Chabot College Fall, 2006
Course Outline for Business 10
BUSINESS LAW
Catalog Description:
10 - Business Law 4 units
Legal setting in which business operates, with emphasis on legal reasoning and resolution, contracts, torts, intellectual property, agency and employment law, partnerships and corporations. 4 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 70]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. utilize basic business law terminology;
2. select the best option from the alternative methods to settle a case out of court;
3. describe how cases are brought to court, legal procedures and methods involved, court decisions, and appeals;
4. analyze business situations to identify negligence and product liability risks and risk reduction methods;
5. define opportunities to protect the creative capital of businesses through intellectual property law;
6. evaluate contracts for validity and enforceability;
7. articulate the principles and importance of agency relationships in a business organization;
8. identify employment law risks;
9. evaluate and select an appropriate business structure given a set of criteria;
10. define the major legal issues that arise in the small business environment;
11. recognize the differences between business law and business ethics, and understand the need for both in a successful business;
12. demonstrate critical thinking skills in class discussion and researched, written analyses of legal issues.
Course Content:
1. Basic legal terminology
2. Legal research methodology
3. Background of law, courts, and ways to resolve conflict
4. Torts, including negligence and product liability
5. Intellectual property law
6. Contract law
7. Agency law
8. Employment law
9. Business structures, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability structures
10. Small business law
11. Ethics and the law
Chabot College
Course Outline for Business 10, Page 2
Fall 2006
Methods of Presentation:
1. Lectures
2. Discussion
3. Analysis of cases
4. Guest speakers
5. Mock trials/debates
6. Video
7. Library orientation
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. In a 2-3 page paper, describe your dream business in terms of sales, number of employees, type of product or service, initial investment, and management structure at start-up, in 5 years, and in 25 years. Define your criteria for selecting a business structure at each of these stages. Select and defend your optimal structure at each stage based on your business description and criteria.
b. Assume that you are the owner of a successful restaurant. Define ten major negligence and product liability risks you would encounter in this business. How could you reduce each of those legal risks? Present your risks and risk reduction methods to the class in a 5-minute presentation.
c. Research a topic from a list of current legal issues provided by your instructor. Your research must include at least 10 sources, including at least two magazine articles, 3 relevant and current cases from legal databases, and one book other than your textbook. In a 2-3 page paper, summarize the issue, recent developments in this area, and the implications of those developments for the small business owner.
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Midterm examination
b. Final examination
c. Case studies and legal analysis assignments
d. Presentations
e. Group projects
Textbook(s) Typical:
WEST's BUSINESS LAW, Clarkson, Miller, Jentz and Cross, 10th edition, Thomson South-Western, 2006
BUSINESS LAW: LEGAL, E-COMMERCE, ETHICAL AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, 5th edition, Henry R. Cheeseman, Prentice Hall, 2004
Special Student Materials:
None
jn 11/05
Bus 10 course outline.doc