INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT KOZHIKODE

Post Graduate Programme in Management

Course Outline

LEGAL AND ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR MANAGERS 2021

Course Code and Course Title PGP 25, Legal and Ethical Perspectives for
Managers (LEPM)
Course Type Compulsory
Pre-requisites (if any) Nil
Course Credit 2
Total No. of Sessions 16
Session Duration 75 minutes
Term III
Year and batch 1st year 2020-2021, PGP 24
Sections (if any) A,B,C,D,E,F,G, H

Instructors(s) Prof. Shannu Narayan

Contact Details 0495-2809430; [email protected]
Office Faculty Block 3, Room 10
Consultation Hours To be announced

Instructors(s) Prof. Deva Prasad M

Contact Details 0495-2809427; [email protected]
Office Faculty Block 3, Room 23
Consultation Hours To be announced

Introduction

Business is both facilitated as well as regulated by laws and ethical norms. Pertinent legal and
ethics concepts helpful for day-to-day functioning in a commercial/business environment are
introduced through this course. Knowledge of business law and ethics conceptual framework is
significant for effectively steering forward an existing business organisation as well as for
evolving new entrepreneurial ventures.

Learning Outcomes/Course Objectives

The main objective of this course is to make a student of business management understand
the principles and concepts of law and ethics relevant to efficient functioning of business.
This includes formation of contracts; rights and obligations arising from contracts; special
forms of contracts; law dealing with formation and functioning of companies; law relating to
partnership; law relating to intellectual property rights; competition law; consumer protection
law. Ethical

Textbooks and Learning Materials

1
Text Book(s)
Rashmi Aggarwal and Rajinder Kaur, Legal Aspects of Business, 1st Edition, Pearson, 2020
[RR-LAB].

Reference Book(s)
 A. C. Fernando et al, Business Ethics: An Indian Perspective, Third edition, Pearson
India Education Services Pvt. Ltd., 2019 [ACF-BEIP]
Pathak, Akhileshwar, Legal Aspects of Business, Seventh Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill,
New Delhi [AP-LAB].
 Anurag K Agarwal, Business Leadership and Law, Springer, New Delhi 2017 [AA-
BLL].
 Anurag K Agarwal, Business Law for Managers: Kaleidoscopic Tales, Penguin
Random House, IIMA Book series, 2018. [AA-BLM]
 Constance Bagley, Managers and the Legal Environment: Strategies for the 21 st
Century, Eighth Edition, Cengage Learning, Boston, 2016.
 Anurag K Agarwal, Business and Intellectual Property, Random House India, New
Delhi 2010 [AKA-BIP].

Additional Reading(s)
Hard copies of relevant additional reading materials will be distributed as and when required.

Technology and Software (if any)

NIL

Other Resources (Journals, Internet Websites) (if any)

The Parable of the Sadhu (HBR, 1997, 97307-PDF-ENG)

Pedagogy Used/Learning Process

The course will be primarily offered through lectures, discussion and analysis of relevant
practical legal issues through decided cases. In the course delivery, emphasis is on the
maximisation of student learning within the classroom itself, by way of methods such as
problem based learning method. The participants are encouraged to read introduction to the
subject in order to equip them to explore and analyse the legal issues to be discussed in the
class. 

Evaluation Components/Assessment of Student Learning

Assessment Tool Percentage Description

Class Participation and 35% Students are expected to work in teams or
Presentation/Written report
2
 individually analysing contemporary issues
regarding legal aspects of business.
Quizzes 15% These components are required to check and
End Term 50% evaluate students’ understanding of legal
concepts and principles and their application
in solving managerial decision-making
problems.

Session Plan

Session Module Topic Chapter No. / Reading

material / Cases
1-2 Introduction to  Relevance of legal and [AKA-BLL]: Chapter 1
Law & Ethics ethical approach to [ACF-BEIP]: Chapter 2
business
 Introduction to Indian Caroll, The Pyramid of
Legal System Corporate Social
 Theories of Business Responsibility: Toward
Ethics & Corporate values the Moral Management
of Organizational
Stakeholders Business
Horizons, July-August
1991
3-6 Legal Aspects Business Contracts [RR-LAB]: Chapter 2,3,5
of Business  Regulating unfair terms in [AA-BLM]: Chapter 1
Contracts B2B and B2C contract [RR-LAB]: Chapter 11
 Essentials of Formation of
a Contract
 Breach of Contract
 Termination and Damages
 Contracting with
Government
 Ethical perspective of
unfair and one-sided
contracts

7 - 10 Legal & Ethical Partnership [AP-LAB]: Chapter 26

Aspects of  Mutual Agency
Business  Registration and
Organizations Dissolution of Partnership

Limited Liability Partnership

(LLP)
 Nature of LLP
 Formation of LLP

Company Law

3
  Characteristic of a [RR-LAB]: Chapter 16,
Company 17, 18,26, 27, 28 and 31
 Memorandum & Articles [AA-BLM]: Chapter 3
of Association
 Doctrine of Ultra Vires,
Indoor Management
 Importance of Independent
Directors
 Insolvency of a Company
 Stakeholder Concept
 Corporate Accountability
and Ethical Perspective
 Mandatory Corporate
Social Responsibility in
Law
11 - 12 Law relating to  Patents [AKA-BIP]: Chapters 2,
Intellectual  Compulsory Licensing 3, 4 and 7
Property Rights  Trademarks [AA-BLM]: Chapter 5
 Legal & Ethical Issues of
IPR

13 - 15 Legal and Consumer Protection [RR-LAB]: Chapter 13

Ethical aspects  Unfair Trade Practice
of Trade  Advertising Practices
Practices  Restrictive Trade Practices
 Product Liability

Competition Law
 Anti-Competitive [AA-BLM]: Chapter 7
Agreements
 Abuse of Dominant
Position
 Regulation of
Combinations

16 Emerging  Understanding the Ethical Parable of a Sadhu,

Issues in Law Contours and Dilemmas HBR 1997
and Ethics for  Way Forward
Managers

Additional Instructions (if any)

NIL