BUEN 108:Entrepreneurship -  Legal Issues & Ethics

Spring 2009

Instructor:

 Ken Weimer

Phone:

Office phone: 269-965-3931, ext. 2518

Office Hours:
Online:

Please review the posted office hours on my KCC "Faculty Web Page" at: http://academic.kellogg.edu/weimerk

My office is located on the Kellogg Community College Battle Creek Campus in the Ohm Information Technology Center- 201D.     

OR

You can contact me by telephone or email to make an appointment.  It is best to contact me via the course discussion board or email.  I will respond to email within two working days or sooner.  Email: weimerk@kellogg.edu

Course Prerequisites:  

BUEN 102 or taken concurrently

Textbook    

       

Supplies

Required:  The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce by Henry R. Cheeseman   Fifth Edition.  Publisher: Pearson/Prentice Hall.  Year: 2007  ISBN: 0-13-199109-4

Recommended: 1 USB 128 MB Memory stick and 1 notebook - binder

Online Course Features and Requirements

Number of tests:    0        of which   0  must be proctored at an approved test center.    

Required on campus sessions:   0

Discussion Questions: 18 (1 set of questions, cases or Internet exercises per chapter unit)

Chapter Quizzes: 18 (1 online quiz per chapter)

Summary of the legal and ethical aspects relating to your business: 1 (summary outline)

Estimated time per week:  9.6 hours per week in a 5 week session

Group interaction required:  Yes, using Blackboard's Discussion board

Scheduled activities or self paced:  Scheduled Activities for each week

Requirements: 

Students must have access to the following:

  • Equipment:  You will need a computer that is able to access and interact with the Web. For best results, a Pentium or PowerMac with a 56 Kbps or faster modem and 256 MB or more of RAM should be considered the minimal system.
  • Software:  You will need one of the following Internet browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or higher; Firefox; Mac users may use Safari or Firefox.
  • Internet connection: Home users need Internet access through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that offers a reliable connection to the Internet.

Other requirements: To access Blackboard, it is better to use Microsoft Internet Explorer rather than AOL or Netscape browsers.

Course Site:

http://bb.kellogg.edu  

Curriculum Statement:

This course will help you determine if you have the potential for being a successful entrepreneur. 

Description

This course introduces future entrepreneurs to the legal requirements for forming and operating a business. Students will follow the progression of a start-up business and anticipate its legal concerns through the stages of growth up to an initial public offering.  It presents the substantive and practical legal guidance necessary to excel in business. The course also includes a review of the ethical issues that small business owners frequently confront. 

Objectives

  A.---Explain legal issues effecting businesses

         1.  Describe the legal requirements of forming and operating a business.

         2.  Determine the legal ramifications of being an employer.

         3.  Recognize the legalities of selling goods and services

  B.---Protect intellectual property rights

         1.  Identifying the laws involving intellectual property.

         2.  List the cyberlaws and their impact on business.

  C.---Select form of business ownership

         1. List the forms different forms of business structures and ownership.

         2. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of each type of business structure. 

         3. Describe the legal and ethical aspects involved with raising money.

         4. Describe the legal aspects of forming and working with a board.

         5. Know the legal aspects of buying and selling a business

  D.---Obtain legal documents and advice for business operations

         1.  Explore resources for securing the legal documents to address business needs.

         2.  Identify the legal impact of contracts, leases.

         3.  Identify the need to select and work with an attorney.

  E.---Describe the nature of businesses’ reporting requirements

         1.  List the types of reports and entities that require them for a business.

         2.  Describe the purpose and impact of reports for a business.

  F.---Adhere to personal regulations

         1.  Describe the legal and ethical responsibilities of being in business.

         2.  Identify the legal concerns pertaining to venture capital.

 G.---Implement workplace regulations (including OSHA, ADA)

       1.  Identify the regulations that may impact a business.

         2.  Develop a plan to address workplace regulation requirements for a business.

 H.---Develop Strategies for legal/government compliance

         1.  Identify the legal and government aspects for which a business must comply.

         2.  Develop a plan that addresses the responsibilities of a business to comply.

         3.  Describe creditors' rights and bankruptcy relating to business 

         4.  Identify the liabilities of being in business.

  I.---Discuss the ethical implications associated with business ownership and operation

         1.  List and describe the ethical challenges of being in business.

Grading

Derivation of grades: the total points earned will determine the final grade from the following:

  1. Case study discussion questions,
  2. Summary outline of legal and ethical  applications to a business
  3. Chapter quizzes.

 

Case Study Discussion Questions:   Apply learned concepts from the course by evaluating real-world situations and determining the best means to address the situation with a detailed response.  These tasks have a total value of three hundred sixty (360) points (48% of the final course grade).

Summary outline addressing the legal and ethical applications for a business:  Using the outline of course objectives, students will determine how to address the relevant legal and ethical aspects of their business within their business plan.  This summary has a value of two hundred seventy ( 270)  points (36% of the final total)

Quizzes:  Each chapter requires the completion of an online quiz.  Students are allowed multiple attempts for completing each quiz. Each quiz has a value of 20 points The quizzes have a total value of one hundred eighty (180) points (24% of the final total.

The above values represent the percentage of earned points, out of 750 points possible.  It is possible for a student to earn 810 points (there are sixty extra built-in points).    

Grading Scale

100-95  A

94-90 A-

89-87 B+

86-83 B

82-80 B-

79-77 C+

76-73 C

72-70 C-

69-67 D+

66-63 D

62-60 D-

Below 60 F

The above values represent the percentage of earned points, out of 750 points possible.  It is possible for a student to earn 810 points (there are sixty extra built-in points). 

 

Academic Policies 

Please refer to the current Kellogg Community College catalog and the Registrar's Office to determine the process for course registration and schedule adjustments that includes: Drop/Add and Course Cancellations; Auditing a Course; Course Withdrawal, Withdrawal from College, and Administratively Initiated Withdrawals. 

"I" Grades: 

Incomplete ("I") is only given for the most extenuating circumstances and only when a student is currently passing the course (with at least 73%) with a majority of all course work completed for the semester.  If an "Incomplete" status is approved, the remaining portion of the course work must be completed within one calendar year.  It is the student's responsibility to make arrangements with the instructor issuing the grade for completion of the remaining course requirements.

Attendance

 The course is delivered in an online format.  A student is expected to submit work within the weekly scheduled deadlines for all assignments.  Periods of inactivity may result in a recommendation of being administratively withdrawn from the course.

Cheating

Cheating is NOT permitted. Any students caught cheating will receive NO points for the exam or quiz in which the cheating occurred, and/or will be subject to the disciplinary procedures of Kellogg Community College (at the discretion of the instructor).  

Disclaimer

Information contained in this syllabus was, to the best knowledge of the instructor, considered correct and complete when distributed for use at the beginning of the semester. However, this syllabus should not be considered a contract between Kellogg Community College and any student, nor between any student and the instructor. The instructor reserves the right, acting within the policies and procedures of Kellogg Community College, to make changes in course content or instructional techniques without notice or obligation.

Make-up Policy

 Work submitted after the assigned due date must be completed within one week of the original assignment due date.  Late work will have a 20% reduction of possible points.

Computer Access at KCC

It is assumed that students enrolled in this course have at their disposal appropriate equipment and software to complete the course work and communicate with other students.  If there are problems with your equipment and/or software, it is possible to come the KCC's Campus and use the open computer lab in the Learning Resource Center.  See KCC's web site for campus maps and lab times. 

Online Interactive Media

This course will use Blackboard as a means of delivery.  Students will also be expected to access Internet and World Wide Web resources and to use the publishers' Web sites as reference resources to complete assigned tasks.

Online Submitting Materials

Students will be expected to use e-mail attachments and the blackboard site for this class to submit materials. 

ADA Statement

Kellogg Community College does not discriminate in the admission or treatment of students on the basis of disability.  KCC is committed to compliance with the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.