MGT 4910 Business Law for Entrepreneurs 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: Bagley & Dauchy, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law, 3^rd Edition (2008).

Course Description: A survey of the various legal issues confronted by entrepreneurs, particularly related to new ventures.

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

Course Goals and Objectives: This course is designed to provide the student with a broad perspective of the various legal issues associated with starting and managing a business enterprise. In particular, students will gain an understanding for:

identifying the legal challenges inherent in entrepreneurial activities;
developing strategies for meeting those legal challenges while achieving core business objectives;
learning to spot legal issues before they become legal problems; and
learning to use the law creatively to further the objectives of the business.

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: Students will form business teams. The ideal size is 3 students per team. Each team will complete and submit nine (9) “Action Memos” discussing particular legal/business issues raised in the course readings and class discussions. Each business team will identify a specific business the team represents (including giving the business a name) and all Action Memos submitted by a team will be tailored to the particular requirements of the team’s business.

Each Action Memo will be roughly 5-6 pages, double-spaced with 1” margins. Topics for Action Memo assignments will be posted on eCompanion throughout the semester. Each Action Memo will be worth a maximum of 100 possible points. The points earned for each team’s Action Memo will be assigned to each member of the team. Action Memos will be due at Noon (and no later) on the date specified in the course schedule. All Action Memos are to be submitted as a Word document attachment via e-mail.

All students will participate in an informal Team Introduction early in the semester, and during the semester, each team will be required to make a 20-30 minute formal presentation on a selected topic corresponding to either the subject of the team’s current Action Memo or a special topic related to current course material. Team presentations will not be formally graded, but each student’s participation can impact their Participation and Engagement points. Students will lose Participation and Engagement points for things such as chronic absences, lack of participation and engagement in class, missing their team’s presentation(s), participating poorly in their team’s presentation, or appearing unprepared during a presentation. This participation and engagement grade can also be impacted by peer evaluations submitted at the end of the semester (see below).

Along with the final Action Memo, each student will complete and submit a Peer Evaluation of each team member’s participation, including a self-evaluation for themselves, for the team activities throughout the semester. The Peer Evaluation form is available on eCompanion. Factors evaluated will include quality and quantity of participation in completing the Action Memos and participating in the team presentations. Essentially, a student will lose participation and engagement points if his/her teammates uniformly assess that student as contributing to team activities on a sub-par basis. Failure to submit a completed Peer Evaluation by the deadline will result in a grade of zero for the participation and engagement portion of the student’s course grade.

A fuller explanation of Grading Criteria and requirements is posted on eCompanion.

Grading for the course will be based on the following:

Nine Action Memos 900 points (100 points each)

Participation & Engagement 100 points

Total Points 1,000

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

900 – 1,000 points A Exceptional

800 – 899 points B Very good

700 – 799 points C Fair

600 – 699 points D Poor

Less than 600 points F Failure

Attendance and Make-Up Policy: Class starts promptly at 12:45 p.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.

Since all graded deliverables are team-based, there is essentially no reason for any Action Memos to be submitted late. Any Action Memos submitted after the deadline will not be graded.

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 presenting the work (i.e., ideas, data, creations) of another, wholly or in part, as one’s own work without customary and proper acknowledgement of sources and extent of use, unless authorized by the instructor. Academic dishonesty in this course can result in a grade of zero (0) on the particular activity involved, as well as a grade of “F” for the course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not necessarily limited to: (1) using any portion of another team’s Action Memo as the basis for an Action Memo submitted for this course; (2) communicating with any other student who is not a business team member regarding Action Memo work product; or (3) using any materials the student or other students may have prepared for or used in any class assignment for a different course (without express consent of this professor).

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/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.

Entrepreneurship Minor

If you have not formally declared an Entrepreneurship Minor, it still may not be too late to do so. If you are interested in possibly declaring an Entrepreneurship Minor before you graduate, talk with Management & Marketing Department Chair John Jackson, Entrepreneurship Program Director Roland Kidwell, or Manager of the COB Academic Advising Office, Rhonda Baccari. Past courses may qualify for required courses and certain courses completed next semester may satisfy the requirements for the Entrepreneurship Minor.

Week	Date	Reading Assignments; Exam Schedule
1	Mon., Aug. 24	Introduction to class Chapter 1—Taking the Plunge Get to know each other; start forming teams
1	Wed., Aug. 26	Chapter 3—Selecting and Working with an Attorney Chapter 2—Leaving Your Employer Finalize Teams
2	Mon., Aug. 31	Chapter 2 Continued
2	Wed., Sept. 2	Introductory Presentations (all teams)
3	Mon., Sept. 7	No class (Labor Day Holiday)
3	Wed., Sept. 9	Chapter 4—Deciding Whether to Incorporate
4	Mon., Sept. 14	Chapter 5—Structuring the Ownership
4	Wed., Sept. 16	Chapter 6—Forming and Working with the Board Action Memo 1 Due No Later Than Noon First Team Presentation
5	Mon., Sept. 21	Chapter 7—Raising Money and Securities Regulation
5	Wed., Sept. 23	Chapter 7 Continued Action Memo 2 Due No Later Than Noon Second Team Presentation
6	Mon., Sept. 28	Chapter 8—Contracts and Leases
6	Wed., Sept. 30	Chapter 8 Continued Third Team Presentation
7	Mon., Oct. 5	Chapter 9—E-Commerce and Sales of Goods and Services
7	Wed., Oct. 7	Chapter 9 Continued Action Memo 3 Due No Later Noon Fourth Team Presentation
8	Mon., Oct. 12	Chapter 10—Marshaling Human Resources
8	Wed., Oct. 14	Chapter 10 Continued Action Memo 4 Due No Later Than Noon Fifth Team Presentation
9	Mon., Oct. 19	Chapter 11—Operational Liabilities and Insurance
9	Wed., Oct. 21	Chapter 11 Continued Action Memo 5 Due No Later Than Noon Sixth Team Presentation
10	Mon., Oct. 26	Chapter 12—Creditors’ Rights and Bankruptcy
10	Wed., Oct. 28	Chapter 12 Continued Seventh Team Presentation
11	Mon., Nov. 2	Chapter 13—Venture Capital
11	Wed., Nov. 4	Chapter 15—Going Global Action Memo 6 Due No Later Than Noon Eighth Team Presentation
12	Mon., Nov. 9	Chapter 14—Intellectual Property and Cyberlaw
12	Wed., Nov. 11	Chapter 14 Continued Action Memo 7 Due No Later Than Noon Ninth Team Presentation
13	Mon., Nov. 16	Chapter 16—Buying and Selling a Business
13	Wed., Nov. 18	Chapter 16 Continued Tenth Team Presentation (if necessary)
14	Mon., Nov. 23	Chapter 17—Going Public Action Memo 8 Due No Later Than Noon
14	Wed., Nov. 25	No Class (Thanksgiving Break)
15	Mon., Nov. 30	Chapter 17 Continued
15	Wed., Dec. 2	Wrap-up Eleventh Team Presentation (if necessary)
16	Wed., Dec. 9	Final Action Memo (9) and individual Peer Evaluations Due No Later Than Noon