Discipline: Business Degree Credit  [X]
Non Credit  [ ]
Nondegree Credit  [ ]
Comm Service  [ ]
 

Riverside Community College District
Integrated Course Outline of Record

Business 18A


COURSE DESCRIPTION
18A Business Law I Units: 3.00
 
Prerequisite: None.
 
The social and practical basis of the law. Covers the legal and ethical environment of business, contracts, agency and employment, and the law of sales. 54 hours lecture.
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION FOR CLASS SCHEDULE
Legal and ethical environment of business, torts, contracts, sales, and principles of agency and employment.
 
ADVISORY ENTRY SKILLS
None.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

Analyze and explain the various sources of law which comprise the
legal system.

Explain the nature of the legal system in the US and how laws are
created.

Analyze torts and crimes as they relate to business.

Analyze torts and their crime.

Describe how tort, criminal and contract law principles affect
business.

Analyze and describe the creation, administration, and termination
of the sale of goods as set forth in the Uniform Commercial Code.

Identify and distinguish the various laws of agency and
employment and labor law.

Analyze and apply ethical business standards as they relate to
business decisions and transactions.

Apply college-level methods of analysis and evaluation to
discussing and writing about legal and ethic dilemmas as they
relate to case law.
 
COURSE CONTENT
  TOPICS
 
  1. The Legal Environment
    1. The nature of law as it applies to business activities and the legal environment
    2. Sources of American Law as a foundation for case caw
    3. The Common Law Tradition of case precedent, equitable principles and maxims
    4. Classifications of Law and how to apply them
  2. Constitutional Law
    1. The constitutional powers of the government as they relate to business
    2. Business and the Bill of Rights with respect to due process, equal protection and privacy rights.
  3.  Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution
    1. The judiciary’s role and basic judicial requirements that are utilized in the state and federal court systems
    2. Courts and the Online World; how to adapt to the online legal environment
    3. Alternative Dispute Resolution; negotiation,  mediation, and arbitration
  4. Torts and Cyber Torts
    1. Intentional torts against persons  and property, and the defenses to
    2. Unintentional torts, defenses, liability and damages; strict liability; cyber torts
  5. Intellectual Property
    1. Trademarks as they relate to property; copyrights, trade secrets, and protection of intellectual property.
    2. Registering trademarks and protecting your trade secrets
  6. Criminal Law & Cyber Crimes
    1. Differences between civil and criminal law; classifications of crimes; corporate crimes and business criminal liability; types of crimes and defenses to
    2. Constitutional safeguards and criminal procedures; cyber crimes and how to protect against them
  7. Ethics and Professional Responsibility
    1. Setting the right ethical tone in business; business ethics and the law; business approaches to ethical reasoning; business ethics on a global level
    2. Creating and ethical workplace
  8. Contracts
    1. The function of contracts, requirements, and types of contracts in the legal business and environment
    2. Agreement and consideration, capacity and legality, illegality, and defenses to contract   enforceability.
    3. Third Party rights and discharge, breach and remedies; measurement of damages, and recovery based on quasi contract; contract provisions limiting remedies
    4. E-Contracts; the formation and partnering agreements.
  9. Sales and Lease Contracts
    1. The formation of sales and lease contracts under the Uniform Commercial Code; the scope of Article 2A; Title and risk of loss; performance of breach of sales and lease contracts and the remedies of the seller or lessor, and buyer or lessee; limitation of remedies
  10. Warranties and Product Liability
    1. Warranties, Lemon law, and product liability issues; strict, negligence
    2. Defenses to product liability claims
  11. Agency Relationship in Business
    1. How agencies are formed, duties of agents and principals, and liability in agency relationships.
    2. Classification and criteria for employees and independent contactors as it applies to business law; respondent superior
  12. Labor and Employment Law
    1. Employment at will, contracts, wage-hour law, and labor unions for employee protection
    2. Worker health and safety, family and medical leave, and employment-related immigration laws of the workplace
  13.  Employment Discrimination
    1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Equal pay act, and the various types of employment based discrimination; defenses to discrimination
    2. Affirmative action and state statutes as they apply to employment laws
  14. Case studies of Landmark cases may include, but are not limited to, the following: 
    1. Gibbons v. Ogden
    2. Marbury v. Madison
    3. Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.
    4. Miranda v. Arizona
    5. Hadley v. Baxendale
 
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
 Methods of instruction used to achieve student learning outcomes may include, but are not limited to:

  • Presentation of class lectures and discussion in order to identify and explain the various sources of law that comprise the legal system.
  • Guest lecturers from the business and legal environments in order to discuss current events and topics as they relate to the legal systems and how laws in the US are created.
  • Presentation, discussion, and detailed examination of case law studies in order to apply the rules of a case to a particular set of facts.
  • Showing films, videos, slides, distributing handouts, and/or using electronic or computer-based media in order to reinforce understanding of concepts related to the classification of torts and crimes, contracts, the judicial systems, agency, employment and labor relationships.
  • Cooperative/collaborative learning tasks and activities designed to assist students in activating, stimulating, and acting upon the resources of the internet as a resource for solving legal and ethical dilemmas.
  • Group and /or individual conferences in order to evaluate and advise students with case activities as they related to ethical business standards and business decisions.
  • Computer-assisted and/or web-enhanced, telecourse and/or online  instruction such as web quest, web site reviews, internet presentations, discussion board postings, online paper submission and presentations of material, which reinforces course content.
  • Creating and assigning pair and small group activities such as mini-jurors in order to expose the students to real or hypothetical cases as they relate to the legal concepts in the readings.
 
METHODS OF EVALUATION
 Students will be evaluated for progress in and/or mastery of learning outcomes by methods of evaluation which may include, but are not limited to:

  • Written summaries, reports and presentations of cases or current events that are  designed to evaluate a students business and legal problem solving skills as they relate to the application of case law and principles; students should be able to gather, interpret facts and data, and apply the law to the case or hypothetical.
  • Class, group, or Individual case projects and assignments that identify, and describe the various legal principles that should be applied in a particular situation.
  • Participation and regular attendance are required by instructor to ensure progress in mastering the course content and participation in collaborative learning projects.
  • Quizzes/Examinations designed to evaluate a students mastery of the key legal principles of the chapter topics which analyze and separate various classifications of laws.
  • Final Examination designed to assess student learning outcomes as well as demonstrate successful understanding and mastery of the essential concepts and legal case principles explored in the course.
ASSIGNMENTS

Required Reading Assignments


Required Writing Assignments


Other Outside-of-Class Assignments
 
COURSE MATERIALS
 All materials used in this course will be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for college level instruction. Possible texts include:

  • Miller & Jentz. Business Law Today, Standard Edition. 7th ed. West Publishing Company, 2006.
  • Miller & Hollowell. Student Guide and Online Research Guide to Accompany West’s Business Law Today. 7th ed. West Publishing Company, 2006.
  • Beatty & Samuelson. Introduction to Business Law. 2nd ed. West legal Studies in Business, 2007.
  • Mann & Roberts. Essentials of Business Law and the Legal Environment. 9th ed. West Legal Studies in Business, 2007.
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