College McCoy of Business Administration
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY-San Marcos
Department of Finance and Economics
BLAW 2361
The Legal Environment of Business
Fall 2011
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE:
OFF. HOURS:
Dr. Jon Bible
McCoy Hall 549
MW 9-11, 12:30-2
TEL:
512-245-3241 (Voice)
E-MAIL: [e-mail]
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is a survey of basic features of the American legal system and legal
aspects of business transactions. Topics include the nature and sources of law, court systems and
procedures, agency, torts, contracts, ethics, and government regulation of business.
COURSE MATERIALS: Text: Business Law and the Legal Environment (5th ed.) by Beatty and
Samuelson. Publisher: Southwestern/Cengage Learning. The publishers have prepared a soft-cover
edition that includes only the chapters from the main text that are covered in this course, and this is the
version I will use.
You should bring the text to class each day as I will periodically refer to it; in addition, quiz questions
(see below) could be taken from the text.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Ideally, students should leave the course with an understanding of:
The Texas and federal legal systems.
The rationale for the law of torts, its benefits and detriments, and knowledge of selected torts
involving individuals and business.
The elements of contract and how to analyze and compare contractual concepts.
The use of law as a societal mechanism and its relationship with general concepts of ethical behavior.
The law of agency and its use and impact on individuals and business.
How to confront a variety of circumstances that call for the exercise of judgment or demand a
particular quality of character in their roles as managers, owners, employees, buyers or sellers.
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BRING INTO THIS COURSE:
The ability to reason and to discern issues from factual situations.
Possession of a vocabulary and the ability to read and write English as necessary to function as an
intelligent undergraduate student.
The ability to read and assimilate significant amounts of information
PREREQUISITES: None.
COURSE POLICIES:
A. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY:
I think you learn best if you take primary responsibility for your education and class time is devoted
to the application of what we study to real-world problems. Thus, I will assume that you have done
the reading each day and have absorbed the basic information; most of our time will be spent
Page 1 of 5
discussing the more difficult aspects of the issues and hypothetical situations involving them. For
example, when we get to federal court jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship, I will expect you
to know that the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) must be citizens of different states and the amount in
dispute must be at least $75,000. In tort law and contract law, I will expect you to know the elements
of negligence and of a contract.
I often discuss terms and concepts not covered in the text, so do not assume that if you miss class you
can catch up by reading the text. Because I want this to be a practical course, I will stress, in class
and on exams, the application rather than mere memorization of what we study. As the year
progresses the pace will quicken and I will expect you to assume more responsibility for learning the
material on your own.
Each day I will post, under Assignments in TRACS, a list of the topics covered and the next
assignment. If there are topics in a chapter for which you are not responsible I will post them as well.
Exam grades will be posted in the TRACS Gradebook.
To access TRACS, go to www.txstate.edu, click on the TRACS link, enter your user name and
password, and click on BLAW 2361 and then the appropriate category in the left-hand menu.
I communicate via email using your Texas State address; therefore, you need to check your email
regularly.
B. ATTENDANCE: Not taken and not a factor in semester grade.
C. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Assignments: In addition to the text material, you will occasionally be assigned case problems and
court cases. To access the problems, click on Resources in TRACS. To access court cases, go to
www.txstate.edu, click on Library (top of page), Research Databases, Government and Law, Campus
Research, and Law. Enter the citation that I provide, e.g., 968 S.W.2d 934, not the style of the case.
Responsibility for Information: I will assume that you will know what was covered in each class
and I will not reply to inquiries for that information if you are absent without excuse. If you represent
that an absence is excused, I will expect verification. An excused absence is for illness or
circumstances beyond your control. For illness, a physicians statement noting your identity, the date
of the statement, and verification that he recommended that you not attend class is necessary.
Examinations: Wednesday, September 21; Wednesday, October 19; Monday, December 5. Exam
dates are subject to change with notice. If you miss an exam for an unexcused reason, you will
receive a zero. I must be notified that you will have to miss an exam before it is scheduled to begin;
otherwise, your grade will be a zero.
No one late to an exam will be allowed to take it after anyone has turned in his or her scantron; in that
event, the only option will be to take a make-up exam. You may use class notes, old exams, and the
text during exams but no laptops, iPhones, Blackberries, etc.
Make-up Examinations: If you miss an exam you are eligible for a make-up only if you can show
that the absence was due to illness or to unavoidable For circumstances. illness, a doctors
verification will be required. Make-up exams are essay and will be administered on the following
Friday from 12:30-2 p.m. (no exceptions) in the department office, McCoy Hall 504.
If you take a make-up exam, you must bring your student ID and be in the department office 15
minutes early. You will not be allowed to take the exam if you show up after 12:30.
Page 2 of 5
Quizzes/Extra Credit: There will be seven unannounced quizzes over the assigned reading. Each is
worth five extra credit points for a total possible 35 points. There are no make-ups if you miss one.
Grade Evaluation: Each semester exam is worth 100 points. The final (comprehensive) is worth 60
points. Total = 300 points at the end of the semester; 360 including the final. The quiz points are
added to the exam points. A = 90-100% of 360 possible points (324-360); B = 80-90% (288-323); C
= 70-80% (252-287); D = 60-70% (216-251). Students with an A at the end of the regular semester
(270 (90%) of a possible 300) are exempt from the final.
Example 1: Bob has exam scores of 88, 85, and 80 and 25 quiz points; thus, his total is 278 at the end
of the regular semester. Because students with at least 270 points are exempt from the final, Bob is
exempt and finishes with an A in the course.
Example 2: Sue has exam scores of 78, 85, and 80 and 20 quiz points. Her total is 263 at the end of
the semester so she must take the final. She makes 50 out of 60 on the final for a semester total of
313. Because 288-323 points = B, she ends the semester with a B.
In determining course grades, if one exam grade was significantly lower than the others, or if there
was a consistent progression upward, I will consider rounding the course grade to the next-highest
grade if the grade is within one point of the next-highest grade. Thus, I will consider rounding a 79.0
to an 80, for a grade of B, but not a 78.9.
UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE POLICIES:
A. DROP: Dropping means that the student will remain enrolled in at least one hour in the current
semester. A "W" will be automatically assigned if the drop procedure is completed on or before 5:00
p.m. on October 24, 2011. After this deadline the student will be unable to drop the course and will
receive the grade (A, B, C, D, F, or I) earned in the class. It is suggested that students consult the
instructor prior to dropping from the class.
WITHDRAWAL: Withdrawal means that the student is going to zero hours for the current semester.
A "W" will be automatically assigned if the withdrawal procedure is completed on or before 5:00
p.m. on October 24, 2011. After this deadline, the student may withdraw on or before 5:00 p.m. on
November 21, 2011. If the student is passing the class on the official date of withdrawal, a "W" grade
will be assigned. If the student is failing the class on the date of withdrawal, an "F" grade will be
assigned.
B. ACADEMIC HONESTY: Submission of any work for a grade for which unauthorized help has
been received is termed academic dishonesty and will be grounds for a failing grade in the course.
"Unauthorized" is a term used here to designate stealing, copying (with or without permission),
collaboration with other individuals, or sharing programming code outside of sanctioned group
activities. Students are strongly encouraged to refer to the Texas State student handbook for policies
related to academic dishonesty at http://www.dos.txstate.edu/handbook/rules/honorcode.html . I view
any such act as a clear violation of ethical standards and will take appropriate disciplinary and
punitive action.
C. HONOR CODE: All students are required to abide by the Texas State University honor code. The
pledge for students states:
Students at our University recognize that, to insure honest conduct, more is needed than an
expectation of academic honesty, and we therefore adopt the practice of affixing the
following pledge of honesty to the work we submit for evaluation:
Page 3 of 5
I pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and responsibility at our University.
The complete honor code may be found at http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-10-01.html
under attachment I.
D. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with a disability may require an accommodation(s)
to participate in the course. They must contact the instructor within the first two weeks of the
semester. They will be asked to provide documentation from the Office of Disability Services (ODS)
at that time. Failure to contact the instructor in a timely manner will delay any accommodations they
may be seeking. Ongoing care by a physician does not automatically qualify you as an ODS special
needs student. Students are required to file paperwork for accommodations with ODS each semester.
Accommodations granted one semester do not automatically carry forward to the next. See UPPS No.
07.11.01 for additional information.
COURSE OUTLINE
NOTE: The chart below provides the expected order of chapter coverage. The dates are not absolute.
Week
8/22
8/29
9/5
9/12
9/19
9/26
10/3
10/10
10/17
10/24
10/31
11/7
11/14
11/21
11/28
Topic
Introduction. Ch. 1.
Ch. 1
Ch. 3
Ch. 5
Ch. 5 Exam 1 on Wednesday.
Ch. 6
Chs, 7, 19 (through 434)
Chs. 10, 15, 18
Ch. 11 Exam 2 on Wednesday
Chs. 12, 13
Ch. 14
Chs. 16, 17, 28, 29
Ch. 29 and Employment Law (no text)
Employment Law Thanksgiving 11/23-11/25
Employment Law; Exam 3 on Wednesday
Final Exam: MW 11:00 class Monday, Dec. 12, 8-9:30 a.m.
MW 2:00 class Monday, Dec. 12, 2-3:30 p.m.
Page 4 of 5
Page 5 of 5