JOHN MOLSON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
Course Outline
BUSINESS LAW & ETHICS
COMM 315
Winter 2019
Instructor: Nick Papatheodorakos
Office: MB 13-108
E-mail:
[email protected]Office Hours: By Appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Through the study of laws, ethical principles and court judgments, this course will introduce
students to important legal and ethical issues that they may encounter within a business
organization.
In today’s environment of social awareness, business can no longer focus solely on maximizing
profits and must recognize and respect its legal and ethical obligations to a wide range of
stakeholders, both within and outside of the business organization. These stakeholders include
employees, management, shareholders, directors, officers, the immediate community and
society at large.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between law and ethics and how
these two principles should not be treated as mutually exclusive;
2) identify the appropriate steps to be followed in both the legal and ethical decision
making processes;
3) apply material learned in this course in order to analyze and propose solutions to legal
and ethical problems;
4) select effective solutions to legal and ethical issues that may be encountered within the
workplace.
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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIAL:
Textbook: Fundamentals of Quebec Business Law and Ethics, 2nd Edition (2016), Paladin
Publications. (Available at the Concordia University bookstore)
EVALUATION:
Two in-class tests: the first will cover Chapters 1, 2 & 3; the second will cover Chapters 4 & 5.
Each in-class exam will be worth 25% of the total grade. The format for both in-class tests will
be multiple-choice. Both in-class tests will be closed-book and no course material (including
books, notes and papers) may be brought to either in-class test.
The final exam will be common for all course sections and will be three (3) hours long. The final
exam will cover Chapters 6, 7, 8 & 9. The final exam will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions
plus one 10-mark essay development question on an ethical case and one 5-mark essay
development question on a legal issue. The final exam will be worth 50% of the students’ total
grade.
During the final exam students will be permitted to use their own copies of the textbook for
consultation. Textbooks may not be shared during the final exam. Students will be permitted
to highlight and underline passages in the textbook. No other annotations in the textbook will
be permitted. Only officially published textbooks may be used during the final exam. No
photocopies of the textbook pages and no other documentation whatsoever may be used
during the final exam. Any attempt to use unauthorized material may result in disciplinary
measures under the University Code of Conduct.
No electronic devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, smart-watches, electronic dictionaries,
cameras, etc. will be permitted in students’ possession during any test or exam. All electronic
devices must be turned off and stored in your bag, not on your person. Un-annotated bilingual
dictionaries in paper form are allowed during all exams. Dictionaries may not be shared
between students.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
The Code of Conduct (Academic) at Concordia University states that "The integrity of
University academic life and of the degrees, diplomas and certificates the University confers is
dependent upon the honesty and soundness of the instructor-student learning relationship
and, in particular, that of the evaluation process. Therefore, for their part, all students are
expected to be honest in all of their academic endeavors and relationships with the
University" Undergraduate Calendar 2016-2017, section 17.10
(http://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/17-10.html).
All students enrolled at Concordia are expected to familiarize themselves with the contents of
this Code.
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CLASS TESTS MISSED FOR MEDICAL REASONS:
No make-up tests will be granted except for serious medical reasons supported by original,
detailed, dated and signed medical documentation. Medical documentation must clearly
indicate the date and the reasons why the student’s condition rendered him/her incapable of
writing the class test in question.
No make-up test will be granted, unless notification of his/her inability to write the test is given
by the student to the professor in writing (preferably by email) at the earliest possible
opportunity. Except for emergencies, this notification must be done prior to the test in
question.
Students who do not provide appropriate medical documentation, as set out above, will receive
a grade of zero for the class test that they did not write.
LEARNING PLAN:
CLASS Class Schedule (tentative)
1 Chapter One: Introduction to Law
1.1 What is Law?
1.2 The Law of the Land
1.3 Law & Justice
1.4 Law & Ethics
1.5 Understanding the Domains of Law
1.6 Substantive Law & Adjectival Law
1.7 To Sue – The Five Ws
1.8 A Legal System
Chapter Two: The Quebec Legal System
2.1 Structure – The First Element of the Québec Legal System
2.2 Law – The Second Element of the Québec Legal System
2.3 Administration and Enforcement - The Third Element of the Québec Legal System
2+3+4 Chapter Three: Personal Rights
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
3.3 The Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
3.4 The Civil Code of Québec
Appendix 3-A Constitution Act, 1982
Appendix 3-B Selected Sections from the Québec Charter of
Human Rights and Freedoms
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Appendix 3-C Selected Articles from the Civil Code of Québec
Case 3.1 Commission Scholaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys v.
Singh Multani
Case 3.2 Singh Multani v. Commission Scholaire
Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Case 3.3 British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations
Commission) v. BCGSEU
Case 3.4 Therrien v. Minister of Justice
Case 3.5 Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem
Case 3.6 R. v. Kapp
5+6+7 In-class test # 1 will cover the material in Chapters 1, 2 & 3.
Chapter Four: Principles of Contract Law
4.1 Obligations
4.2 Contracts
Appendix 4-A Selected Articles from the Civil Code of Québec
Case 4.1 Giroux v. Malik
Case 4.2 Peter v. Fiasche
Case 4.3 Richard v. Time Inc.
Case 4.4 Copiscope Inc. v. TRM Copy Centers
Chapter Five: Mandate
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Characteristics
5.3 Obligations of the Mandatary towards the Mandator
5.4 Obligations of the Mandator towards the Mandatary
5.5 Obligations of the Mandatary towards Third Persons
5.6 Obligations of the Mandator towards Third Persons
5.7 Termination of Mandate
Appendix 5-A Selected Articles from the Civil Code of Québec
Case 5.1 Wong v. Leung
Case 5.2 Dowell v. Hay-Ellis
8 In-class test # 2 will cover the material in Chapters 4 & 5.
Chapter Six: Forms of Business Ownership
6.1 Introduction
6.2 The Sole Proprietorship
6.3 The Partnership
6.4 The Corporation
Appendix 6-A Selected Sections from the Act Respecting Legal
Publicity of Enterprises
Appendix 6-B Selected Articles from the Civil Code of Québec
Appendix 6-C Partnership Agreement
Appendix 6-H Certificate of Incorporation
Appendix 6-I Selected Sections from the Québec Business
Corporations Act
Appendix 6-J Selected Sections from the Canada Business
4
Corporations Act
Appendix 6-K Share Certificate
Case 6.1 Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise
9 + 10 +11 Chapter Seven: Employment Law
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Individual Contract of Employment
Appendix 7-A Selected Articles from the Civil Code of Québec
Appendix 7-B Selected Sections from the Québec Labour Standards Act
Case 7.1 King v. BioChem Therapeutic Inc.
Case 7.2 Dubé v. Volcano Technologies Inc.
Case 7.3 Hasanie v. Kaufel Groupe Ltd.
Case 7.4 Copyfax Inc. v. Lambert
Case 7.5 Cabiakman v. Industrial Alliance Life Insurance Co.
12 Chapter Eight: Civil Responsibility
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Personal Responsibility
8.3 Indirect Responsibility
8.4 Limiting Civil Responsibility
Appendix 8-A Selected Articles from the Civil Code of Québec
Case 8.1 Harris v. Ostromogilski
Case 8.2 Walker v. Singer
Case 8.3 Walford v. Jacuzzi Canada Inc.
Case 8.4 Morse v. Cott Beverages West Ltd.
13 Chapter Nine: Ethics
9.1 Introduction to Ethics
9.2 Law vs. Ethics
9.3 International Business Ethics
9.4 Resolving Ethical Issues
9.5 Professional Standards and Corporate Codes of Conduct
9.6 Responsible Investing
9.7 Corporate Governance
DISCLAIMER:
The instructor reserves the right to change or update this outline, and any other course related
material, as required. The student will be informed in a timely manner online and/or through
announcements during class.
In the event that the University is unable to provide services or that courses are interrupted due to
events beyond the reasonable control of the University, including classroom disruptions, the University
reserves the right to modify any element contained in the course outline including but not limited to the
grading scheme and the weight accorded to exams or assignments.
