University of North TexasBusiness Law 5050

Legal & Ethical Environment of Business

Prof. Kathryn McCauley
ONLINE COURSE via BLACKBOARD/WEB CT
Fall 2015
Instructor info: Kathryn McCauley
Email: Its easist to send an email via Blackboards email
Phone: (940) 565-2614 (please identify yourself as a Business Law student)
Blackboard The syllabus, discussion forum, announcements, grades and chapter powerpoints
will be posted to Blackboard. In order to access this website, do the following:
Go to the UNT homepage (www.unt.edu)
Click on Blackboard, at the top of the page
IMPORTANT: YOU MUST ALLOW POP-UPS ON THIS SITE
Login with your EIUD and password
Click on BLAW 5050
Required Text:
1) Cross, Frank B. and Miller, Roger LeRoy.2015, 2012 (9th ed., Texas Edition). The Legal Enviornment of
Business, Text and Cases. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

You have several options regarding purchasing the text. Follow this link:
http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?Ntt=cross+miller||
209944654320989542031044526078217717853&N=16&Ntk=APG%7C%7CP_EPI&Ntx=mode
%2Bmatchallpartial
Business Law 5050 The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business

The Legal Environment of Business: Text and Cases -- Ethical, Regulatory, Global, and Corporate Issues,
9th Edition
Cross/Miller
ISBN-13: 978-1-285-42894-8
2015, 2012 | Hardcover | 816 Pages

Course Outline
There are five main topics

Foundations of the Legal & Ethical Environment of Business (Chpts. 1-3)

Foundations (continued) (Chpts. 4, 5, 7)

Torts and Product Liability (Chpts. 12 &13)

Contracts (Chpts. 9-11)

International Law in a Global Economy (Chpt. 8)

This hyperlink directs you to important the textbooks companion website (bookmark this hyperlink)
where you can access self-quizzes to prepare for tests:
http://coursemate.cengage.com/CPReader/View/9781285435459/default.aspx?eISBN=9781285435459
Weekly Assignments
These will be released based on the schedule provided below. Each week, on Mondays at 6 a.m., a new
assignment will be released on Blackboard. The graded discussions and quizzes must be completed by
midnight the following Sunday. You may complete the work at your own pace, but you must do so within
the time allowed. The assignments will be as follows:

A discussion of a topic from the weeks material. These discussions will be graded. To receive
credit for participating, you must submit two grammatically correct, thoughtful submissions.
(NOTE: The discussion must include some references to the materials you were assigned. In
other words, it should reflect that you read and understand the readings.) Graded discussions
will be made available when that weeks material becomes available. These will be clearly
marked as graded. Sometimes, other discussion topics may be posted. If they arent marked
graded, then you may participate if the topic interests you.

A quiz based on the chapters covered that week. A description of the quiz, the time allotted and
instructions will be posted with each weekly assignment. Quizzes are to be completed by
midnight the following Sunday. NOTE: Please read quiz instructions carefully. The formats
may change from week to week. Also, these are timed. If you walk away from the quiz, you
cant restart the time when you get back.

There will be no makeup for missed assignments or quizzes.

Course Evaluation: Your grades will be determined by the following criteria:

Weekly graded discussions =
10%
Weekly quizzes/exercises =
20%
Law & Ethics Assignment =
20%
Final Exam =
50%
Grades assigned as follows: A=90 and above; B=80-89.9; C=70-79.9; D=60.9-691 F=59.9 or lower
Final Exam: The Final Exam will be released on Wednesday, October 15th and must be submitted (via
Blackboard) by midnight, Sunday, October 19th.
Class begins [August 24, 2015]
-

Welcome
Course Instructions & Assignments
Meet & Greet
Get textbook and begin reading for Week 1

Week 1 [August 31st ]

- Course Topic 1: Chapters 1, 2, and 3
Week 1 Discussion & Quiz Due by midnight, Sunday, September 6th
Week 2 [September 7th]
- Course Topic (continued): Chapters 4, 5, and 7
Week 1 Discussion & Quiz Due by midnight, Sunday, September 6th
Week 3 [September 14th]
- Course Topic 3: Chapters 12 and 13
Week 2 Discussion & Quiz Due by midnight, Sunday, September 13th
Week 4 [September 21st]
- Course Topic 4: Chapters 9, 10 and 11
Week 3 Discussion & Quiz Due by midnight, Sunday, September 20th
Week 5 [September 28tht]
- Course Topic 5: International Law, Chapter 8 & Reading Assignment (TBA)
Week 4 Discussion & Quiz Due by midnight, Sunday, September 27th
Week 6 [October 5th]
- Law & Ethics Assignment released
Week 8 & Reading Assignment quiz and Discussion Due by midnight, October 4 th
Week 7 [October 12th]
- TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH MIDNIGHT LAW & ETHICS ASSIGNMENT DUE
- WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH 6 a.m. FINAL EXAM RELEASED ONLINE
- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18TH MIDNIGHT FINAL EXAM DUE

DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
The University of North Texas is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal
opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 92-112 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With
the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same
opportunities enjoyed by all citizens.
As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with
disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests
with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation
through designated administrative channels. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies
for obtaining academic accommodations can be found at http://www.unt.edu/oda/apply/index.html. Also,
you may visit the Office of Disability Accommodation in the University Union (room 321) or call them at
(940) 565-4323. If you need an accommodation, please contact me as soon as possible but at the latest by
the second week of class.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Academic dishonesty is defined in the UNT Policy on Student Standards for Academic Integrity. Any
suspected case of Academic Dishonestly will be handled in accordance with the University policy and
procedures. Possible academic penalties include a grade of F in the course. You will find the policy and
procedures at http://vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm
If I suspect that you have engaged in academic dishonesty, I will deal with the situation as outlined in the
University Policy shown above. You will be allowed to remain in the class during the entire time that the
academic misconduct accusation is being investigated, adjudicated, and appealed. As noted above, the

maximum academic penalty that can be assessed by an instructor is an F in the course. However, university
officials use the academic misconduct information to decide if other misconduct sanctions are then to be
applied, and the student has separate rights to appeal those decisions, remaining in the class until all appeals
are exhausted.

STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS (SETE)

The Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SETE) is a requirement for all organized classes at
UNT. This short survey will be made available to you at the end of the semester, providing you a chance to
comment on how this class is taught. I am very interested in the feedback that I get from students, as I
work to continually improve my teaching. I consider participation in the SETE to be an important part of
your involvement in this class and in all of your classes so please participate in the SETE process. The
administration of the SETE will begin a couple of weeks before the end of the semester and remain open
through the week of finals to try to maximize student SETE participation. You can access the SETE
instrument by going to http://www.my.unt.edu
EAGLE CONNECT ACCOUNT

All students should activate and regularly check their EagleConnect (e-mail) account. EagleConnect is used
for official communication from the University to students. Many important announcements for the
University and College are sent to students via EagleConnect. For information about EagleConnect,
including how to activate an account and how to have EagleConnect forwarded to another e-mail address,
visit https://eagleconnect.unt.edu/
CONTACTING YOUR INSTRUCTOR

I will check the Blackboard class page at least once a day. Times will vary.
The best way to contact me is to send an e-mail within the Blackboard class page. If you send an email to
my UNT address it may well be filtered out by the University spam filters (and there are several!).
You can also post a discussion question for the class to respond to. I will check the discussion pages as
well.
My phone number is 940-565-2614. Please the number handy in case there are Blackboard issues that we
need to discuss. If you have technical problems with Blackboard, please contact the UNT Student Helpdesk
940-565-2324 or by email: helpdesk@unt.edu.
NOTE If you are experiencing problems posting on Blackboard, such as accessing the quizzes or
responding to Discussions, your first line of contact should be the UNT Student Helpdesk. If you email me
about your problem, my first question to you will be: What did the Helpdesk say? This also protects you.
If you received assistance from the Helpdesk, they may create a ticket for you. If you email me that ticket
number, I can contact the Helpdesk the next day and find out what went wrong.
BLACKBOARD NOTE Every week, Blackboard goes offline for updates. This usually happens on
Saturday evenings. Please be aware of this. Usually when you click on the Blackboard link, there will be an
announcement on the login page about this. Dont start your quiz 10 minutes before Blackboard begins its
updates.

Assignments by Week and Day

Date/Week
Week One

Topic/Chapters
Welcome

Monday, August 31st, 6 a.m.

Course Instructions and Assignments

Course Material - Topic One: Chapters
1, 2 and 3

Week Two
Monday, September 7th, 6 a.m.
Sunday, September 6thMidnight

Course Material - Topic One

(continued): Chapters 4, 5 and 7
Week One Discussion and Quiz Due.

Week Three
Monday, September 14th, 6 a.m. Course material - Topic Two: Chapters
12 & 13
th
Sunday, September 13 Week Two Discussion and Quiz Due.
Midnight
Week Four
Monday, September 21st 6 a.m. Course material - Topic Three:
Chapters 9, 10 & 11
th
Sunday, September 20
Week Three Discussion and Quiz Due.
-Midnight
Week Five
Course Material Topic Five: Chapter 8
th
Monday, September 28 , 6 a.m. & Reading Assignment (TBA)
Sunday, September 27th Week Four Discussion and Quiz Due.
Midnight
Week Six
Monday, October 5th 6 a.m.

Law & Ethics Assignment Released

Sunday, October 4th -Midnight

Week Five Assignment & Quiz Due.

Week Seven
Tuesday, October 13 -Midnight

Law & Ethics Assignment Due

Wednesday, October 14- 6 a.m.

Final Exam Released

Sunday, October 18th - Midnight FINAL EXAM DUE