their disability. Students requesting accommodations should inform the instructor during the first week of classes about any disability or special needs that may require specific arrangements/accommodations related to attending class sessions, completing course assignments, writing papers or exams. We Have a Great Building! Our Steven G. Mihaylo Hall (SGMH) is dedicated to the College of Business and Economics. SGMH is truly something in which we can all take pride. Lets all do our part to maintain SGMH by and this is not an exclusive list cleaning up after ourselves, not eating or drinking anything in the classroom except water, and refraining from marking on the desks, chairs, walls and other surfaces. Legal Advice. Please direct all of your personal legal inquiries to an attorney of your choice (not me) or the

College Legal Clinic, which can be contacted at (657) 2785850. Exams and Grades Exams. There will be three exams which will each cover specific subject matter. There will be no cumulative exams. All three exams will be comprised of multiplechoice questions only. You must take all exams with the class in which you are registered. Make-up exams will be given only upon a showing of good cause (please see the section below entitled Make-up Exams for details). You must provide your own Scantron Form No. 882-E and a #2 pencil for each exam. You are responsible for the condition of the Scantron you provide. This includes but is not limited to answers scored wrong due to erasures or folds in the Scantron. Practice Exam. A practice exam covering all subjects in the course will be posted on my website early in the semester. The practice exam is valuable to enable you to become attuned to my style as well as for review of the subject matter. The practice exam is comprised of the exams given during Fall 2009, so the style and difficulty of the questions on the practice exam should be very similar to the style and difficulty of the questions on the exams you will take this semester. While we will not review the practice exam in class, I encourage you to contact me to discuss the practice exam if you have any inquiries about specific questions. If you make inquiries about the practice exam by way of e-mail, please cut and paste the question and all of the choices, indicating which choice you think is correct along with your comments. An answer key is on the last page of the practice exam. Extra Credit. No extra credit will be offered in this class. Please use time and effort that you could have devoted to doing extra credit to studying and otherwise preparing for the exams. Make-up Exams. Any professor reserves the right to give or not give a make-up exam at his or her discretion. I believe that a make-up exam should be given if the student has some kind of good cause for not being able to take any exam according to the exam schedule set forth in this syllabus. Examples of good cause can include a previouslyscheduled commitment (school-related or not), a medical 4

issue, or an unanticipated bad event (such as a recent death in the family or a vehicular accident on the morning of the exam). The need for a make-up exam should be communicated to me in person, by telephone or by e-mail at your earliest opportunity. Examples of situations that are not good cause can include oversleeping, having another exam on the same day, or your decision (usually not communicated until after the exam) to participate in another activity where your participation may be preferable (to you at least) and perhaps even laudatory. A make-up exam must be arranged prior to the regularly-scheduled exam except when it would not be practical to do so. It will be your responsibility to contact me to schedule a make-up exam. Summary. Grades are determined on the basis of total points scored on the exams pursuant to the following scale2: 1st Exam 2nd Exam 3rd Exam Total 50 points 50 50 150 A B C D F 90-100% 80-89.99% 70-79.99% 60-69.99% 0-59.99%

A final note about grades! I realize that everyone wants a good grade, which can range from I need an A in this class or I will be disowned/divorced/deported to I just want a C so I can get my degree. There is no secret formula when it comes to earning a good grade. You earn your course grade. Therefore, you need to put in the work in this class on a consistent basis. If you are concerned about your grade at any time during the semester, please contact me. Do not wait until the end of the semester to advocate for a better grade. Finally, please do not request that I change or reconsider your grade due to personal hardship; eligibility for graduation, academic honors or programs, athletics, financial aid, or continued enrollment in school; or any other reason not directly related to your performance with respect to the abovedescribed class requirements. Course Objectives I reserve the right to change the grading scale to the students benefit at the end of the semester in order to comply with department grading guidelines. I also reserve the right to award plus or minus grades.
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Analytical Reasoning. Mere memorization of rules of law and court rulings is not enough to do well in this course. Instead, the goal is to develop the ability to apply rules of law and court rulings to varying factual scenarios in such a way as to reach logical conclusions. Developing Language Skills. Communication by writing and speaking is an important skill to develop. The course readings, class attendance/participation, quizzes and exams can hone your writing and speaking abilities. Vocabulary development will enable you to communicate effectively in professional as well as personal situations. Basic Understanding of the Law and the Legal System. This is crucial for anyone who lives and/or does business in the United States. Common Body of Knowledge This course falls under the Common Body of Knowledge (under AACSB standards and guidelines) defined as a background of the economic and legal environment as it pertains to profit and/or nonprofit organizations along with ethical considerations and social and political influences as they affect such organizations. Assessment Statement The main purpose of the degree program at the Mihaylo College of Business & Economics at CSUF is to provide you with the knowledge and skills that prepare you for a successful career in business. In order to assist us in achieving this goal, we will use a number of assessment tools to track your progress throughout the MCBE curriculum. Please expect to participate in MCBE assessment activities in several of your courses while at CSUF. As you do so, you will assist us in identifying our programs strengths and weaknesses as well as areas for potential improvement. In other words, you are making an important investment in the value of your degree.

Schedule

Dates January 25, 2012

Class Subject Matter (Reading Assignment) Course Introduction; Business and Its Legal Environment (Chapter 1); Ethics and Business Decision Making (Chapter 4) Finish Ethics and Business Decision Making The Court System (Chapter 2) Alternative Dispute Resolution (Chapter 3) International Law (Chapter 8); Intellectual Property (Chapter 14) Review for First Exam (7:00-7:30 p.m.); First Exam on Chapters 1-4, 8 and 14 (7:30-9:20 p.m.) Contracts (Chapters 9-11) Finish Contracts Torts (Chapters 12 and 13) Spring Recess No Classes Finish Torts; Environmental Law (Chapter 25) Review for Second Exam (7:00-7:30 p.m.); Second Exam on Chapters 9-13 and 25 Business Organizations (Chapters 17-19) Agency and Employment Law (Chapters 20-22) Finish Agency and

AACSB Perspective(s) Covered3 i, ii, iii, iv, v

February 1, 2012 February 8, 2012 February 15, 2012 February 22, 2012 February 29, 2012 March March March March April 7, 2012 14, 2012 21, 2012 28, 2012 4, 2012

i, ii, iii, iv, v iii ii, iii, iv i, ii, iii, iv, v

i, iii, iv i, iii, iv i, iii, iv i, ii, iii, iv

April 11, 2012

April 18, 2012 April 25, 2012 May 2, 2012

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i, ii, iii i, iii, iv, v i, iii, iv, v

The AACSB perspectives, which pertain to the accreditation process for CSUFs Steven G. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, are: i Ethical issues ii Global issues iii Political, social,

issues

legal,

regulatory

and

environmental

iv Technological issues v The impact of demographic diversity on organizations

May 9, 2012 May 16, 2012

Employment Law Antitrust Law (Chapter 27-28); Securities Law (Chapter 29) Third Exam per CSUF final exam schedule on Chapters 17-22 and 27-29 (7:309:20 p.m.)

i, ii, iii, iv