Students

LAW 456 – Business Organisations

2017 – S1 External

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
David Mullan
Frank Carrigan
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(18cp at 100 level or above) including LAW204 and (admission prior to 2014 to LLB or BAppFinLLB or BALLB or BA-MediaLLB or BA-PsychLLB or BBALLB or BComLLB or BCom-ProfAccgLLB or BEnvLLB or BITLLB or BIntStudLLB or BPsych(Hons)LLB or BScLLB or BSocScLLB)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
LAWS 256
Unit description Unit description
The course explores the role of law in governing corporations. In particular the social and legal role of directors and shareholders is examined.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Analyse and articulate (orally and in writing) the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Reflect on the interaction between corporate law, history and social context.
  • Identify and reflect on the contextual and doctrinal features of directors’ duties.
  • Develop critical thought and engage with various perspectives on corporate law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.

General Assessment Information

Research Essay

  1. In the absence of an application for Disruption to Studies approved by the course convener, any student who does not submit the research essay by the due date will receive a mark of 0 for the research essay. Submission times are strictly enforced. 
  2. When considering approval of an application for Disruption to Studies the course convener may require the student to satisfactorily complete a different exercise to be completed at a time determined by the unit convener.
  3. The essay must comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed).  The Guide is available here: http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/go/AGLC3

Final Examination

  1. In the absence of an application for Disruption to Studies approved by the course convener, any student who does not sit the final exam on the allocated date will receive a mark of 0 for the exam.
  2. When considering approval of an application for Disruption to Studies the course convener may require the student to sit a supplementary exam at a time chosen by the unit convener. The supplementary exam may differ in format to the original exam.

Macquarie Law School Policy on Assessment:

In the absence of a successful application for special consideration due to a disruption to studies, any assessment task submitted after its published deadline will not be graded and will receive a mark of zero.  Applications for a Disruption to Studies are made electronically via ask.mq.edu.au and should be accompanied by supporting documentation.  Students should refer to the Disruption to Studies policy for complete details of the policy and a description of the supporting documentation required.

Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked. 

All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Research Essay 40% No 11/04/2017
Final Examination 60% No Examination Period

Research Essay

Due: 11/04/2017
Weighting: 40%

All students are required to complete a research essay. The research essay is to be submitted to Turnitin via iLearn.

The research essay question will be made available on iLearn. A marking rubric and administrative requirements for this assessment will be made available on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Reflect on the interaction between corporate law, history and social context.
  • Develop critical thought and engage with various perspectives on corporate law.

Final Examination

Due: Examination Period
Weighting: 60%

All students are required to attend a final examination. Further details of the exam will be made available on iLearn closer to the examination period.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and articulate (orally and in writing) the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Reflect on the interaction between corporate law, history and social context.
  • Identify and reflect on the contextual and doctrinal features of directors’ duties.
  • Develop critical thought and engage with various perspectives on corporate law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.

Delivery and Resources

Delivery

  1. Lectures are recorded and will be released through iLearn. There will be no live lectures.
  2. Attendance at tutorials and on campus sessions is voluntary. The on campus session will be held on the 18th and 19th of April in W5C 335.
  3. A mark of 50% or above is required to complete the course successfully.
  4. Online lectures will commence in week 1. Tutorials will also commence in week 1.
  5. Students must attend the tutorial in which they are enrolled. Any change to tutorial enrollment must be made through eStudent.

Resources

Students are required to have access to the following texts:

  1. Paul Redmond, Corporations and Financial Markers Law (LBC, 6th edition, 2013).
  2. A single volume of course materials (Available from the Co-Op.)

During tutorials and the on campus session, students are required to have access to a number of statutes relevant to the course. These statutes are contained in CCH Australian Corporations LegislationVolume One,2014. It is recommended that students have access to this text.

Technology Use

  1. Online units can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/.
  2. A computer with internet access is required. Students must possess basic computer skills including internet browsing and word processing.
  3. Students are advised that a mobile device will not be sufficient to complete the coursework for this unit.
  4. Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements.

Unit Schedule

Week

Lecture Topic

1

Corporate personality and the history of the corporation

2

Central problems in corporate governance and the role of the lawyer

3

The incorporation process

4

The company constitution

5

Company contracts

6

Administration of companies and management of the business of companies

7

Duties and liabilities of directors and officers

8

Duties and liabilities of directors and officers part 2

9

Share capital and membership

10

Members remedies

11

Company credit and security arrangements

12

Winding up companies

13

No lecture this week

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse and articulate (orally and in writing) the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Reflect on the interaction between corporate law, history and social context.
  • Identify and reflect on the contextual and doctrinal features of directors’ duties.
  • Develop critical thought and engage with various perspectives on corporate law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.

Assessment tasks

  • Research Essay
  • Final Examination

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse and articulate (orally and in writing) the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Reflect on the interaction between corporate law, history and social context.
  • Identify and reflect on the contextual and doctrinal features of directors’ duties.
  • Develop critical thought and engage with various perspectives on corporate law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.

Assessment tasks

  • Research Essay
  • Final Examination

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop critical thought and engage with various perspectives on corporate law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.

Assessment tasks

  • Research Essay
  • Final Examination

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse and articulate (orally and in writing) the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.

Assessment tasks

  • Research Essay
  • Final Examination

Changes since First Published

Date Description
27/02/2017 due date
26/02/2017 updated assessment info