BUS201e
End-of-Course Assessment – January Semester 2015
Contract & Agency Law
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INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS:
1. This End-of-Course Assessment paper comprises EIGHT (8) pages
(including the cover page).
2. You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Title, Your PI, Your Name, and Submission Date.
3. Late submission will be subjected to mark-deduction scheme by the University.
IMPORTANT NOTE
ECA Submission Deadline: 09 March 2015, 12 noon
ECA Submission Guidelines
Please follow the submission instructions stated below:
A - What Must Be Submitted
You are required to submit the following THREE (3) items for marking and grading:
• A Report (you should submit this item first as it carries the highest weightage).
• A Video Presentation:
o UniSIM conducts Hands-on Sessions on how to record ECA video presentation for SBIZ students every semester. Please see MyUniSIM (Blackboard) L01 announcement page for more information including registration, a month before ECA cut-off date. o The ECA video recording and submission online tutorials/guides are also available as an external links/downloads in the announcement.
• The set of PowerPoint slides, converted to PDF, upon which the video presentation is based.
Please verify your submissions after you have submitted the above THREE (3) items.
B - Submission Deadline
• The THREE (3) items of Report, Video and Presentation Summary are to be submitted by 12 noon on the submission deadline.
• You are allowed multiple submissions till the cut-off date for each of the THREE (3) items.
• Late submission of any of the THREE (3) items will be subjected to mark-deduction scheme by the University. Please refer to Section 5.2 Para 2.4 of the Student Handbook.
C - How the (3) Items Should Be Submitted
• The Report: submit online to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) via TurnItIn (for plagiarism detection)
• The Video: submit online to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) (refer to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) L01 announcement page for the online tutorial/guide)
• The Presentation Summary: o submit online to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) via TurnItIn (PPT must be converted to
PDF and submission is in PDF only) o The PPT must contain at least 20 words
o Refer to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) L01 announcement page for the online tutorial/guide
• Avoid using a public WiFi connection for submitting large video files. If you are using public wireless (WiFi) connection (e.g. SG Wireless at public areas), you might encounter a break in the connection when sending large files.
D - Additional guidelines on file formatting are given as follows:
1. Report • Please ensure that your Microsoft Word document is generated by Microsoft Word 2007 or higher.
•
The report must be saved in .docx format.
2. Video Showing your PowerPoint projection in the background is NOT required.
Your video file should be readable by current video player applications such as Windows Media Player (For Windows) and QuickTime Player (For Macintosh).
Do ensure that your video file conforms to these requirements:
a) Time Duration: a minimum of 3 minutes and a maximum of 6 minutes
b) File Size: No more than 50MB
c) File Formats:
• .wmv
• .mov
If we are unable to playback your video file, we will treat it as nonsubmission of the video component.
Note: Please refer to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) L01 announcement page for the online tutorial/guide as well as the registration to the optional Hand-on session, a month before the ECA cut-off date.
3. Presentation Summary •
• Your PowerPoint presentation must contain at least 20 words.
Please ensure that your PowerPoint presentation is converted to PDF format before you submit.
•
The maximum number of slides is fifteen (15).
• Please do NOT download and use PowerPoint slide design templates from the Internet.
• You can refer to MyUniSIM (Blackboard) L01 announcement page for the online tutorial/guide, a month before the ECA cut-off date
E – Please be Aware of the Following:
Submission in hardcopy or any other means not given in the above guidelines will not be accepted. You do not need to submit any other forms or cover sheets (e.g. form ET3) with your ECA.
You are reminded that electronic transmission is not immediate. The network traffic may be particularly heavy on the date of submission deadline and connections to the system cannot be guaranteed. Hence, you are advised to submit your work early. MyUniSIM (Blackboard) will allow you to submit your work late but your work will be subjected to the mark-deduction scheme. You should therefore not jeopardise your course result by submitting your ECA at the last minute.
It is your responsibility to check and ensure that your files are successfully submitted to MyUniSIM (Blackboard).
F - Plagiarism and Collusion
Plagiarism and collusion are forms of cheating and are not acceptable in any form in a student’s work, including this ECA. Plagiarism and collusion are taking work done by others or work done together with others respectively and passing it off as your own. You can avoid plagiarism by giving appropriate references when you use other people’s ideas, words or pictures (including diagrams). Refer to the APA Manual if you need reminding about quoting and referencing. You can avoid collusion by ensuring that your submission is based on your own individual effort.
The electronic submission of your ECA will be screened by plagiarism detection software. For more information about plagiarism and collusion, you should refer to the Student Handbook (Section 5.2.1.3). You are reminded that UniSIM takes a tough stance against plagiarism or collusion. Serious cases will normally result in the student being referred to UniSIM’s Student Disciplinary Group. For other cases, significant mark penalties or expulsion from the course will be imposed.
Video Presentation Evaluation Criteria
Note: Students will be assessed on the quality of the presentation and not the quality of the video recording. However, the recording is expected to have video and audio clarity. Showing your PowerPoint projection in the background is NOT required.
Organisation of Presentation /8
•
Logical flow of presentation
• Posture: Standing, straight back etc…
• Body language:
– Hand gestures supporting oral arguments, etc…
Posture & Body Language /5
• Looking at the video camera
•
No reading of slides or notes or cue cards
Eye-Contact /5
Pace & Articulation /7
• Pace: Speaks neither too fast nor too slow
• Articulation: Oral expression is clear and confident in the presentation.
TOTAL /25
Presentation Summary Evaluation Criteria
•
Layout, clarity of text elements, colour blends, graphical enhancements
Format and Style of Slides /3
•
Proper flow - title page, introduction, body, results, recommendations / discussion points, conclusion/summary; quick to understand, free from grammatical errors
Clarity and Coherence /4
Creativity
• Ability to use creative elements to value-add to the presentation so as to enhance understanding and clarity of difficult concepts
TOTAL /10
SECTION A (Total 65 marks)
Question 1
Peter, the Managing Director of CompuMac Limited, was planning a company trip for the staff.
The staff wanted to go to Kuala Lumpur to visit the inaugural “Global 3-D Printing” exhibition that boasts of 3-D printing technology experts participating from all around the world. They wanted to talk to the experts about CompuMac’s patented 3-D technology and to seek alliances with such experts on research and development projects.
Peter booked a 25-seater coach from BestCoach, at a price of S$2,000 for a return trip from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Peter, on behalf of CompuMac, paid a deposit of S$500 to BestCoach five days before departure date.
Analyse the following scenarios. For each scenario, advise Peter as to whether contract between CompuMac and BestCoach can be discharged and if yes, identify the appropriate grounds for such discharge. In your analysis, examine whether CompuMac is entitled to a refund of the deposit or alternatively, is required to pay the balance amount to BestCoach.
(a) Scenario 1 - There was heavy monsoon rain in Johor Bahru. The roads in Johor Bahru were flooded and no longer accessible. BestCoach refused to proceed with the coach journey on the departure date, although the roads after Johor Bahru and leading into Kuala Lumpur were clear and accessible.
(b) Scenario 2 - There was heavy flooding in Kuala Lumpur. BestCoach offered to provide a slow drive to Kuala Lumpur so that by the time that the coach reached the borders of Kuala Lumpur on the eve of the exhibition, the floods would likely have abated and the coach could then drive into Kuala Lumpur. Peter refused to proceed with the journey on the departure date.
In your answers, you are required to cite the relevant statutory provisions and case law to support your views as well as demonstrate well-developed written proficiency in the flow and content of your analysis.
(25 marks)
Question 2
Cherlyn is 17 years old and had been unemployed. Three months ago, she accepted a job at CallNow Private Limited, a company providing 24/7 hotline support services to users of various types of software.
Her employment agreement stated that:
• her working hours were from 8.00am to 10.00pm daily, from Monday to Saturday; and
• she was permitted only 30-minute breaks for her lunches and dinners.
Her monthly salary was S$1,000 and she was entitled to 5 days of annual leave. During the interview, the Human Resource Manager of CallNow told her that the company would provide her with free 3-month intensive training so that she would become “extremely proficient” at handling support services calls. If she did not quit her job within 12 months of completing the training, the training fee of S$6,000 payable by Cherlyn would be waived. After completion of her training, she would be assigned a “mentor” who would guide her on the job.
Cherlyn also rented a room as she wanted to stay near her new workplace. The rental agreement was for three (3) years, with a monthly rental of S$350.
After a few weeks, she began having second thoughts about the job and wanted to resign. She did not want to pay the training fee and asked you if the employment agreement was valid and enforceable.
At the same time, she wanted to nullify her rental agreement and to also obtain a refund of rental amounts that she had paid for the past few weeks.
She has come to you for advice. Explain to Cherlyn whether:
(a) her employment agreement is valid and enforceable (and whether she is required to pay the training fee); and
(b) her rental agreement is valid and enforceable (and whether she is entitled to obtain a refund of the past rental amounts that she had paid).
You should identify and cite the relevant statutory provision(s) and case law to support your views.
(20 marks)
Question 3
Consider a specific job in your organisation (or one that you are familiar with) and relate how the employee performing this job is an agent of that organisation. You may preserve confidentiality by disguising the name of the organisation. Remember to state the relevant legal principles and cite relevant case law to support your analysis.
(a) For context, you should describe the business of this organisation and some of the key functions of the identified job that are relevant to the agency relationship between the organisation and the individual.
(4 marks)
(b) Discuss and analyse how the individual in that job is an agent of the organisation. In your answer, explain how the agency relationship was created as well as two (2) types of authority which the agent would possess. Provide specific examples to support your answer.
(16 marks)
SECTION B (Total 25 marks)
Prepare a video recording of the presentation of at least 3 minutes but not exceeding 6 minutes. Your file size should be no more than 50MB and the format is in either .wmv or .mov.
(25 marks)
SECTION C (Total 10 marks)
Prepare a set of PowerPoint presentation upon which the video presentation is based. Please note that the PowerPoint must be converted to PDF before submission to MyUniSIM (Blackboard).
(10 marks)
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