SYLLABUS

BUSINESS LAW 2202

SUMMER 2015
(3 Credits)
Monday-Friday
Section:
0945 1045
Room: 115 New Bldg
Chris Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Law
Office: Room: 109
Office Telephone: 270.4440 x2190
Email: cnguyen@kimep.kz
Office Hours: M & T: 1200 1300 or by appointment
Course Description/Overview: This course familiarizes students with core notions and
landmark concepts of the legal system of Republic of Kazakhstan that are likely to be
encountered in future business practice. It sets the ground with an introduction to the major legal
concepts in the context of modern business and then introduces students to the basic doctrines of
the business law of RK and covers all its main branches, including: Law of Transaction, Property
law, Liability law, Labor law, Tax law, etc.
Relationship of Course and Program: There is no pre-requisite for this course. It is
recommended that the student have taken the General Education course Introduction to the
Legal System of Kazakhstan/Law of Kazakhstan prior to taking this course.
Learning Objectives: This course will introduce students to the legal, regulatory and ethical
environment within which business operates. Students should be able to identify issues relating
to law including recognizing potential problems before they become real and costly; they should
know when they need to consult an expert and when they do not; they should understand the
language, practices and methods of reasoning and problem solving in the discipline of law so that
the legal expert can be used effectively and efficiently; and have sufficient insight into the
discipline so that the service and advice of the expert can be knowledgeably evaluated and
incorporated into the business firms decision making processes.
In educating business students about the legal, regulatory and ethical environment of business,
the following objectives should be achieved:
1. To improve students skills in recognizing and managing legal and ethical risks in
business decision making.
2. To enhance students understanding of legal processes so that they can use those
processes more effectively and efficiently in business decision making.
3. To assist students in further development of analytical problem-solving skills.
4. To give students a greater appreciation of the role of law in society, both domestically and
internationally.

Intended Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the Student will be
able to:
Substantive Knowledge Outcomes:
a. Understand the role that law plays in society and in businesses as well as the factors that
influence the development of law;
b. Define and explain basic legal terms that relate to business and commerce;
c. Identify rights and obligations of both business entities and customers/clients;
d. Demonstrate an understanding of the consequences of unlawful business practices;
e. Apply the basic principles of business law on real life situations;
f. Understand the general similarities and differences in sources, substances and application
of law in international, regional and domestic contexts; and
g. Identify and analyze regulatory and compliance issues in the legal and ethical
environments of international business.
Skills Development Outcomes:
a. Communication: Oral/Written Present business information and legal issues orally and
in writing using appropriate terminology that is concise, clear, organized, supported and
persuasive in a professional manner appropriate to the practice of international commerce
law.
b. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Incorporate and synthesize information, theory and
practice in order to implement appropriate business actions. Given a business situation,
diagnose the underlying legal issues and causes of the business problem, evaluate
possible solutions, and determine and defend appropriate course of action.
c. Research and Information Literacy Access information from a variety of sources,
evaluate the credibility of the sources and apply that information to solve business
problems.
Values and Behavior Outcomes:
a. Ethics Identify the ethical principles related to personal, corporate and legal practice
behavior in specific situation and explain the potential consequences. This skill will be
done in both domestic and international business contexts.
b. Diversity Identify the impact of cultural, economic and legal factors on modern
international transactions and be able to explain the potential consequences.
c. Analysis and Application Identify legal issues, analyze the interrelationship of the legal
problem and the desired business solution and apply the applicable law to facilitate the
interests of a business client.
Teaching and Learning Philosophy and Methodology: Each class will have elements of
lecture, class discussion, case studies, Socratic questioning, problem solving and presentations.
Learning will be done in group and individual contexts. Assignments for each class will provide
the basis for written work, problem solutions, presentation, case presentations and discussions,
etc.
Lecture methodology of teaching and learning is an excellent platform for providing an overview
of the subject matter and to inform, clarify, review and improve understanding beyond the
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readings assigned and prepared by the students for the class. During the lecture, students may
ask questions which will improve everyones understanding of the material.
Students should understand the purpose of using case studies, both real and hypothetical.
Discussing the cases in class focuses the students on their readings and provides tools for better
self directed reading and analysis. Students will sometimes be asked to present a case and to
start the discussion. Case studies will be coupled with Socratic Method wherein students orally
respond to a series of questions designed to help them gain further insight into the meaning of
the case. Students will learn to discern relevant from irrelevant facts, learn to distinguish
between seemingly similar facts and issues and learn to analogize between dissimilar facts and
issues. Using cases allows students to deal with real problems and tends to stimulate
discussion.
Students will also be assigned problems to be solved sometimes individually, sometimes in
groups and sometimes in a short time period and other times as a class assignment. The Problem
Method of teaching and learning is different from the case method in that cases analyze
particular cases to identify the already given total facts and from analyzing the case arrive at the
related principles of law. The Problem Method requires students to find their own solution to the
problem presented. Facts are not all already known, part of the solution can be taking
preventative or ameliorative steps, unlike the cases where the situation is frozen and ended. The
way this method works is that a problem will be presented by the professor, the students will use
the course or other materials to solve the problem and there will be a classroom discussion and
justification of solutions. Generally problems do not have just one single correct answer so
students must weigh alternatives and justify those choices.
Knowledge of the law is best understood in the context within which it operates. Discussions,
understanding and application of law must take into consideration the complexities of national
and international societies and culture.
Time Allocation: 150 learning hours. See Course Learning Activities for details.
Course Learning Activities: The learning that students are to do in connection with this course
will only partly occur during the scheduled class time. KIMEP policy requires that each 3 credit
course have the students undertake 150 hours of learning activities (in a 15 weeks course, for
every 3 hours of instruction per week, each student is expected to devote an average of 7 hours
per week). It is not possible to predict with absolute accuracy how much time each student will
take in different kinds of learning activities, but the following is the Professors best estimate as
to how students will devote their time for this course.
1) In Class Learning: Lecture, discussion, presentations, interactive learning activities,
etc. = 45 hours
2) Reading and Research: for assignments set forth below in the Schedule of
Assignments (including note taking) and in connection with short papers = 60 hours
3) Writing = short paper assignments = 15 hours
4) Out-of-Class Group Work: includes peer discussions and cooperative research and
preparation, case presentations, role playing etc. = 7 hours
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5) Practicing Skills: Development and learning of skills relating to the subject matter of
the course such as Oral Presentation, Advocacy and Debate, Analysis and Synthesis,
Problem Solving, etc. = time for this is including within the estimates for Class time,
Out-of-Class Group Work, Reading and Research, Writing and summarizing and
synthesizing material. Skills development is estimated to represent 25% of the time in
those categories.
6) On-going Summarizing and Synthesizing material and information learned into a
whole course structure and also Preparation for Assessments such as midterm and
final = 23 hours
Classroom Issues: Preparation, Participation, Attendance and Behavior in the Classroom:
It is expected students should be prepared, attend class and participate.
Laptop and Mobile Phone Policy: laptops may be used to take note. During exams, no
electronic equipments (ie no phones) are to be in sight. Violation of this will result in an
automatic zero, regardless of reason for the presence of the phone in sight in class.
Evaluation, Assessment and Grading: Evaluation and assessment is distributed for the
purposes of grading as follows:

Assessment 1 30%;
Assessment 2 30%
Final Examination 40%.

See Appendix A following the syllabus for topic selections.

Please note that no make-up exam will be administered except for cases of extreme
emergencies. In this case you are expected to provide appropriate written documentation.
Exam expectations: During exams, only exam materials are allowed on the desk. All other
materials must be either under the desk or in the front of the class. Once the exam starts, no
talking is allowed; if there is talking, i.e. questions, it must be in English. All electronic
equipment, unless authorized, must be turned off and out of sight. If you are not clear on what
you can or cannot do during an exam, ask. A paper book dictionary is permitted during exams.
GRADING SCALE: Letter grades for the course will follow the same standards as specified in
KIMEP Catalog. See the following table for grading scale:
Grade quality

Numerical scale or percentile

A+

90-100

85-89

A-

80-84
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B+

77-79

73-76

B-

70-72

C+

67-69

63-66

C-

60-62

D+

57-59

53-56

D-

50-52

Below 50

Accordingly, a passing grade for the course is 50.

A grade of Incomplete will not be granted except for the most extreme circumstances and only
after stringent verification and approval by the instructor. A grade of incomplete will be granted
only as a result of circumstances beyond a students control. A grade of I is not given in lieu
of an F or any other passing grade.
Plagiarism and Cheating Warning: Dont cheat or plagiarize. Plagiarism and/or cheating
are very serious offences. So, dont do it. There will be severe penalties for those who plagiarize
or cheat.
Referencing: Chicago Manual Style for works not law, laws referenced with Oxford Style

SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS
NOTE: The following is meant to be a summary of the topics presented. This syllabus may be
updated as the course progresses. We will cover the material in the order presented in this
Syllabus. It will be the students responsibility to be appropriately prepared for the lectures. The
order of the material is not expected to materially change, but it is possible that dates we actually
cover the material in class may change. This Schedule is to be used by you as a planning tool, but
adjustments and/or updates to the assignments will be posted to the Course Website (when
available) as the term progresses. The reading assignments set forth in this Syllabus are
listed for the associated topic and the page numbers related to the required Cheeseman
text.
Required Text:

Cheeseman, Henry R., Business Law: Legal Environment,

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Online Commerce, Business Ethics and International Issues, 7th

Edition
Students will also receive additional readings (particularly
materials on the laws of Kazakhstan) on the Course website/L
Drive or by in-class handouts throughout the course.
Course Website: During the semester the Professor will maintain contact with students via the
student website/L Drive. Please go to the I-drive (L) drive and open the folder named Chris
Nguyen. Announcements and assignment information, etc. will be posted there. Students are
held responsible for the information posted there. It is your responsibility to check the folder
on a regular basis. You should also regularly check your KIMEP EMAILS for any updates.
Week 1:
25 May Introduction
26 May Movie : Margin Call
Objectives:
Ethical theories describing individual behavior
Ethical responsibilities of business entities
Topic: General Introduction to Course and the Legal Environment of Business;
Ethics and Social Responsibility of Business
Week 2
1 June
Assessment 1 Due Paper talking about the ethics of business. The paper is due Friday by the
end of class.
Topic: Agency and Employment
Topic: Business Organizations
Website: article of incorporation for an LLC for California :
http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/llc/forms/llc-1.pdf vs incorporation of LLC in KZ
Topic: Business Organizations, Continued
Week 3
8 June
Topic: Rule of Law, Nature of Law and Development of Legal Systems
Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system);
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Kazakhstan.htm
Discussion Question: What is law?
Web: http://www.globalbusinessoath.org/businessoath.php
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Topic: Introduction to Contracts

http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/kazakhstan/enforcing-contracts
Week 4:
15 June
Topic: Formation of a Contract
Topic: Conduct that Invalidates a Contract
Topic: Performance, Breach and Discharge of Contract
Topic: Remedies
Week 5:
22 June
Assessment 2
Topic: Transnational/International Contracts Contracts on the Internet: Special problems in
doing a contract on the world wide web
Web: Browse: http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/cisg/text/treaty.html (full text of
CISG http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/ccisg/ccisg.html UN site
with
general info and description in English and in Russian.
Week 6:
29 June
Topic: Government Regulations
Week 7:
6 July
Topic: Competition/Anti-trust
Week 8:
13 July
Topic: Special Topics
FINALS
Final Exam will be comprehensive. Final exam schedule will be according to University
schedule, or at the earliest opportunity in the Exam period, whichever occurs first. Any
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conflicts with the Finals schedule needs to be addressed before the Final itself. No make-up
for a missed Final exam will be offered.
Questions for Paper for Assessment 1
1.

Movie:
a. What are some of the ethical dilemmas faced by the various characters? How did they
get into this situation?
b. What is more important, the survival of the company or employment for employees
who did nothing wrong?
c. What can the managers of the company do to ensure that employees are still
employed? What are some constraints with this option?
d. Analyze the movie in the context of the ethical theories
e. Why do we need ethics in business? Is this realistic?
Format:
The paper should have your first name, last name and ID number on it.
The paper should have a cover page and a bibliography page
The paper should be double spaced
The paper should have in-text citations
The paper should have at least 2 non-text, non-movie citations
The outside source should be from either Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw (see the library)
6. The paper should be at minimum 4 pages, double-spaced, and maximum of 7
main pages (excluding cover page and bibliography page), double-spaced. Papers
NOT meeting this requirement will receive a 1 full grade deduction.
7. Font should be 12-point and there should be 1-inch margins around the paper
Submission:
1. both hard copies and soft copies. Hard copies due in class. The paper should be stapled
together NOT in clear plastic folders. Submission contrary to this will receive a half a
grade deduction.
2. Soft copies format: email to: cnguyen@kimep.kz. Subject line: Assessment 1 summer
2015 Business law_name of student. The time stamp should be no later than 5 June
12pm. Any submission after the due date will incur a 2 full grade deduction, no
exceptions.