2017 Spring-- BUS 5933-41

COURSE: Corporate Ethics & Legal Environment/Business

Ethics & Law
Semester: Spring, 2017
Course Dates: 1/21/17; 2/04/17 & 2/18/17
Time: 9:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m.
Tarrant College Corporate Training Center
Fort Worth, Texas 76177
817-515-2200

INSTRUCTION/CLASS INFORMATION:

Instructor: Judge Jo Ann Reyes, J.D., MBA

Email address: judgereyes@gmail.com
Gmail address is for direct communication w/ instructor to student
and is confidential.
**(please use this address as the TWU address is not working
for instructor)**

Office phone: 817-392-2630 (for emergencies only)

Office hours: by phone, email, or appointment only

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

BUS 5933. Business Ethics and Legal Environment. A critical

examination/evaluation and discussion of ethical alternatives with
respect to decision-making and action in business and managerial
practice. We will examine contemporary cases involving personal,
social and legal issues as well as theoretical and empirical
foundations in the classical system of ethics. Credit: 3 hours.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES:

The success and longevity of all business managers requires the

understanding and use of legal and ethical concepts and practices.
Law and Ethics provide the foundation for planning and controlling
as well as for costing products, services and customers. In order to
be an effective manager, one needs to have a framework for
making decisions in an ethical, fair manner in compliance with the
law. This course is designed to help managers with minimal or
much experience, consider the importance of ethics and its
relationship to the legal system. Emphasis will be placed on
practical applications of ethics and business law to common
situations.

TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER REQUIRED READINGS:

Required Text for class: Halbert & Ingulli, Law & Ethics in the
Business Environment 8th Edition.
REQUIREMENTS FOR COURSE CREDIT

All writing assignments are to follow guidelines for proper grammar

and punctuation. A single staple should bind multiple page writing
assignments in the upper left-hand corner. Utilize a cover sheet for
all written assignments that includes your name, the course name
and number, the title of the assignment, and the date it is
submitted. Papers will not be returned (make yourself a
copy).

 Class Attendance: Each student is expected to

attend every class session and to arrive on time. Your
grade will be affected if you arrive to class late.
Attendance in class is considered a necessary factor in
the learning process. Therefore, absences for any
reasons must be kept to a minimum and well
documented. Students are held responsible for all
academic information from your fellow classmates.
Violations of the attendance policy may result in the
student receiving a grade of F. No make-up work is
accepted except for an excused absence.

 Student Participation: Each student is expected to

participate in discussions on the discussion board/ and,
or in class and is considered a necessary factor in the
learning process. Students are expected to read all
materials for each class session, attend all class
sessions, and participate in class discussions and/or on
the discussion board. Class participation influences
your grade. Your grade depends on class participation.
Read all materials and be prepared for class
discussions.

 Discussion Board & Class Discussion: Class

discussion must be reflective of significant thinking and
application of material. Responses such as “I agree” do
not count as a response. Each student is required to
respond, ask a question, or participate in class or on
the discussion board.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: This course will utilize a variety of

instructional methods including lectures, class, discussion board;
parallel reading; presentations; and audio/visual media
presentations.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

 Please use instructor email: judgereyes@gmail.com

(do not use the TWU email)
 Prepare your computer settings for BLACKBOARD
  Instructional Support Services has technology
information available for your reference at:
http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/browsers.htm

Information on plug-ins for the BlackBoard application

may be found at:
http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/plugins.htm

INTERNET AND EMAIL:

ALL Students are expected to have access to the internet
and
have a TWU email addresses. Note that you
can contact other students in the class
through Blackboard email. Be sure that you
regularly check your TWU email address or
have it forwarded to your regular email
address.

 CELL PHONE POLICY: Turn off all cell phones in class!

Classroom disruption by cell phones and paging devices
is prohibited. A student facing the possibility of
receiving emergency calls may leave the device on
silent or vibrate mode during class if he/she has
previously informed the professor. Otherwise, all cell
phones and pagers must be turned off at the beginning
of class. Routine work-related calls or personal calls
from friends are not considered emergencies.
Repeated violation of this policy is subject to dismissal
or failure in the course.

 ELECTRONIC DEVICES: Laptops may be used in class

but only to take notes and is permitted at the
instructors’ discretion. A student may face a zero
and/or failure in the class if an electronic device is used
for recreation or cheating during a test.

 POSTING of FINAL GRADES: Each faculty member

has the right to post or not post final course grades for
each class. Final course grades provided to a student
by a faculty member may not be relied upon as official.
Students may access their official final grades online
through pioneer portal. According to FERPA, faculty
may not provide final grade information to
students via telephone, email, posting or any
other source which might compromise student
confidentiality.

 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY: As a professional, you

are expected to come to class, and to come prepared.
You are expected to read and thoughtfully study all
assigned materials and complete all assignments.
 Always be ready to discuss and assigned materials.
Ask questions to clarify any parts of the material that
you do not understand. You are expected to participate
in class appropriately. You are expected to turn in
assignments on the dates scheduled and to follow
directions.

 TURNING IN ASSIGNMENTS LATE OR NOT AS

DIRECTED:
Please follow directions on Blackboard. If you do not
follow directions, you will not receive full credit, and in
some cases no credit. Make sure your computer is
working, late assignments will not be accepted because
your computer is not working. You are responsible to
find another computer to complete assignments.

**Late assignments may be accepted, at the

prerogative of the instructor, if there is a valid reason
for the late submission. The student will be penalized
and your grade will be affected.

 An EMBA program is your opportunity to learn how to

better think, process information, write, and present.
This requires work and a great deal of personal effort. I
am always willing to help, but cannot complete the
work for you.

 STUDY TIME/MATERIAL COVERED: Most of TWU –

EMBA classes are designed to take twice as much time
OUTSIDE OF CLASS as they do in class. Remember that
a large part of your learning experience depends upon
your efforts, not just the efforts of the instructor. A
typical student should plan about 10 hours of time
outside class each week for each three-hour graduate
class. Some classes will require more.

 GROUP STUDYING/MISSED CLASSES: You are

strongly encouraged to use group study techniques.
You will be expected to work in a group to prepare For
your group project and presentation.

Should you miss class for any reason or arrive late for
class, you are responsible for getting any missed
information from a classmate. Please know ahead of
time that missing a class for most reasons, WILL
RESULT IN LOSS OF ATTENDANCE /PARTICIPATION
GRADE POINTS.

 Missing a class due to illness or emergency will require

appropriate documentation.
  We have only 3 (three) class days, so your attendance
is expected from the beginning to the end of the day.

 No extra work or extra make-up work will be assigned

or accepted as credit for having missed all or any part
of any class.

Academic Integrity:
Honesty in completing assignments is essential to the mission of
the university and to the development of the personal integrity of
the student. In submitting graded assignments, students affirm
that they have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance,
and that they have abided by all other provision of the Code of
Conduct in the TWU Student Handbook. Cheating, plagiarism, or
other kinds of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will
result in appropriate sanctions that may include failing an
assignment, failing the class, or being suspended or expelled.
Suspected cases in this course may be reported to Student Life.
The specific disciplinary process for academic dishonesty is found
in the TWU Student Handbook. The TWU library link, “Avoiding
Plagiarism,” will aid students in completing their assignments with
integrity.

APA Format
The official form and style format for the School of Management is
APA. All written assignments must use appropriate APA format for
citations, references, and other aspects of form and style.

Syllabus Subject to Change

The data provided in this document is for information and planning
only. The dates are subject to change based on the material
covered and unexpected circumstances that require changing the
schedule.

Use of anti-plagiarism software

In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas
Woman’s University vigorously affirms the importance of academic
honesty as defined by the Student Handbook. Therefore, in an
effort to detect and prevent plagiarism, faculty members at Texas
Woman’s University may now use a tool called Turn It In to compare
a student’s work with multiple sources It then reports a percentage
of similarity and provides links to those specific sources. The tool
itself does not determine whether or not a paper has been
plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual
faculty member.

** ALL REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS IN THIS COURSE MAY BE

CHECKED FOR PLAGIARISM USING TURNITIN.COM OR SOME
OF THE REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS IN THIS COURSE OR
ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE RANDOMLY CHECKED.
Plagiarism: DO YOUR OWN WORK. IF YOU USE SOMEONE ELSE’S
IDEAS IN YOUR WRITTEN WORK, PLEASE REFERENCE IT
ACCORDINGLY. Official definitions and policies pertaining to
plagiarism are contained in the Student Handbook.

Academic Dishonesty: Honesty in completing assignments is

essential to the mission of the university and to the development of
the Personal integrity of the student. Cheating, plagiarism, or other
kinds of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in
appropriate sanctions that may include failing an assignment,
failing the class, being suspended or expelled.

The University expects its students to maintain high standards of

personal and scholarly conduct. All instructors shall have the right
to examine materials in the students possession during quizzes,
examinations, and / or laboratory sessions. In instances of cheating
during an examination or other classroom or laboratory activity or
exercise, the instructor shall have the right to suspend the
student(s) who is (are) cheating from further work on the
examination or exercise and to deny the student(s) who is (are)
cheating from further work on the examination or exercise and to
deny the student(s) credit for the examination or exercise.
Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
 Cheating
 Plagiarism
 Collusion
 Abuse of resource materials
 Computer misuse

Code of Student Conduct and Discipline Policy: Every

graduate student is expected to comply with the student conduct
and discipline policy of the University. Every graduate student
should obtain a copy of the booklet entitled Student Handbook,
which sets forth the official policies governing all student conduct
at TWU. The Code of Student Conduct clearly stipulates a student
rights in the event he or she is charged with misconduct of some
violation of the University’s regulations. This may also be accessed
online at http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentHandbook.pdf.

STUDENTS with Disabilities:

If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet
the requirements of this course, you must register with the office of
Disability Support Services (CFO 106, 940-898-3835, dss@twu.edu)
in order to obtain the required official notification
of our accommodation needs. Please plan to meet with me by
appointment or during office hours to discuss approved
accommodations and how my course requirements and activities
may impact your ability to fully participate.
COURSE SCHEDULE

Session One: Saturday, January 21, 2017

 Introduction of instructor & class

 DISCUSS SYLLABUS

 Participation Grade: Everyone starts out with a

grade of 80 and grade goes up from there- depending
on participation and discussion in class.

 How to Pass this class !

 Discuss an ethical situation that has happened to

you or someone you know ( personal or at work);

 Discussion of Chapters 1, 2, & 3

 Quiz # 1 on Chapters 1, 2, & 3 to be taken in

class

 Movie (Optional)

 Discussion of Ethical Problems and Issues

 Choose groups for group project and

presentation; break-out work session for groups to
work on group project and presentation.

Session Two: Saturday, February 04, 2017

 2 possibilities FOR EXTRA CREDIT: Turn in (1) or (2)

Articles regarding an Ethical issue in a business
context. TOPIC MUST BE APPROVED BY
INSTRUCTOR.
( hard copy to be turned in during class; no emails
accepted; NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED) . Must be at
least 3-4 pages in length! You must have references
AND /or cites attached.
Must DOUBLE SPACE !!!!!

** This is extra credit** (optional)

  Class Assignment of news article regarding an
ethical issue in a business context. (each student
to present article in front of class w/ class participation
& question and answer period); hard copy to be turned
into instructor ( no emails on assignment)
Must be at least 3 -4 pages in length ; You must have
references and cites ; Must double space and article
must be attached.

 Discussion of Chapters 4, 5, & 6

 Quiz # 2 on Chapters 4, 5, & 6 will be taken in class

 Break-out work session for groups to work on group

project & presentation.

Session Three: Saturday, February 18, 2017

 Discussion of Chapters 7, 8, & 9

 Quiz # 3 on Chapters 7, 8, 9 will be taken in class

 Quiz about movie: The Big Short

 Group Presentations ( these presentations will go on

until we finish with all presentations) Each group is
allotted a set time. Question and Answer period will
not be part of allotted time.

 PEER EVALUATION. Each person must turn in a

Peer Evaluation. ( The peer evaluation must be
emailed to me by February 22, 2017). Peer
Evaluations are confidential.

 ** Up to 5 (five) Points will be deducted if you

fail to turn in peer evaluation on each member of
your group.** ( Your peer evaluation must be
specific in evaluating each member of your
group) General statements and being non
descriptive will affect the points given to you.

**Group Project Papers ( in hard copy) are due on Saturday,

February 18, 20167 and shall be handed to the instructor in
hard copy form.

***The Power Point Presentation Copy is also due when the

Group presents their Project Paper.
2 Papers are due on Last Day of Class; The Group Project
Paper & The Group Project Power Point Presentations are
due on last class day February 18, 2017.

GRADING / ATTENDANCE / QUIZZES / ASSIGNMENTS: (Group

Project & Presentations):

1. Attendance IS MANDATORY; if
you miss class your grade will be
affected. (If student late or misses
class this will affect your grade.
Each missed class may result in a
letter grade taken off.

2. Participation ….……..………….....10
% (Participation in class and on
discussion board will improve
your grade) EVERY STUDENT
STARTS OUT w/ a grade of 80 and
the grade can increase with
participation .

3. News Article ……………………….10

%

4. Quiz # 1 …………………………... 15
%

5. Quiz # 2 ……………………………15 %

6. Quiz # 3 …………………………… 15 %

7. Group Presentation ……………….15

% (Group graded as whole, but one
may receive a different grade if bad
evaluations from group members).

8. Group Project ……………………………

20 % (Hard copy of group
project is to be
in on
___________________)
-----------------
TOTAL: 100 %
** EXTRA CREDIT IS OPTIONAL: IT MUST BE AT LEAST 3-4
PAGES IN LENGTH AND YOU MUST INCLUDE CITES and it
must be DOUBLE SPACED. Title page or table of contents is
not included in number of pages.
The Body of the Papers must be a full 3 or more pages; 2 &
½ pages will not give you the full grade.

THE FOLLOWING GRADING SCALE WILL BE USED:

Point Value Grade

90-100 points A
80-89.99 B
70-79.99 C
60-69.00 D
Below 60 F