sparkling welcome

Hi! This is the home page for LEGL 2700 (as if the page title didn't tell you that...).Make sure you keep up with the page, as it will change frequently, and you are held responsible for anything posted. Have fun, enjoy the class, and give me any feedback you think would be helpful.

Please read the entire webpage, as you are responsible for everything on it.

Dr. B-A's LEGL 2700 Web Site Contents

If you want to see the syllabus click here.

If you want to see the tentative chapters of coverage, click here.

If you want to see scheduled article dates, click here.

If you want to see chapter-end question answers, click here.

If you want to see examples of old exam questions, click here.

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Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander

2700 Syllabus

University of GeorgiaTerry

College of Business

LEGL 2700- Legal Environment of Business

Dr. Bennett-Alexander

Fall 2008 (Th. 8/19/2008)

9:30 class, 204 Caldwell Hall

11:00 class, 204 Caldwell Hall

Syllabus

Note: See the message below about being required to have a gmail account with photo.

Quick Finder:

Office & office hours

Exam Dates

OBJECTIVE: To familiarize students with some of the legal, ethical, and administrative considerations which affect business transactions in order to understand the environment in which they operate. Coverage includes the court system, constitutional law, torts, contracts, employment law, etc.

REQUIRED TEXT:
The Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Environment of Business, by Bennett-Alexander, Harrison, & Hass, South-Western Publishing Co., 1996.

CLASS TIME:
T, Th 9:30-10:45 a.m. and 11-12:15

OFFICE & HOURS: 202 Brooks Hall. T, Th 7-7:45 a.m., 12:30-1:30, and by appointment. Call (706)338-2293 for scheduling.

TESTING & GRADING:

Grading: Each student starts out with an empty "point pot." Points get put into the pot from test scores and extra credit. Points are deducted from the pot by losing points on exams, missing class, not meeting deadlines or in other ways outlined by me. The course grade is determined by adding together test scores, any extra credit points, not meeting deadlines or other things, then dividing by the number of exams for the semester. Since each exam is equally weighted, it is best to maximize performance on each one. Since extras credit points count as full points, it is best to take advantage of every opportunity to gain extra points. Absences over the allowed number are deducted from your final grade, (all points, divided by the number of exams for the semester) not from your point pot. For all purposes, and unless notified otherwise, the grading scale is 100-94 A, 93-90 A-, 89-87 B+, 86-84 B, 83-80 B-, 79-77 C+, 76-74 C, 73-70 C-, 69-65 D, 64 and below, F.

Exams: There will be four examinations during the semester. Each exam is equally weighted. Make-up exams are generally not given. Exam scores are not posted. Rather, exams are returned in class, generally by the next or the second class after the exam. Exam dates are: Th 9/11, Th 10/9, Th. 11/6 and the final is Tu. 12/11 (8-11, your classroom) for the 9:30 class, and Th. 12/9 (12-3 your classroom). The last day of class is Th.12/4. Thanksgiving Break is 11/25& 27.

Extra Credit: During the first day of class I will pass out a sheet on which students can sign up to do an extra-credit oral presentation on an article on any topic. The article may be from any source, as long as the information is current. The presentation is to be no longer than five minutes and is worth six points. If you are not able to sign up on the list because it is full, see below.

Unannounced quizzes MAY be given from time to time as a means of testing student knowledge and providing an opportunity for additional points. Not knowing when you will have a quiz is an important impetus for showing up for class and for studying your notes between classes.

News Articles: For those who were unable to sign up on the list circulated in class for oral presentations, you may still receive the 6 extra credit points by submitting a written news article. These are due by end of class on Th 11/13. This is an extra-credit assignment, so you don't have to do this if you don't want to. However, if you signed upto present an article in class, failure to present your article as scheduled will result in the deduction of six points from your point pot. If you had to submit your article in written form, submit to me a COPY--not the original-- of the article if it is from a newspaper, and no more than one double-spaced, typewritten page telling what the article was about and what your opinion of the issue is. If you do not follow these directions exactly, you will not receive full credit for the article.

Attendance: I take roll every day. Test items often come directly from class lectures, so being in class helps greatly. It is important that you sign the roll each day you are in class, as I will not permit you to be counted present if you have not signed the roll and later come and tell me you were in class. Having someone sign the roll for you in your absence is forbidden and will result in receiving the next full lowest letter grade on your final class grade (i.e., if you earned an C+, you will receive a D) for both the one who signed and the one he or she signed for. FOUR points will be deducted from your final numerical average for each absence over one. It is your responsibility to keep up with your absences and this includes asking me how many I have recorded for you if you are unsure.

Point Deduction - Anything given a due date is due when scheduled. If you do not meet deadlines, one point is deducted for each day (including weekends) that the matter is late. The day you turn it in is not counted in the point deduction. The points deducted will be that many fewer points in your total point pot.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Doing Well: Students have said that it greatly improves performance if they come to class prepared. Preparation includes reading the chapters and answering the chapter-end questions. The answers to the chapter-end questions are on the webpage for those with the softbound version of the text, or in the back of the textbook for those with the hardbound version.

There are chapter outlines on the webpage which you can use to fill in your notes from class.

Split-page notetaking is very advantageous for this class. Draw a line down the page of your notebook about one quarter of the page in from the left side of the page. Take notes in the larger part of the page, and save the smaller area to go back and make note of any questions you may have after reading over your notes, any gaps to be filled in, or any additional information I give you later about the same subject matter. Research shows that students main reason for not getting full information in their notes is that they do not wish to interlineate. That is, they do not wish to go back and write new information between the lines of their notes. Split-page notetaking takes you out of this dilemma and allows you to already have a space for notes you may need to enter later.

If you miss class, please take a look at the notes from a few of your classmates and go over them to see if you understand the subject matter before asking me about it. I am more than willing to help you understand a concept that is fuzzy to you, but once I have given the class a lecture, I am not going to give the lecture again to someone who was absent.

Come to my office and review your exam, preferably after the first or certainly after the second exam. Do this regardless of your exam score. If you lost points, it is important to see why. Failure to do so may meant that whatever caused you to lose points will occur again the next time. All lost points are not created equal. Students are usually surprised at what they discover once they review their exam performance. You will likely discover patterns in your wrong answers. For instance, you may see that you did not study with enough attention to detail, you misread questions, you interpreted questions incorrectly, you read too much into the questions, you marked your answer in the wrong space, or you did not read the question closely enough. While some of this may be taken care of by studying differently for the next test, some may not. It is really frustrating when you do not come in early to review your test performance and later discover that you made mistakes all semester long that were totally avoidable if you had discovered them earlier in the semester. I see it over and over and over each semester. Don’t fall victim to this. I will not drag you into my office to review your exam. You’re grown now, and you have to know what is important to maximize your performance and govern yourself accordingly. I’m telling you now that a lot of points are lost by students not going over their exams and avoiding making the same mistakes again and again. Take the time to review your exam early in the semester.

Rescheduling exams: Exams must be given when taken. There are no makeups.

Grades: All final grades are final unless there is a numerical mistake. Please do not ask me to change your course grade due to your own personal circumstances such as wanting to get into the Terry College of Business, keeping your HOPE scholarship, staying in the honors program, maintaining a certain average, etc. I do not give away points. You earn your points through exams and extra credit. The only chance for points is outlined above. I cannot allow individual students the opportunity to gain extra points after the class is over and they learn that their grade is not what they wanted. The only opportunity for extra points is provided to the class as a whole, and only during the course of the class. Students will often not turn in extra credit, will not study their notes and be prepared for pop quizzes, or will not do what they need to do to maximize their points in the class, then after they see their final grade, they ask for extra consideration. Don't bother. It's not fair to other students, so I hold everyone to the same rules. Think about your circumstances when doing what you need to do for the class. That is, don't lose points by absences, missing deadlines, and not being in class to take quizzes or studying your notes to pass them--plus, of course, not studying well enough for exams.

GMAIL ACCOUNT: I require that you have a free gmail account for this class and that you insert your photo into your account as gmail allows you to do. Not only will you have tons more space for your e-mails, without having to worry about things being deleted, but your photo will show up when you e-mail me so I will know with whom I am communicating. Please sign up foryour gmail account by Th 8/21, and send me an email with the items below on it. A point will be deducted from your total pot of points for each day I have not received your gmail e-mail. Always put 2700-9 (or 11, if that is your class hour) in the subject line when e-mailing me.

* your last name and first and middle initial (i.e., Bennett-Alexander, D.D.)

* skip one line, the class number, time, quarter and year (i.e., LEGL 2700 9:30 a.m., F 2008)

* skip one line, your present address and phone number

* skip one line, your permanent address and phone number. Please notify me of any changes during the semester.

* your favorite memory

To open a gmail acccount go to gmail.com. To attach a photo to the gmail account, once in your gmail account, click on "settings" on the upper right side. In settings, click on the "general" tab (it generally opens up in this one), and the fourth section down deals with photos. Upload a photo to the site by clicking on browse and finding the one you want, then cropping it to fit. Please make sure I can see your face well in the photo. It should only have your face in it. If it has anything else, your face will not show up well enough. After uploading it, make sure you click on the button that says to make it available to everyone. If you do not, I will not be able to see it when you e-mail me. Please try it out by e-mailing someone who has a gmail account, before sending it to me. Having to deal with hundreds of students with photo issues is incredibly time-consuming.

E-Mail, the Web, the listserv: Don't just print out the class website at the beginning of the semester and never look at the website again. Watch for changes. You are held responsible for anything posted on the Web. I generally notify you of changes through e-mails also. Create a gmail folder for LEGL 2700 in which you can store all such e-mails until class is over at the end of the semester. (gmail gives you plenty of space to do this). This will allow you to keep and refer to e-mails I have sent out, in case you need to recollect the information.

Students are required to have an gmail account and to subscribe to the listserv for the class. A point is deducted for each day past the deadline that I have not received your e-mail from gmail the listserv. It also allows me to send everyone an e-mail at the same time. In order to get on the listserv, which you are required to do for the class, send an e-mail by to the listserv by sending an e-mail to:

listserv@listserv.uga.edu

Make the text of the e-mail ONLY the following:

subscribe 2700DBA your first name your last name

For example, mine would say:

subscribe 2700DBA Dawn Bennett-Alexander

Make sure you don't put a space between the 2700 and the DBA. It should be written as one word, just as in the directions above. You should then receive notification that they received your request and that you must respond the way it tells you to within 24 hours or you will be dropped. Make sure to do this last step or you will not be on the listserv and will not receive e-mails. You are NOT on the listserv after receiving your first response after you sign up. If you receive a notice that there is no such listserv, it is because you wrote the name of the listserv incorrectly. The usual reason for this is because you put a space between the 2700 and the DBA. Re-try it. Students who have CompuServ or AOL often experience problems signing onto the listserv because of the way their servers have configured their product. If you cannot sign on under this account, then try your UGA account or open up a Yahoo, Hotmail or other e-mail account. You can have your mail forwarded from this account to the one you mainly use. Ask your ISP how to do it.

At the end of the semester after class is over, please don't forget to sign off of the listserv. To do so, send an e-mail to(do not click on this, as it is not a hot link, instead, send your own e-mail to this address):

listserv@listserv.uga.edu

Make the text of the e-mail ONLY the following:

signoff 2700DBA