ࡱ> Y[Xb 8jbjb +\2%V8R<LV/-",,,,,,,,%.Rw0,, , |, d@, +h, u_ pN,,,0/-^,41 1 , VVVV UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER Legal and Ethical Environment of Business BUSN 6540 Section 2 (Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00 to 5:15 PM) Fall 2008 Text: The Legal Environment of Business, 7th edition ISBN 0-324-59000-8 Cross and Miller, South-Western / Cengage Learning (Use of the 7th edition is preferred because of recent changes in the law.) OR West's Legal Environment of Business, 6th edition ISBN 0-324-37613-8 Cross and Miller, West Educational Publishing (Use of the 6th edition is not recommended. If you choose to purchase the 6th edition, please bear in mind that, beginning with the Spring 2009 semester, the 7th edition will be required for this course and students will not have the option to use the 6th edition.) Instructor: Ira C. Selkowitz Senior Instructor / Attorney at Law Bachelor of Science, Northwestern University, 1979 Juris Doctor, University of Denver, 1983 Master of Arts in Historic Preservation, Goucher College, 2003 Physical Address: 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 390-G Mailing Address: University of Colorado Denver Business School Campus Box 165 P.O. Box 173364 Denver, CO 80217-3364 Phone (1): (303) 556-5893 (day) Phone (2): (303) 692-0077 (evenings and weekends) Fax: (303) 692-0020 E-Mail: ira.selkowitz@ucdenver.edu Office hours: Wednesdays from 2:30 to 5:30 PM and Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, or by appointment Mr. Selkowitz is licensed as an attorney in Colorado and California. He has taught at the Business School since 1986, first as an adjunct instructor, and beginning in January 2006, as a full-time Senior Instructor. Prior to accepting the Senior Instructor position, Mr. Selkowitz was the Director of Preservation Services for Historic Denver, Inc., a nonprofit organization in the field of historic preservation. From 1983-2003, Mr. Selkowitz had his own law practice, specializing in business law and entertainment law, including business planning, real estate and intellectual property issues. In addition to his private law practice, from 1994-97, Mr. Selkowitz worked as a booking agent and in-house counsel for the artist representation firm, Scott O'Malley & Associates, in Colorado Springs. Also, for the three year period from January 1999 to December 2001, Mr. Selkowitz was the Executive Director of Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, a nonprofit organization which provides educational programs and pro bono (volunteer) legal and mediation services to artists and arts organizations in Colorado. Mr. Selkowitz has also been a disc jockey on KGNU in Boulder and KRCC in Colorado Springs. Course Overview: The MBA student develops a working knowledge of legal and ethical parameters for business decision making. The course addresses the legal system and mechanisms for resolving disputes. Topics include business entities, torts, contracts, employment relationships, litigation, and alternative dispute resolution. The influence of legal issues on an organization's decision-making is stressed. Course Objectives: 1. To help you become highly skilled in factual analysis. 2. To help you learn a large body of legal concepts, and the related legal analysis, essential to the practice of management and personal growth. 3. To assist you in learning several ethical concepts and their relationship to the practice of management. 4. To integrate ethical and legal concepts through the legal analysis process to solve various legal issues that confront students and businesses. Course Structure: Course material will be presented through a) reading of the text, b) materials linked to Blackboard and c) live lectures. The lectures contain material not included in the text or on Blackboard, and attendance is crucial to an understanding of the material. All of the web sites and articles linked in Blackboard are for educational purposes only. Linking these web sites and articles in Blackboard shall not imply endorsement of the views in the web sites or articles by either the instructor or the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Grading: Written Assignment #1 20 points Written Assignment #2 20 points Midterm Exam 30 points Final Exam 30 points The Final Exam is not cumulative. To reduce grade inflation, the College of Business has established the following grading guidelines: Graduate BUSN: Low - 3.1 average / High - 3.5 average Academic Honesty: While you are a student in my class, it shall be considered academic dishonesty for you to review, use, or discuss with another person any exams or written assignments from any course (graduate or undergraduate) that I am teaching or that I have previously taught. After the completion of my class, it shall be considered academic dishonesty for you to allow a current student of mine to review a paper you wrote or a test you took for one of my classes. In addition, any time you put your name on a test or written assignment for this course, you are asserting that it is your own work. If that is not the case, it shall be considered academic dishonesty. Under Business School rules, I am required to submit all allegations of academic dishonesty to the Business School Internal Affairs Committee. Administration: The University and College of Business guidelines as to granting of adds, drops, and incompletes will be followed in this class. Disabilities Services: This syllabus and all other course materials are available in other forms upon request. To discuss materials in other formats or concerns regarding disability issues, please contact the instructor or the Office of Disability Services at (303) 556-8387. Commitment Expected in Hours: For a three semester hour graduate core course, it is expected that the volume of work normally would require a student, on the average, to commit a minimum of eight (8) hours per week in the Fall and Spring semesters and sixteen (16) hours per week in the Summer semester. Course Schedule: The course schedule below will assist you in being prepared for discussion and examination. However, this schedule may be modified from time to time depending upon the progress of the class. Any such modification will be announced on Blackboard and by e-mail. Each student is responsible for obtaining such information. [SCHEDULE IS ON FOLLOWING PAGE] Class: Topic: Reading: 08/12 Introduction - - - 08/14 Business and Its Legal Environment 1 08/19 The Court System 2 08/21 The Court System (cont.) 2 Alternative Dispute Resolution 3 08/26 OFF-WEEK (DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION) - - - 08/28 OFF-WEEK (DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION) - - - 09/02 Ethics and Business Decision Making 4 09/04 Contracts: Part I 09/09 Contracts: Part I (continued) 9 09/11 Contracts: Part I (continued) 9 09/16 Contracts: Part II 10 09/18 Contracts: Part II (continued) 10 Sales and Leases 11 09/23 REVIEW FOR MIDTERM EXAM - - - 09/25 MIDTERM EXAM - - - 09/30 NO CLASS ROSH HASHANAH - - - 10/02 Constitutional Law 5 10/07 Torts and Cyber Torts 12 10/09 NO CLASS YOM KIPPUR - - - 10/14 Torts and Cyber Torts (cont.) 12 10/16 Strict and Product Liability Law 13 10/21 Intellectual Property and Internet Law 14 10/23 Intellectual Property and Internet Law (cont.) 14 10/28 Agency 19 10/30 Business Organizations 16, 17, 18 11/04 Business Organizations (cont.) 16, 17, 18 11/06 Business Organizations (cont.) 16, 17, 18 11/11 Consumer Protection 23 11/13 Environmental Law 24 11/18 Land Use Control and Real Property 25 11/20 Land Use Control and Real Property (cont.) 25 Employment Relationships 20 11/25 NO CLASS FALL BREAK - - - 11/27 NO CLASS FALL BREAK - - - 12/02 Employment Relationships (cont.) 20 Employment Discrimination 21 Labor Law 22 12/04 REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAM - - - 12/09 FINAL EXAM (The final exam will be held during the week of December 8. The exact date and time will be determined by the University schedule.) WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT #1: Due Date: October 30 (Must be submitted electronically by 11:59 PM on the due date by MS-Word attachment) The written assignment should be typed and between 1,000 and 2,000 words in either single-spaced or double-spaced format, with one inch (1") margins. Please use a font size no smaller than 12. Use books, web sites, and articles from journals, newspapers and magazines to write on one of the following assigned topics: Using news reports within the last three (3) years, find an example of a claim involving one of the following torts that we have discussed in class: product liability, defamation, wrongful interference with a contractual relationship, wrongful interference with a business relationship, or one of the four prongs of invasion of privacy. You may choose situations for which a claim has been made and is pending or for which a verdict or appellate decision has been rendered. Discuss and analyze a) which tort was alleged to have been involved, b) all elements of the tort, c) whether the elements of the tort are present in the claim, and d) the most recent status of the claim or case that you can find through your research. You are encouraged to discuss your own opinions about the claim. Using news reports within the last three (3) years, find an example of a claim of patent, trademark, copyright or trade secret infringement. You may choose situations for which a claim has been made and is pending or for which a verdict or appellate decision has been rendered. Discuss and analyze a) which type of infringement is alleged to have occurred, b) all elements or factors that apply to such type of infringement, c) whether such elements or factors are present in the claim, and d) the most recent status of the claim or case that you can find through your research. You are encouraged to discuss your own opinions about the claim. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT #2: Due Date: November 13 (Must be submitted electronically by 11:59 PM on the due date by MS-Word attachment) The written assignment should be typed and between 1,500 and 2,000 words in either single-spaced or double-spaced format, with one inch (1") margins. Please use a font size no smaller than 12. Outside research is not required for this paper, but you must still cite your sources within the paper using footnotes, endnotes or parenthetical citations in the text and also attach a bibliography. Danica has designed software for use in the aeronautics industry. Her business is a sole proprietorship and has poor cash flow. Danica doesnt have much experience in marketing software. At least 75 people have told Danica that her software had international appeal and fits a unique niche and that theyd like to get in on the ground floor of her company. Danica hopes to take the company public one day in an IPO (initial public offering). Danica is afraid that, if she sells an ownership interest or interests in the business, bean counters will take over her business, and adversely affect her creativity to create new software and to update her current product. She is also concerned that employees will leave her company and use her customer list and design research. What type of business should Danica form? How can she protect herself from former employees actions? Note: I am not looking for a simple answer specifying just one type of business form, and one method of protection against former employees and competitors. I am looking for a discussion of all available alternatives that will show me that you grasp the issues and points of law that we have learned. In the "real" world of business, prior to making a decision, the businessperson should analyze all available options, even those which are inappropriate for the business. Please show me that you have made this analysis.     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