FP040-15 Business Law
Introductory description
The Business Law module provides an introduction to core aspects of law, relevant to businesses. This will include the legal rules relating to company formation, recruitment of staff, protection of intellectual property, formation of contracts and the tort of negligence.
Module aims
Business Law aims to introduce students to fundamental aspects of law within a business context, focusing specifically on company law, contract law and protection of persons. Students will develop an understanding of how both legislation and case law formulate legal rules for business, and the importance of knowing and operating within legal parameters. This will require an exploration of the law relating to the legal forms that a business can take, including sole traders, partnerships, private limited companies and public limited companies.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
-
Introduction to Business Law
a) An overview of law
b) An introduction to judicial precedent -
Company Law
a) The main principles of Company Formation including company financing, legal obligations and classification of business organisations; applying to sole traders, partnerships, private limited company and public limited company.
b) Intellectual Property Law: copyright; patents; trademarks
c) Law of Negligence: general principles of duty, breach and causation of damage -
Contract Law
a) Introduction to Contract Law – definition and purpose of contract, freedom of contract and equality of bargaining power
b) Different types of contract: unilateral and bilateral
c) Agreement - offer (including invitation to treat) and acceptance
d) Intention to create legal relations
e) Consideration -
Discrimination in employment
a) Protected characteristics
b) Types of discrimination
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Explain and give examples of different types of law
- Explain the main sources of English law, including the creation of common law through judicial precedent
- Apply legal knowledge to business scenarios
- Construct and present arguments through appropriate and effective legal reasoning, thereby enabling them to evaluate real-world problems
- Reach a justified conclusion on issues relating to company formation and creation of contracts
Indicative reading list
- Adams A – Law for Business Students (Pearson 2018) ISBN 9781292208428
- Daniels K – Introduction to Employment Law (CIPD 2019) ISBN 0749484144
- Elliot C and Quinn F – English Legal System (Pearson 2018) ISBN 1292208511
- Richards P – Law of Contract (Pearson 2017) ISBN 1292176105
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
Develop detailed understanding of areas of law relevant to Business. Apply legal definitions and concepts to analyse specific questions or scenarios. Articulate reasoned arguments in a clearly-structured format. Draw upon appropriate sources of law to support reasoning. Employ critical analysis to reach justified conclusions.
Transferable skills
Analytical skills; Commercial awareness; Communication skills; Confidence; Creative problem solving; Critical thinking; Independent working; Initiative; Planning and organisation; Professionalism; Research skills; Team working; Time management; Use of knowledge.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 12 sessions of 1 hour (25%) |
| Seminars | 36 sessions of 1 hour (75%) |
| Total | 48 hours |
Private study description
Private study includes preparation for seminars, independent reading and research, completion of tasks set in class or for extension study (via Moodle) and preparation for formative and summative assessments.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | |
|---|---|---|
| Briefing Paper on Company Formation | 40% | 20 hours |
|
Briefing paper, analysing the company formations available for a given business case study. |
||
| Business Law In-class Test | 60% | 25 hours |
|
A range of questions based on business case study scenarios. |
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Feedback on assessment
For the briefing paper, written feedback will be provided via Tabula and at a minimum will address:
Breadth and depth of analysis
Choice of vocabulary
Report structure
Clarity of reasoning
Spelling, grammar and use of citations
For the in-class test, written feedback of mark/grade only will be provided via Tabula.
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 1 of FIOE Warwick International Foundation Programme