Manual
Dynamic Business Law, 6th
Edition By Nancy
Kubasek
,Chapter 1 - An Introduction to Dynamic Business Law
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Chapter One lays the foundation for the textbook. Make sure you look on
the publisher‘s web site for information about how business law intersects with
the six functional areas of business. The authors encourage students to
―connect to the core,‖ and remember the ways in which law intersects with
other areas of study, including corporate management, production and
transportation, marketing, research and development, accounting and
finance, and human resource management.
This manual supports the ―connecting to the core‖ theme by giving ideas for
assignments that encourage students to integrate their business law
knowledge with knowledge they are acquiring from their other business
classes. The manual also encourages professors to improve their teaching skills.
Finally, the manual suggests teaching ideas for both beginning and
experienced teachers.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students will be able to:
1 Define business law.
2Relate the functional areas of business to the
relevant areas of business law1- 3 Recall the purposes
of law.
4 Distinguish among types of law.
5 Differentiate between sources of the law.
6 Identify the various schools of jurisprudence.
In the news… Teaching tip: For each chapter, consider asking students to relate current
news items to material from the chapter.
LECTURE NOTES WITH DEFINITIONS
In addition to ideas students come up with on their own, consider weaving in
news stories provided by the McGraw Hill.
For Chapter One, McGraw Hill offers the following stories:
―Smoking Ban: Tobacco Tyrants: Gone Too Far? Many States Are
Putting Stronger Restrictions on Where You Can Smoke‖
Have states gone too far in banning smoking?
, Whose interests are state legislatures looking
out for in banning smoking?
―College Officer Dealings With Lenders Scrutinized.‖
Should regulators take a more careful look at
college officers?
Why created changes in the ways college
officers interact with
1-1 Business law consists of the enforceable rules of
Define conduct that govern commercial relationships.
business
law.
1-2 Relate Business law applies to the six functional areas of business:
the Corporate management
functional Production and transportation
areas of
Marketing
business to
the relevant Research and development
areas of Accounting and finance
business law. Human resource management
1-3 Recall Providing order
the Serving as an alternative to fighting
purposes of Facilitating a sense that change is possible
law. Encouraging social justice
Guaranteeing personal freedoms
Serving as a moral guide
1-4 One way to classify law:
Distinguish Private law involves disputes between private individuals or
among types groups. Public law involves disputes between private
of law. individuals or groups and their government.
A second way to classify law:
Civil law involves the rights and responsibilities
involved in relationshipsbetween persons and
between persons and their government.
Criminal law involves incidents in which someone
commits an act against the public as a unit.
Teaching tip: Ask students to give an example of a
fact situation that
1-5 Sources of business law are:
Differentiate 1. Constitutions
between Constitutional law refers to the general limits and
sources of the powers of governments as stated in their written
law. constitutions.
2. Statutes or legislative actions
3. Cases
Case law (or common law) is the collection of legal
interpretations made by judges.
Stare decisis means courts are relying on precedent.
, readings, show them what stare decisis looks like in the
context of a real case.
4. Administrative law
Administrative law is the collection of rules and
decisions made by administrative agencies.
5. Treaties
A treaty is a binding agreement between two
states or international organizations.
6. Executive orders
An executive order is a directive that comes from
the president or
1-6 Identify Schools of jurisprudence are common guides to legal
the various interpretation.
schools of Natural law—certain ethical laws and principles are
jurisprudenc morally right and
e.
―above‖ the laws devised by humans.
Legal Positivism—assumes the legitimate political
authority deserves our obedience when it issues a
rule.
Identification with the Vulnerable—emphasis on fairness
and looking out for those with the least power.
Historical School/Tradition—emphasis on the use of
stare decisis.
Legal Realism—judges consider social and economic
conditions.
Cost-benefit Analysis—make calculations to
maximize the ratio of benefits to costs.
Teaching tip: Consider using ―The Case of the
Speluncean
Global At this point in the textbook, students should merely
and have an awareness that globalization has affected the
Comparati scope of business law. Consequently, we highlight the
ve Law definitions to the following key terms that will come up later
in the book:
Trade, i.e. the exchange of goods or services, on a
global scale has ledto the creation of trade agreements
that serve as de facto rules governing the global
business environment.
Comparative law—the field of law that studies and
compares laws in different countries.
Appendix on Critical thinking includes the application of evaluative
Critical standards to assess the quality or the reasoning being
Thinking and offered to support the conclusion. Critical thinkers will follow
Business this pattern of careful thinking when they read an argument:
1. Find the facts.
2. Look for the issue.
3. Identify the judge‘s reasons and conclusion.
4. Locate in the decision the rules of law that govern the
judge‘s reasoning.
5. Apply critical thinking to the reasoning. Evaluate the
reasoning.
Look for potential ambiguity.
Consider the strength of analogies.