Department of Business, Government and Society
Business, Government, and Society: BGS
Lower-Division Courses
BGS 312W. Business, Government, and Public Policy: Washington Campus.
Restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. The relationship between business and government in the formation and implementation of public policy examined from economic, political, legal, and behavioral perspectives. Focuses on the political, regulatory, and legal systems of the United States, and addresses issues covered further in the Washington campus event, a week-long seminar with policy makers in Washington, D.C., that precedes the course. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Twenty-four semester hours of college coursework including Government 310L, and a passing score on the reading section of the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) test (or another appropriate assessment test); required attendance at the Washington Campus D.C. Seminar.
Upper-Division Courses
BGS 325. Social and Ethical Responsibility of Business.
Restricted to students in a business major. Examines ethical aspects of the decision-making processes of managers and employees. Also explores responsibility of firms to society and other constituencies. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
BGS 140S, 240S, 340S, 440S, 540S, 640S, 740S, 840S, 940S. Topics in Business, Government, and Society.
This course is used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office, or the school's BBA Exchange Programs. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad adviser in the Department of Business, Government, and Society. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.
BGS 370. Topics in Business, Government, and Society.
Restricted to students in a business major. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Varies with the topic.
Topic 1: Energy Technology and Policy. Designed to give students an understanding of the broad context of energy production and consumption in the U.S. and the world. Discusses past energy trends and fundamentals of energy and power, including fossil fuels and renewable energy sources and technologies. Explores different energy resources, environmental impacts, and societal uses of energy, and concludes with an evaluation of future energy technology options.
BGS 371. Corporate Political Strategy.
Restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. A study of how the political and regulatory environment enables and constrains business activity and how individual firms and groups of firms can ethically yet effectively lobby legislatures, negotiate with regulators, create industry associations, make campaign contributions, and engage in other political activity to gain competitive advantage. Three lectures hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
BGS 372. Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility.
Restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. A study of how corporations can engage in corporate social responsibility and sustainable activities to improve the world with strategic considerations kept in mind. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
BGS 373. Strategic Corporate Communication.
Restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. Studies corporate efforts to inform, motivate, and persuade various constituencies, including investors, employees, communities, and regulators. Subjects include public relations, investor relations, and government relations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Legal Environment of Business: LEB
Lower-Division Courses
Upper-Division Courses
LEB 320F. Foundations of the Legal Environment of Business.
Not open to law students. Introduction to the legal problems confronting businesses in the global environment. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May not be counted toward the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
LEB 323. Business Law and Ethics.
Restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. An investigation of the role of law in society; introduction to legal reasoning, dispute resolution, judicial process, constitutional law, agency, torts, government regulations; business ethics; study of contracts. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Legal Environment of Business 323 and 323H may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
LEB 323H. Business Law and Ethics: Honors.
Restricted to students admitted to the McCombs School of Business Honors Program. An investigation of the role of law in society; introduction to legal reasoning, dispute resolution, judicial process, constitutional law, agency, torts, government regulations; business ethics; study of contracts. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Legal Environment of Business 323 and 323H may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
LEB 140S, 240S, 340S, 440S, 540S, 640S, 740S, 840S, 940S. Topics in the Legal Environment of Business.
This course is used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office or by the school's BBA Exchange Programs. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad adviser in the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.
LEB 361. Law of Business Organizations.
Restricted to students in a business major. Study of basic legal principles of business organizations and operations, including practical comparison and assessment of advantages and disadvantages of different types of organization. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Legal Environment of Business 323 or 323H.
LEB 363. Real Estate Law.
An examination of law pertaining to estates and interests in land, conveyances and mortgages, brokers, easements, contracts, default and foreclosure. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Legal Environment of Business 320F, 323, 323H, or consent of instructor.
LEB 366. Commercial Transactions.
Restricted to students in a business major. Applied business transactions, with emphasis on the Uniform Commercial Code; emphasis on bailments, sales of goods, commercial paper, bank-customer relationships, creditor security devices, and bankruptcy. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Legal Environment of Business 323 or 323H.
LEB 370. Topics in the Legal Environment of Business.
Restricted to students in a business major. Selected topics on legal constraints affecting managerial decision making and business behavior. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Legal Environment of Business 323 or 323H with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 1: Antitrust Law.
Topic 2: Environmental Law.
Topic 3: Employer-Employee Relations.
Topic 4: Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Business.
Topic 5: The Law and the Multinational Corporation.
Topic 6: Law of the Entertainment Business.
Topic 7: Business Torts.
Topic 8: Constitutional Issues in Business.
Topic 9: Business Dispute Resolution.
Topic 10: Intellectual Property.
Topic 11: Sports, Sports Management, and Entertainment Law. Survey of the law as it relates to amateur and professional sports and sports management. Includes an entertainment law component that examines the legal aspects of the film industry.
Topic 12: Law of the European Union. Introduction to the rapidly evolving law of the European Union, with particular emphasis on business applications and comparisons to American law.
LEB 372. Oil and Gas Law.
Application of legal principles of real property to oil and gas transactions; study of leasing, pooling, unitization; governmental regulation and energy policy Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing; Legal Environment of Business 323 or 323H, or consent of instructor.
LEB 179, 379. Independent Research in the Legal Environment of Business.
Restricted to students in a McCombs School of Business major. Conference course. Only two of the following may be counted toward the Bachelor of Business Administration: Accounting 179C, 379C, Finance 179C, 379C, International Business 179C, 379C, Legal Environment of Business 179, 379, Management 179C, 379C, Management Information Systems 179, 379, Marketing 179C, 379C, Operations Management 179, 379, Real Estate 179C, 379C, Risk Management 179, 379. Prerequisite: Eighteen semester hours of coursework in business and economics, six of which must be upper-division; Legal Environment of Business 323 or 323H with a grade of at least C-; consent of instructor; written approval before the first meeting of the course from the department chair's office, on forms provided for that purpose.