Welcome, CBL Leaders!

This graduate-level course is designed to help students grapple with legal and ethical issues that shape — and often constrain — communication styles, both verbal and written, in professional settings. It is imperative for leaders to understand certain red flags and areas of concern that frequently arise in the workplace – from avoiding defamatory statements to adhering to nondiscrimination regulations, from advocating on a company’s behalf to drawing a line between what might be legal but perhaps unethical.

We will explore legal limits presented by the Supreme Court's outlines of commercial and corporate speech, understand the protections and pitfalls of copyright and trademark law, establish the high expectations of nondiscrimination law and see its limits on employee speech. And much more.

As important, we will grapple with rigorous academic writing by top scholars and up-to-the-minute perspectives on the topics covered. Building the skills of an effective leader – in written assignments and verbal presentations – is only half of this course. The other half is intended to develop the critical habits of mind that will serve you well whether in the board room or classroom. You never know what your future might hold!

Law, Ethics & Leadership

This graduate course is designed to help students grapple with legal and ethical issues that shape, and sometimes constrain, communication styles, verbal and written, in professional settings. 

It is imperative for leaders to understand certain red flags and areas of concern that frequently arise in professional settings – from avoiding defamatory statements to adhering to nondiscrimination regulations, from advocating within legal limits on a company’s behalf to drawing a line between what might be legal but perhaps unethical. 

We will cover as many items in the catalog description above as time permits. More important, we will grapple with rigorous academic writing by top scholars and up-to-the-minute perspectives on the topics covered. Building the skills of an effective leader – in written assignments and verbal presentations – is only half of this course. The other half is intended to develop the critical habits of mind that will serve you well whether in the board room or classroom. You never know what your future might hold! 

 

Careful Campaigns

Mystery Product: Careful Campaigns

Objective: Design a product and marketing campaign for that product that takes into account legal and ethical issues, pitfalls and warnings that we have discussed so far. You will weave in lessons learned from lectures on commercial and corporate speech, copyright and trademark law, and contracts.

Essential Elements

Product Name

    And elevator pitch to explain it. 

Trademarkable Logo

    And reasons for choices.

Target Market

    Who are they, and why.

Catchy Slogan

    For advertising and packaging.

Packaging Design

    And how it generates interest.

Legal Due Diligence

    And any disclosures law might require.

Ethical Considerations

    And how to address them.

Two-Part Assignment

    Formal Presentation: As the co-directors of the product development team, you will make a pitch presentation to your company's board of directors to make the case for moving ahead with your product idea. You will use an effective PowerPoint presentation to do this.

    Final Report: You also will do a four-page report for the board of directors that translates your oral presentation into a professional-quality report. We'll use real-world samples as models of effective "internal communication" style.