MGT 4340 Law for Managers Fall 2009 Syllabus

Instructor: Robert Sprague

Office Location: Crane Hall 314

Phone Numbers: (307) 766-5670; Dept. Phone No.: 766-3124; Dept. Fax No.: 766-3488

Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays: 2:30 – 4:00 p.m., Crane Hall 314; and by appointment

E-mail Address: spraguer@uwyo.edu

Web Address: http://www.uwyo.edu/sprague

The Departments of Management & Marketing and Accounting and the College of Business Dean’s offices have moved to Crane Hall until Fall 2010.

Required Text: Clarkson, Miller, Jentz, and Cross, Business Law, 11^th Edition (2009). Students may use the 10^th Edition of West’s Business Law this semester. Students may not use a previous edition of the text.

Course Description: Provides an overview of laws and legal issues associated with managing a business, incorporating aspects of sustainable business practices. Topics include agency and employment, business organizations, including securities laws and corporate governance standards, government regulation of businesses, including environmental/sustainability regulations, and an introduction to international law and the global economy.

Prerequisites: MGT 1040 (Legal Environment of Business or its equivalent) and junior standing.

ETS Exam: College of Business students are required to complete a comprehensive assessment during their senior capstone course, MGT 4800. This test, known as the Major Field Test in Business is developed by the Educational Testing Service and is given locally in a computer-based format. The Major Field Test covers basic business knowledge and skills in eight areas: accounting, economics, finance, international issues, legal and social environment, management, marketing, and quantitative business analysis (decision science). The purpose of this test is to assess the student’s mastery and retention of basic business concepts. A minimum score is required as a condition for passing MGT 4800. Failure to obtain this minimum score will require remedial work on your part. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to keep your materials from these courses to help you prepare for this examination.

Course Goals and Objectives: This course is designed to provide the student with a broad perspective of the various legal issues associated with managing a business. In particular, students will gain an understanding of the fundamental legal and managerial issues related to: the principal/agent relationship; employees and employment discrimination; different forms of business entities; corporate governance, including the rights, duties, and liabilities of officers, directors, and shareholders of corporations; the regulation of business; and an introduction to international law in a global economy. In addition to learning these fundamental legal issues, students will develop:

critical and analytical thinking capabilities through the analysis of fact situations;
the application of appropriate rules of law to the facts;
the formulation of reasonable conclusions based on the application of the law to the facts; and
ethical issues associated with managing a business in the 21^st century.

It will be assumed that all students already possess a basic understanding of the classifications of law and the fundamental legal issues associated with contractual relations (derived from a Legal Environment of Business or equivalent course).

eCompanion.NExT Course Site: This course will use eCompanion as a supplement. Course announcements and supplemental materials will be posted on eCompanion throughout the semester. Access to eCompanion is required for this course. It is the student’s responsibility to check the eCompanion site for this course on a regular basis to obtain necessary information and materials on a timely basis. As a convenience, unofficial grades will be posted on eCompanion. Access to eCompanion is through the following link: http://ecampus.uwyo.edu/

Grading and Course Requirements: The course grade will be based on four (4) in-class exams and a final exam given during exam week.

The four in-class exams will be limited to assigned material as indicated in the course schedule. Each in-class exam will consist of multiple-choice (and possibly True/False) questions. The Final Exam will consist of multiple choice (and possibly True/False) questions—half of which will test on class material covered after the fourth in-class exam; the remaining half of the questions will be cumulative from the semester.

The in-class and Final exams will be closed book, meaning that students may not bring any material with them to the exam. In addition, no electronic devices may be used or be present during the exams. Students may not communicate with anyone (except the professor or proctor), in any manner, during the exams. Student conduct during the exams is subject to the Academic Integrity standards discussed later in this Syllabus.

Grading for the course will be based on the following:

Four In-Class Exams 400 points (100 points each)

Final Exam 200 points

Total Points 600

Standards for final grades mirror the evaluation standards reflected in the University’s General Undergraduate Bulletin:

540 – 600 points A Exceptional

480 – 539 points B Very good

420 – 479 points C Fair

360 – 419 points D Poor

Less than 360 points F Failure

Attendance and Make-Up Policy: Class starts promptly at 11:00 a.m. It is highly disruptive for students to enter the classroom after class has begun. While it is understood that on a rare occasion a student may be late to class, chronic lateness will not be tolerated. At the professor’s discretion, students may not be permitted to enter the classroom once class has begun. A student who believes he/she will be unable to regularly attend class, as well as arrive on time each class period, is advised to withdraw from this course. Students may also be required to sign a roll sheet at the beginning of each class.

This is not a “lecture” course. All students are expected to have studied the material assigned for each class, prior to that class. In addition, all students are encouraged to constructively and actively participate in analytical and critical thinking during each class. Therefore, students are expected to attend class prepared to discuss the relevant assigned material. Some material discussed during class may be supplemental to, and not specifically included in, the text. Students are responsible for all material assigned for and discussed in class, regardless of attendance (and regardless of the reason for absence). Students who miss a class should contact a classmate to review his/her class notes and discuss the material that was covered in the missed class.

Although class attendance is not graded, it is strongly recommended that students attend class regularly. For the majority of students, there is a direct relationship between regular class attendance (as well as preparation) and final grades. Put another way, the more classes you miss (and the more classes you attend unprepared), the more likely your final grade will be lower.

Students who will be absent on the day of an exam due to a sponsored University event will be permitted to take the exam on a different day (or at a different time). It is the responsibility of the student to notify the professor, in advance of the scheduled exam date, of the conflict and make arrangements to take the exam at an alternative date/time. Students who miss a scheduled exam due to an unforeseen event which prevents them from taking the test at the scheduled date/time (e.g., due to severe illness) must contact the professor as soon as possible to determine whether, at the professor’s discretion, they will be permitted to take a make-up exam and, if so, make arrangements to take the exam at an alternative date/time. At the professor’s discretion, students may be required to provide documentation supporting their reason for missing an exam. Students whose employment responsibilities, including job interviews, conflict with scheduled exams are encouraged to talk with the professor to discuss whether alternative dates/times may be arranged.

Substance or alcohol abuse can never be used as the basis for seeking a make-up exam.

Students who take a make-up exam, regardless of the reason, should expect to take a make-up exam that is different in content and format than the actual exam that was given at the regularly scheduled time.

Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty, also known as “cheating,” will not be tolerated in this course. Cases of academic dishonesty will be prosecuted in accordance with UW Regulation 6-802, which defines academic dishonesty as “[a]n action attempted or performed that misrepresents one’s involvement in an academic endeavor in any way, or assists another student in misrepresenting his or her involvement in an academic endeavor[,]” and includes “copying from, or assisting, another student during an examination; or stealing, or otherwise improperly obtaining, copies of an examination before or after its administration.” Academic dishonesty in this course can result in a grade of zero (0) on the particular exam involved, as well as a grade of “F” for the course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not necessarily limited to: (1) using information, study aids, notes, materials, devices, or collaboration during an exam which are not explicitly approved by the professor; (2) using any portion of another person’s exam answer as the basis for an answer turned in for an exam; (3) allowing any portion of the student’s own exam answer to be used as the basis for another person’s answer turned in for an exam; or (4) communicating with any person (except the professor or proctor), including by electronic means, during an exam.

Academic dishonesty also includes submitting false, inaccurate, or misleading information or documentation supporting a request to take a make-up exam.

Student Services: If you have a physical, sensory, cognitive, or psychological disability and require accommodations, you will need to register with, and provide documentation of your disability to University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, Room 330, Knight Hall. You may also reach them at 766-6189, TTY: 766-3073. Your professor can provide accommodations only based on parameters defined by UDSS.

Miscellaneous: Cell phones, beepers, entertainment devices (iPods/MP3 players) and all other communications devices must be turned off prior to class, and remain off throughout class. If special circumstances require a student to have a communications device active during class, the student is requested to make arrangements with the professor prior to class.

Your professor reserves the right to change any of the requirements, procedures, schedules, assignments, and criteria contained in this Syllabus. Announcements of any such changes will be made in class and on eCompanion. A waiver by the professor of any specific item in this Syllabus for the class or for a particular student for a particular instance does not constitute a waiver of any other item in this Syllabus nor does it constitute a subsequent waiver of that particular item.

Students who generally seem not to be paying attention in class (e.g., reading a newspaper, trying to check e-mail, reading or sending text messages, chatting with classmates, etc.) or who are disruptive, will be presumed to be so well prepared for that day’s class that they are actually frustrated at not being more actively involved in the class. Therefore, such behavior will serve as a signal to your professor that the student wishes to more actively participate in class and will be given the opportunity to do so. In the alternative, the student may be ordered to leave the classroom.

Note: Although we will be discussing various rules of law as they relate to particular situations presented in the assigned readings, we cannot discuss any personal “legal” situations pertaining to students. In particular, no legal advice can or will be given to any student. If a student requires legal assistance, the student is advised to contact the ASUW Students’ Attorney Program, which offers legal services to all full fee paying UW students, and is located in Room 128 in the Dean of Students Office in Knight Hall. To schedule an appointment or inquire about services available, call (307) 766-6347. For more information, visit http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/studentatty/viewcat.asp.

“Discussion Problems” have been selected for the Chapters in order to promote class discussion. Students are expected to have reviewed the Discussion Problems and to be able to incorporate them into class discussion. Students do not hand in answers to Discussion Problems.

Week	Date	Reading Assignments; Exam Schedule
1	Mon., Aug. 24	Introduction to class
1	Wed., Aug. 26	Chapter 31: Agency Formation and Duties Discussion Problems: 31-1, 31-2, 31-8, and 31-9 (students using the 10^th edition will have to retrieve problems 31-8 & 31-9 from eCompanion)
2	Mon., Aug. 31	Chapter 31 Continued
2	Wed., Sept. 2	Chapter 32: Liability to Third Parties and Termination Discussion Problems: 32-2, 32-3, and 32-4
3	Mon., Sept. 7	No class (Labor Day)
3	Wed., Sept. 9	Chapter 32 Continued
4	Mon., Sept. 14	First In-Class Exam (covering Chapters 31 – 32)
4	Wed., Sept. 16	Review First In-Class Exam Chapter 33: Employment and Labor Law Discussion Problem: 33-6 (33-7 in 10^th ed.)
5	Mon., Sept. 21	Chapter 33 Continued
5	Wed., Sept. 23	Chapter 34: Employment Discrimination Discussion Problems: 34-5 (34-7 in 10^th ed.) and 34-7 (students using the 10^th edition will have to retrieve the 11^th ed. version of problem 34-7 from eCompanion)
6	Mon., Sept. 28	Chapter 34 Continued
6	Wed., Sept. 30	Second In-Class Exam (covering Chapters 33 – 34)
7	Mon., Oct. 5	Review Second In-Class Exam Chapter 35: Sole Proprietorships and Franchises Discussion Problem: 35-2, 35-3, and 35-7
7	Wed., Oct. 7	Chapter 36: Partnerships & Limited Liability Partnerships Discussion Problems: 36-3, 36-6 (36-8 in 10^th ed.), 36-7
8	Mon., Oct. 12	Chapter 36 Continued
8	Wed., Oct. 14	Third In-Class Exam (Covering Chapters 35 – 36)
9	Mon., Oct. 19	Review Third In-Class Exam Chapter 37: Limited Liability Companies & Special Business Forms Discussion Problems: 37-1 and 37-6 (37-9 in 10^th ed.)
9	Wed., Oct. 21	Chapter 38: Corporations – Formation and Financing Discussion Problems: 38-2, 38-6, and 38-7
10	Mon., Oct. 26	Chapter 38 Continued Chapter 39: Corporations – Directors, Officers, and Shareholders Discussion Problems: 39-1, 39-2, 39-3, 39-6 (39-10 in 10^th ed.)
10	Wed., Oct. 28	Chapter 39 Continued
11	Mon., Nov. 2	Chapter 39 Continued
11	Wed., Nov. 4	Chapter 40: Corporations – Merger, Consolidation, and Termination Discussion Problem: 40-2
12	Mon., Nov. 9	Fourth In-Class Exam (covering Chapters 37 – 40)
12	Wed., Nov. 11	Review Fourth In-Class Exam Chapter 41: Securities Law and Corporate Governance Discussion Problems: 41-3 (41-8 in 10^th ed.), 41-5 (41-7 in 10^th ed.), and 41-9 (students using the 10^th edition will have to retrieve problem 41-9 from eCompanion)
13	Mon., Nov. 16	Chapter 41 Continued
13	Wed., Nov. 18	Chapter 41 Continued
14	Mon., Nov. 23	Chapter 44: Consumer Law Discussion Problems: 44-1, 44-4 (44-6 in 10^th ed.), 44-6 (44-8 in 10^th ed.), and 44-9 (students using the 10^th edition will have to retrieve problem 44-9 from eCompanion) Chapter 45: Environmental Law Discussion Problems: 45-3 and 45-6 (45-9 in 10^th ed.)
14	Wed., Nov. 25	No Class (Thanksgiving Holiday)
15	Mon., Nov. 30	Chapter 46: Antitrust Law Discussion Problems: 46-1 (46-3 in 10^th ed.), 46-3 (46-9 in 10^th ed.), and 46-7 (students using the 10^th edition will have to retrieve problem 46-7 from eCompanion)
15	Wed., Dec. 2	Chapter 52: International Law in a Global Economy
16	Mon., Dec. 7	Final Exam 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.