QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

QUT Business School

School of Accountancy, AYB230 Corporations Law, SEMESTER TWO 2015

ASSESSMENT 2: PROBLEM SOLVING ASSIGNMENT

(Weighting Total – 20%)

Length:                                 1,000 words

This assessment item assesses the following learning outcomes:

Higher Order Thinking (HO)

2.2          Exercise independent judgment and initiative in adapting and applying knowledge and skills for effective planning, problem solving and decision making in diverse contexts.

Social, Ethical and Global Understanding (SE)

5.1          Demonstrate and apply knowledge of ethical and legal principles and practices in analysing and responding to business issues.

QUT Late Assessment Policy

Assessment submitted after the due date without an approved extension will not be marked and will receive a grade of 1 or 0%. If special circumstances prevent you from meeting the assessment due date, you can apply for an extension. If you don’t have an approved extension you should submit the work you have completed by the due date and it will be marked against the assessment criteria.

Assignment Overview

This assessment requires each student to submit a written answer to a problem style question. The assignment builds on the skills learned in tutorials. It provides another opportunity for further feedback on your problem solving ability prior to the final exam.

• Use the ILAC method, but as this is a formal essay you will have to use more descriptive headings than simply “Law”, “Application”, etc.
• You are expected to do additional, independent research beyond the textbook and lecture material in order to complete the assignment.
• You must cite legislation and case law (as appropriate) to support statements of law and your application to the facts. Present your argument / application in a clear, concise and logical manner. Make sure that you reach a conclusion. Please refer to the assessment criteria sheet for further information.
• Try to avoid making assumptions (especially about the law). If you do not understand the facts, undertake additional research prior to asking for clarification. Any general queries about the assignment should be raised through the discussion board on Blackboard.
• For assistance with essay writing, see the QUT cite|write website at citewrite.qut.edu.au

Referencing

You are expected to reference your work and provide a bibliography or reference list. You can choose whether to use the QUT cite/write or QUT APA or QUT Legal referencing systems. Whatever you choose, you should be consistent and proficient. If you use footnotes, the footnotes must be sequential, not contain substantial material or argument (which should appear in the body of your assignment). Footnotes / end notes if you use them are not included in the word count.

Case Citations

You must cite a reference, case or legislative section as authority to any primary source legal principles. All cases cited should include the full name of the case and its citation, in the first instance it is referred to. The citation can be given straight after the case name, or referenced in a footnote. As the relevant cases and legislation are important to a legal paper, they should be mentioned in the body of the text rather than in any footnotes. Any case names or legislation titles should be in italics. You do not need to refer to the Corporations Act repeatedly. It will be assumed that sections mentioned are from that Act after the first mention, unless otherwise indicated. The assignment is based on Australian law so only refer to the current version of the Australian Corporations Act.

Formatting

You must present your problem solving task is a professional format. A professional format includes submitting a Word document in an easily readable font with appropriate margins and headings. There is no need to have an Executive Summary or Table of Contents.

Style

You may use plain English, as this will help you to be concise. The use of slang, swear words and jargon would be inappropriate. The use of ‘SMS speak’ (for example, the letter ‘u’ instead of ‘you’) is particularly inappropriate for formal business communication – use correct spelling and grammar.

Submit – upload through Blackboard

You must upload your answer to Turnitin via the AYB230 Blackboard site by the due date. Note QUT’s policy on late assignments and extensions.

Please make sure that the document which you upload to Turnitin includes both your name and student number.

Problem Scenario

The problem solving task is based on hypothetical facts. The case has been developed to reinforce learning outcomes and knowledge in this unit.

 

To get assignment samples chat with our online assignment adviser (Chat with our 24x 7 Online Agents).

Morgan O’Malley, Toni Taylor and Sarah Sampson are the directors of Eggs Limited. Eggs Limited carries on a business of distributing eggs throughout the greater Brisbane region, primarily to cafés, restaurants and hotels. Over the last three years, Eggs Limited’s business and profitability has grown, and as a result Eggs Limited had grown to become the largest wholesale distributor of eggs in the region.

However, more recently, Eggs Limited’s business has lost market share after Finch Frost, a former employee of Eggs Limited who was let go during the global financial crisis, started his own egg distribution business, Duck Limited. As Duck Limited’s business grew, competition between the two companies increased. This has ultimately led to declining profits for both businesses, as they try and undercut each other on pricing in order to win customers.

Morgan, unhappy with the current situation, calls Finch to organize a meeting to discuss this issue. Finch agrees to meet with Morgan in the Myer Centre Food Court the next day. During the meeting, Morgan and Finch discuss a number of topics, including the current state of their respective businesses and their declining profits. Morgan informs Finch that he believes the current situation is unsustainable in the long term and is damaging both companies. Finch agrees and states that something needs to be done soon. Morgan suggests a proposal which he believes is in the best interests of both companies and will result in both companies increasing their profits. Morgan outlines a proposal whereby Eggs Limited will only supply to customers on the Northside and Ducks Limited will only supply to customers on the Southside. Finch thinks this is a great idea, and the two directors shake hands to finalise the deal.

A few weeks after Morgan’s meeting with Finch, Toni receives an email from her brother, who runs a local milk distribution company called Cow Limited. The email outlines that Cow Limited has been struggling to break into the market and suggests that if Toni agrees that Eggs Limitedwill only supply to customers if they also purchase milk products from Cow Limited, Cow Limited will pay Toni a commission of $500 per week. Toni approaches Morgan about the proposal, inferring that it would be doing her brother a favour. Morgan reluctantly agrees. Toni does not tell Morgan about the commission.

Six months later, the board of Eggs Limited is considering a resolution to approve the takeover of a cardboard manufacturing company. Morgan advises Toni and Sarah that he thinks the acquisition is a logical step for the company, as it will mean that Eggs Limited can manufacture its own packaging products at a lower cost. After a period of deliberation and a review of the company’s financial information, the board unanimously resolves to approve the acquisition. Although Morgan, through his family trust, holds a 15% ownership interest in the cardboard manufacturing company, he does not disclose this to the other directors, as he does not want them to think that this has influenced his decision to approve the acquisition.

Morgan, being aware of the pending takeover by Eggs Limited, acquires an additional 5% interest in the cardboard manufacturing company.