QUESTION

 

1.2       Staff

The most appropriate contact is your teacher. If necessary they will contact the Course Coordinator at the University of Ballarat.

 

	Coordinator	Lecturer/Tutor
Name:	Philippa Wells	Luis Quintero
Phone:
Email:	p.wells@ballarat.edu.au	lquintero@academic.mit.edu.au
Office:
Web:

 

1.3       Consultation Hours

 

You can contact the lecturer during class times for consultation times.

 

1.4       Prescribed Text

This subject will be conducted on the presumption that students have a copy of:

 

Vickery, R., Pendleton, W. and Flood, M. (2012).  Australian business law – compliance and practice.  (7^th ed.).  Frenchs Forest, NSW:  Pearson Education Australia

(the immediately previous editions of each text are acceptable but no earlier)

 

1.5       Plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting someone else work as your own and is a serious offence with serious consequences. As set out in the University Regulation 6.1.1, students who are caught plagiarising will, for a first offence, be given a zero mark for that task. A second offence will result in a failing grade for the course(s) involved and any subsequent offence will be referred to the Student Discipline Committee. Student must be aware of the University Regulation 6.1.1 Student Plagiarism, available at http://www.ballarat.edu.au/legislation/6.1.1-plagiarism. The link to the library website for more information is:   http://www.ballarat.edu.au/library/assignment-and-research-help/referencing

 

Students must:

• fully reference the source(s) of all material, even if you have re-expressed the ideas, facts or descriptions;
• acknowledge all direct quotations; and
• not submit work that has been researched and written by another person

 

Turnitin – Turnitin is a software application that allows students to check their assignments for referencing and citation omission or incorrect paraphrasing.

 

For this course you are to submit your Final Assignment through Turnitin and the Task Assessment Drop Box in UBOnline.

You are also required to submit all assignments in Hard Copy at the Assessment Centre on Level 7 at MIT Melbourne

 

1.6       UBOnline

UBOnline is used to host course resources for all courses. Students can download lecture and tutorial notes to support class participation. Students login to the UBOnline at https://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/login/index.php.

 

 

This course is designed to enable you to:

Knowledge

• Develop knowledge of the regulatory environment which organisations need to manage;
• Understand the policy reasons for regulation, what constitutes ‘good regulation’, the various forms of regulation and the issues surrounding its ‘successful’ implementation;
• Consider the motivators for compliance and good corporate/organisational citizenship;
• Develop knowledge of key legal: systems, institutions, participants and fundamental principles;
• Understand how core legal concepts, rights and obligations are created and developed;
• Consider what shapes the laws we have and the limits of law to change behaviour;
• Consider how legal issues can be managed by organisations.

Skills

• Further develop your independent research skills, including the ability to locate relevant laws and understand how to go about interpreting them;
• Recognise legal issues or risk situations and be able to determine what steps need to be taken to manage them
• Evaluate the role of law in organisations and their activities and responsibilities;
• Further develop your analytical and critical thinking skills so you can assess the effectiveness of laws/regulation and how they apply to organisations

 

Values/Attitudes

• Appreciate the complexity of the legal/regulatory environment within which organisations operate;
• Appreciate the interconnectedness of law and other factors in management;
• Appreciate that law is influenced by social, economic, political, ethical, environmental and international considerations;
• Accept responsibility for and value learning.

 

 

Topics and sub-topics may include:

Topic One –  Introduction to the Legal Environment of Organisations

q  Different ways of conceptualising the legal environment and regulation

q  Role and limits of law in influencing social and business behaviour

q  The complexity of law arising from the different layers of laws, and systems for classifying laws, including an understanding of the basic distinctions between:

• Federal and State law
• Public and Private law
• Criminal and Civil law
• Substantive and Procedural law
• Statute and case-based law or common law

q  Creation and development of legal rights and obligations in Australia (precedent and statutory interpretation)

q  How the law is administered in Australia, including the role of the courts, government/regulatory agencies, lawyers and other professionals concerned with the administration of justice (and where possible a comparison with other systems)

q  Finding the law, interpreting the law and legal reasoning

q  Compliance, risk management and corporate social responsibility issues

q  Skills building : researching and writing about managing law

Topic Two:  Governance and Ethics

q  Ethical and economic theories influencing law and community expectations of the legal system and conduct or organisations

q  Corporate governance

• Companies compared to other types of business structures
• Role of various participants and stakeholders
• Duties of decision makers

q  Relationship between law, ethics and corporate social responsibility

Topic Three:  Standards of Conduct and Promises the Law will Enforce

q  Crime vs tort vs contract vs business regulation

q  Standards set by law:  torts and crimes

• Torts
  • negligence: objectives, principles, legislative intervention
  • reason for reforms: balancing responsibilities
  • critical reflection on the impact of negligence law and risk management issues
  • Crimes
    • personal
    • regulatory
    • target organisation or individual?

q  Promises ‘negotiated’

• The law of contract
  • Underlying assumptions
  • Formation, rights and obligations, validity, enforcement
  • Managing contracts

q  Regulatory intervention of particular relevance

• Privacy
• Whistleblowing
• Ombudsman
• Other

q  Critical reflection on the complexity of law and how to manage it

 

Topic Four:   Reflection

q  Managing a complex legal environment in a global context

q  What are some of the strategies regulatory bodies use to ensure compliance and do they work?

q  Compliance or beyond compliance? – motivators for good corporate citizenship

q  Are there better ways than law to encourage responsible business behaviour?  –  limits of law

 

You should note that these topics are just one way of arranging the material. Many issues and questions could be raised under two or more topics.

 

Summary

It is emphasised that this course requires a significant commitment outside of formal class contact.  The learning tasks in this course may include classes, required reading, the preparation of answers to set questions, exercises and problems, and self-study. In addition, students are required to complete two assignments.

 

Summary of suggested time allocations for this course

 

Classes	7 hours per session for five sessions	35 hours
Reading	7 hours per week for 5 weeks	35 hours
Preparation of questions, exercises and problems	5 hours per week for 5 weeks	25 hours
Preparation of assignment 1		20 hours
Preparation of assignment 2		35 hours
TOTAL		150 hours

 

Attendance and Participation

It is in students’ interest to make every effort to attend all the classes for this course and to complete all preparatory and assessment tasks. It is our experience that those students who do not attend class or carry out the associated activities are more likely to do poorly or to fail the course completely.

 

Learning Task	Assessment	Weighting
Comprehending prescribed texts and other reading, critical thinking, analysis, consolidation of understanding of concepts, cases, legislation and application within a case-study context	Assignment 1 PART A-PART D Due: Week 6 (Friday 27th April 2012) PART E-PART F Due: Week 8 (Friday 11th May 2012) (Assignments will be worked on during tutorials)	15%     15%
Planning, research and writing of a piece of work involving discussion on how to manage legal risk within a business context or critical evaluation of law and compliance issues	Assignment 2 Draft Due: Week 10 (25th May 2012)   Final Submission Due Date: Week 12 (8th June 2012) (See notes on Final Submissions)	70%
Critical reading of prescribed and supplementary materials, preparing for and participating in class	Attendance of 80% or more is required

 

Note on Assessment

 

The University of Ballarat PASS grade is achieved at 50%. To pass this course the student must accumulate a minimum of 50% of the total marks available.

 

Students are strongly advised to attempt ALL assessment tasks. Students who do not submit a task(s) or fail a task(s) in the semester will be identified as a ‘student at risk’ of unsatisfactory academic progress (outlined in the Business School Handbooks) and will be directed to the School’s Intervention Program. Students who encounter difficulties or who are otherwise concerned regarding their progress should consult their lecturer.

 

Assessment criteria set out the details by which your performance in each task will be judged. This information will give you a clear and explicit understanding of the standards you are expected to achieve relative to the marks awarded.

The purpose of the assessment is to enable you to:

• Undertake independent research of a topic of your choice within the framework given;
• Demonstrate understanding of the legal/regulatory environment and relevant laws as well as economic, ethical, social/cultural, international and political issues;
• Demonstrate the ability to investigate, synthesise and analyse;
• Communicate the findings in a formal price of work and meet a deadline;
• Enhance your analytical and written communication skills; and
• Enhance your professional development.

 

 

Imagine you are the CEO of an organisation:

 

(a)             Summarise in about 250-500 words the characteristics/features of the organisation (you can choose a statutory/government body or select a business or not-for-profit organisation if you prefer and describe what goods/services it provides).  (You will use this information again in the final essay)

(b)             Outline any legal governance, management and relationship issues that affect the organisation as a whole (this is to link you into the lecture material) (about 250-500 words – awareness not depth is required at this stage)

(c)             List any general and specific legislation that is of particular importance in regulating the organisation and any relevant industry or similar bodies

(d)             Outline areas of high legal risk for the organisation as a whole and SELECT ONE which will become the centre of your final essay discussion  (although adjustments may need to be made after receipt of feedback on your report)

 

Start researching the law and non-law issues surrounding this one risk area as required by (e) and (f)

(e)             Write up a brief annotated bibliography for the resources found up until now (see instructions below.  An example will be given in class.)

(f)               Write up a proposed plan for the final essay – dot points are acceptable – about two pages long – showing which part of which resources look relevant for each point.  That is, you must link the research you have done so far to the points in the plan and should include key words and questions you think you will need to follow up, further research avenues you think you need to follow. (An example will be given in class.)

 

Criteria:  you will be assessed on the extent to which you have

• Addressed points (a) to (f) above;
• Shown an understanding of and thoughtfulness about legal risk in business;
• Discovered a range of resources and assessed their usefulness;
• Shown an understanding of how those resources will be used to explore particular points in your plan and what further resources are needed.

 

Note that the due date has been set to ensure you receive feedback on the report allowing you to respond to this feedback in your final essay.

 

You are to submit your draft report in-class in Week 10 (25^th May 2012) so that you can receive feedback on your draft report and topic progress.  You will now need to respond to the feedback given on your report and explore in more depth the relevant principles of the law and whether the law is in need of reform prior to the final submission

During Week/s 3-4, students will be required to attend a Library Research Training Session and a Referencing Skills Workshop.  Attendance at and participation in these workshops will contribute up to (10%) of the final mark for this Assessment.

During the Semester you will be asked to provide a brief overview of your research to the class.  Your lecturer will allocate a time for you to do this.

You will work towards producing an essay which addresses:

(a)                   the challenges your chosen area of law presents for organisations and managers (some of this will have been addressed in the report but you will have become more sophisticated in your understanding through more research and reflection)

(b)                   objectives of the existing law (same comment as for above)

(c)                   factors influencing the content of that law (same comment)

(d)                   its content (or an aspect of it)  (this is where you need to expand your research and demonstrate greater depth in  understanding)

(e)                   the impact it has on the management of businesses  (needs to be much more developed than in the report)

(f)                     whether there is a need for reform (eg does it hinder or assist business activity?) and what factors (legal and non-legal) will influence that reform. (This is new and was not covered in the report, except perhaps in the dot point plan).

 

Note:  a normal List of References and/or Bibliography (depending on style) is required for the essay (ie do NOT annotate it)

 

YOU MUST ATTACH YOUR REPORT (STAGE ONE) TO YOUR FINAL ESSAY (STAGE TWO).

 

Final Essay Criteria:  you will be assessed on the extent to which you have:

• Addressed points (a) to (f) above;
• Demonstrated understanding and critical thought about the law, management and non-legal influences;
• Researched via a number of mediums (paper based, online) and sources (texts, articles, government/regulatory sites) and USED that research to inform your work
• Written in a clear and professional way, with good: English expression, spelling, sentence construction, grammar and proof reading;
• Used the APA style to reference in-text (direct quotes and paraphrasing) and the List of References.

 

The purpose of this part of the Report is to record and reflect on your search process so far, to allow you to evaluate what information you have found and need to find, and to allow your lecturer to give you feedback about whether you are on the right track!

Please prepare a structured annotated bibliography using the following headings:

 

(a)   Relevant textbooks

List at least three textbooks are useful.  Write down which chapters/pages appear relevant, where the text can be/was obtained, and BRIEFLY why the text will be useful.  You can also include texts that appeared to look useful (eg via their title) but which you have found are not – eg out of date?

(b)   Relevant academic journal articles

List at least two journal articles, with at least one being refereed (peer-reviewed).  These may include articles from journals found on electronic databases as well as paper journals.

In relation to each article, briefly comment on how it might be or is relevant to your selected issue and organisation.

If this is not explicit from the reference style, indicate where each journal article is available (ie. database name or library at which the journal is held).

(c)   Other materials

You may find useful discussion papers, submissions made by industry bodies, reports, notes by individuals etc. from the internet or elsewhere.  PLEASE use the correct style for these:  See the University’s General Guide for the Presentation of Academic Work for assistance.

For each reference, please comment briefly on where and how you found it, why it is relevant and how authoritative it is.

(d)   Cases and Legislation

List any cases that appear useful, where you found them and why they may be useful.  You are NOT expected to spend a large amount of time searching for case judgments eg via the Austlii database or to read long cases, although the CCH online library cases do have a summary headnote at the beginning you could use.  As much as possible, though, you should find cases from secondary sources (eg texts, journals).

List legislation that you have found to be relevant.

 

(e)   Comment on whether you think you have sufficient resources, and/or what type of resources you think you will need to find to write your essay and where you will look to find them!

 

 

 

As semesters and contact hours vary between UB locations, delivery is usually scheduled across three hours a week for 12 weeks. If your location runs this course over less than 12 weeks, your lecturer will adjust the timing of the delivery of the materials.

 

Please note that the sequence and content of lectures and tutorials may need to be changed and the following information should be used as a guide only.

 

WEEK	TOPIC
1 & 2	Introduction to the Legal Environment of Organisations
3 & 4	Governance and Ethics   During weeks 3 and 4 students will be required to attend a Library Research Training Session and a Referencing Skills Workshop
5, 6, 7 & 8	Standards of Conduct and Promises the Law will Enforce
9, 10 11	Reflection
12	Course Review

 

 

Where to find legislation and cases?  There are many places – the following are a few of the main ones:

Each Parliament/Attorney General’s Department has a website where legislation can be accessed eg:

Victoria:  www.legislation.vic.gov.au (includes Bills, Explanatory

Memorandum, second reading speeches)

Federal:  www.comlaw.gov.au

General entry point:  www.law.gov.au for all States, Territories and Federal departments, legislation etc.

 

Legislation, cases and articles can be accessed via a free website:  www.austlii.edu.au (worth doing a second check to see if legislation has been updated)

 

Legislation, cases and commentary can also be accessed via databases the University pays for (some times need a password which can be accessed on the library website) –   eg

• Anstat (Victorian statutes – best for up-to-date information);
• CCH on-line law libraries

 

Other Useful references –not comprehensive – when researching it is best to start with texts first, then try government/regulator sites (see later) and the University’s online sources, THEN ‘google’!

 

Understanding the legal system – every business law or commercial law text has a section on this, including your prescribed text.

 

A very simple explanation is also given in:

Carvan, J. (2005). Understanding the Australian legal system. (5^th ed.). Sydney, NSW: Lawbook Co.

 

Other Topic Areas

There are numerous texts available in the library.  The following are just a selection.  To find out what else is available, do a ‘key word’ search.  All ‘business law’ and ‘commercial law’ texts have chapters on business structures, contract, negligence, trade practices and other relevant law areas.

 

Australian master trade practices guide. (2006).  Sydney, NSW:  CCH Australia.

Baron, D.P. (2000).  Business and its environment. (3^rd ed.). UpperSaddleRiver: Prentice Hall

Bottomley, S. & Bronnit, S. (2005)  Law in Context.  (3^rd  ed.). Annandale, NSW: Federation Press

Clarke B., Sweeney, B. and Bender, M. (2010). Marketing and the law. (4th ed.). Sydney, NSW: Butterworths.

Ciro, T. and Symes, C. (2009) Corporations law in principle (8^th ed.). Pyrmont, NSW: Lawbook Co.

Corones, S. & Clarke, P.H. (2008).  Consumer protection and product liability law: commentary and materials.  (3^rd ed.). Pyrmont, NSW:  Lawbook Co.

Davies, M. & Malkin, I.  (2008).  Torts.  (5^th ed.).  Chatswood, NSW:  LexisNexis Butterworths

Farrar, J.  (2008).  Corporate governance: theories, principles and practice. (3^rd ed.).  South Melbourne, Vic: OxfordUniversity Press

Harris, J., Hargovan, A. & Adams, M.  (2008).  Australian corporate law.  Chatswood, NSW:  LexisNexis Butterworths

Latimer, P. (2008). Australian business law. (27^th ed.). Sydney, NSW: CCH.

Miller, R.V.  (2008).  Miller’s annotated Trade Practices Act: Australian competition and consumer law.  (29^th ed).  Pyrmont, NSW:  Thomson Lawbook Co.

Price, R.  (2009).  Employment law in principle. (3^rd ed.).  Rozelle, NSW:  Thomson Reuters

Reynolds, R. & Stoianoff, N.P. (2008).  Intellectual property: text and essential cases. Annandale, NSW: The Federation Press

Tooma, M. (2008).  Safety, security, health and environment law.  Sydney:  The Federation Press

 

You will also find useful material on the following websites

Law publishers also provide websites with a lot of short articles, access to cases etc (see www.findlaw.com.au and www.cch.com.au ) and most law firms have short articles available (you can locate them using the findlaw.com.au site)

Regulators, government departments and industry organisations also have a wealth of information – from guides to the legislation, policy documents, discussion papers etc.  The following are some examples of government or regulator websites:

 

Anti-Discrimination

Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission –

http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/Home.asp –

Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission –

www.hreoc.gov.au

 

Australian Legal System

Department of Justice – http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/

Legal On Line – http://www.legalonline.vic.gov.au/

High Court of Australia – http://www.highcourt.gov.au/

 

Business and corporate affairs

Australian Securities and Investments Commission – http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf

Consumer Affairs Victoria – http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au

Business Victoria – http://www.business.vic.gov.au/BUSVIC/HOMEPAGE/

 

Consumer protection and competition laws

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – http://www.accc.gov.au

Consumer Affairs Victoria – http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au

 

Occupational health and safety

Safework Australia, replaced Australian Safety and Compensation Council which replaced National Occupational Health and Safety Commission!  – www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au

Victorian WorkSafe – occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation informationhttp://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au

 

Workplace Relations Act

Cth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations – contains full text of the Workplace Relations Act and Regulations and amending legislation, press releases, text of speeches by the Minister and User Guides on various aspects of the Workplace Relations legislation – http://www.dewr.gov.au/

 

Cth Government site for the Workplace Authority  – http://www.workplaceauthority.gov.au/ –

 

Cth Government site for Workplace Australia – access to employment information, careers, training – www.workplace.gov.au

SOLUTION

 

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Urbanization leads to industrialization and this has an impact on the environment. There are certain challenges for any company involved in the activities of infrastructure development like they need to provide clean air to breath, clean safe water to drink, proper sanitation facilities and waste management methods. Overcrowding of places leads to several diseases like tuberculosis. (Ahrens,1994)

Mackey Company is engaged in the industrial and civil constructions to the clients from both the public and private sector for the purposes of urbanization and to support infrastructure. It will deliver single stage land subdivisions through the infrastructure projects that it has undertaken.

Before establishing a construction company it is important to have Construction Environment Management Plan so that the work can be started. (Alati and Goudi ,1994)This plan is important because in the present times society has become more concerned about the impact of human acts on the environment. In most of the countries legislations have been formulated which are related to environment and studies in greater detail are conducted to know the outcome or results of a project on the surrounding areas. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of the year 1999 is the main law of Australia addressing the environmental issues. This act makes it mandatory that the Construction Management Plan should always be prepared before starting any construction project in Australia. Moreover this Act further lays out the penalties that can be incurred in case of any non compliance of the above rule of preparing a Construction Management Plan. Penalties differ from case to case and sometimes the penalty is just a financial penalty but sometimes it can be really harsh and can be to the extent of prosecution for neglecting the environment. An environment plan can vary from state to state as guidelines of different states are different.(Harris eta al 2008) But some of the basic features that a construction Management plan must have are as below:

 

• The project should be completely described;
• Plan should also state the clear objective of the environment plan;
• Number of all important people with their designations should also be mentioned;
• The duration of project and everyday work hours of the project also need to be mentioned in the Plan;
• It should also be stated that the construction is in compliance with all the environmental legislation of the state;
• If any person or authority has any complaint then the method of filing such complaints should also be outlined;
• Procedure should be formulated to address any emergency situation as well;
• What environment training has been given to workers and management of the company should also be stated; and
• Environment protection measure that have been undertaken to protect the environment should also be outlined.

 

Construction Management Plan is kind of the first step if any construction is be started with peace of mind intact. Australia has always worked on a statute based methods and most of the environment statute has these crucial factors:

 

• sustainable development of all;
• Polluter pays principle;
• Proper planning for the use of land;
• Conservation of resources like water, air, soil etc; and
• Responsibility lies on the waste generator.

 

In Australia environment laws are implemented through Commonwealth Ministers appointed to look into the matters of environment, heritage and Arts through their respective departments. Certain permits are mandatory to be acquired by the companies in certain situation depending upon the type of company, nature of the activity to be undertaken, significance of the activity, its impact on the residential area and on the environment like coastline, parks, flora, fauna and rivers etc. In most cases where the activity is such that it has potential to harm the environment there may be several permits required as well as planning approvals might also be needed. In some other matters permission is required under both the Commonwealth laws as well as the State laws. (Lipman, 1981)Other than land permits which are transferrable other permits belongs just to the holder and cannot be transferred. Some examples of the authority and permits are like Commonwealth Ministers approval is required under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for those acts which have great significance on the environment. In New South Wales Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979 has imposed a lot of control in matters of zoning of land, standards for development, regulations for constructing buildings, sub division controls and heritage rules. The main source of the power of the government is the statute having planning legislations. Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 makes it mandatory in New South Wales to obtain a permit for certain activities which are categorized as scheduled like the mining, generation of electricity, freeways and toll ways construction. New South Wales Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979 mandate that:

 

• Statement be provided for the environmental effects to obtain development permission
• The environment assessment report to be prepared in certain cases
• Environment protection licence can be granted if audits, pollution studies and steps have been taken to reduce pollution.(Tooma, 2008)

 

Under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 the Environment protection Authority is empowered to look into matters which can be potentially leading to contamination of land.

 

Storage and disposal of waste material is an important aspect and if waste is not handled properly it can be a cause of punishments and penalties. Waste management needs following points to be observed:

 

• Type of waste or its nature
• Method by which waste is propped to be stored
• Nearness to any environmentally sensitive area

 

Directors are also not spared from the liability arising by ignoring the environment and causing harm to it. Directors and certain other officers are personally liable and may be prosecuted for their acts. In matters of environment defences are very less in number. Corporations Act 2001 states that a director has a duty of care and due diligence and thus are supposed to act like that even in environment matters as any environment offence is criminal in nature.

 

It is required that a through study of all the environment laws and policies be undertaken before starting any company that has a potential to harm the environment.

 

Reference List

Books/Articles

1.         Ahrens, Donald C., “Essentials of Meteorology” West Publishing Co., 1994; Ch: 12

2.         Alati, J Safety, Security, Health and Environment Law

3.         Goudie, A, The Human Impact on the Natural Environment, The MIT Press, 1994

1. Harris, J., Hargovan, A. & Adams, M.  (2008) Australian corporate law.  Chatswood, NSW:  LexisNexis Butterworths
2. Lipman, Z. 1991, Criminal liability and the amended Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1989 (NSW)
3. Tooma, M. (2008)  Safety, security, health and environment law. Sydney:  The Federation Press

Legislations 

1. 1.               Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (NSW)
2. Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
3. 3.               Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)
4. 4.               Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)
5. 5.               Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW)
6. 6.               Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)

Others

1. http://www.environment.gov.au
2. 2.     www.austlii.edu.au
   

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