BUS205: BUSINESS LAW AND ETHICS
Details
Law, in its simplest form, is used to protect one party from another. For instance, laws protect customers from being exploited by companies. Laws protect companies from other companies. Laws even protect citizens and corporations from the government. However, law is neither perfect nor all encompassing. Sometimes, societal ethics fill the voids that laws leave behind; other times, usually when societal ethics have been systematically violated by a group of the population, we write laws that are designed to require individuals to live up to certain ethical standards. In the backlash of the Enron scandal (where Enron executives used accounting tricks to hide losses) for example, new accounting laws were passed. Similarly, as a result of the financial crisis of 2008, legislators proposed new regulations designed to enforce a certain standard of ethical behavior within the financial services industry.
This course will introduce you to the laws and ethical standards that managers must abide by in the course of conducting business. Laws and ethics almost always shape a company’s decision-making process: a bank cannot charge any interest rate it wants to
charge – that rate must be appropriate. Car manufacturers must install hardware and develop new technologies to keep up with regulations designed to reduce pollution. By the end of this course, you will have a clear understanding of the legal and ethical
environment in which businesses operate.
Learning Outcomes
- identify sources of law in the United States;
- describe the function and role of courts in the US legal system;
- differentiate litigation from methods of alternative dispute resolution, and discuss the process of each;
- list the elements of the major torts;
- list the essential elements of a valid contract;
- describe how a contract can fail;
- summarize the remedies available for breach of contract;
- distinguish between real and personal property;
- identify the various interests in real property and how they pass;
- identify the requirements to hold various rights under intellectual property laws;
- analyze the impact of the digital era on intellectual property rights;
- distinguish between at-will employment and contractual employment;
- identify laws that generally regulate the employer-employee relationship;
- identify criminal acts related to the business world;
- define and identify examples of white collar crime;
- describe the various forms of business organization;
- identify the major laws regulating business in the United States;
- identify major ethical concerns in business today;
- distinguish between Aristotle’s ethical theory, utilitarianism, and Kant’s ethical theory;
- distinguish Aristotle and Kant’s ethical theories, and utilitarianism, from cultural relativism and nihilism; and
- analyze case studies that illustrate ethical dilemmas in business ethics.
Course Requirements
√ have access to a computer;
√ have continuous broadband Internet access;
√ have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (Adobe Reader, Flash, etc.);
√ have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer;
√ have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.);
√ have competency in the English language; and
√ have read the Saylor Student Handbook.
Saylor Academy’s mission is to open education to all.
Saylor Academy’s mission is sustained by the continued evolution of an open educational ecosystem, and we are dedicated partners in this movement. Saylor’s commitment to the open education ecosystem is founded not just on open educational resources and open source learning technologies, but also on open access to credentials, and ongoing open learning opportunities.
Guided by these beliefs, Saylor Academy is currently focused on the following projects:
Open Courses: Maintenance and Learner-Centered Improvements
- A commitment to the OER community means that we’ll continue to replace open access materials with openly licensed ones in an effort to make Saylor courseware as reusable and remixable as possible.
- Open courses require more instructional supports for learners, so our current improvements focus on ensuring better and more frequent opportunities for Saylor students to practice what they’re learning.
Open Credentials: Adding New Opportunities and Bolstering Existing Ones
- We’re working on expanding our suite of Saylor Direct credit recommended exams, and we’re also keen on working with university partners to develop innovative and flexible partner degree launching and completion programs. ...
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