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Business School
BULAW 2611 Organisations Law
Assignment Topic
Semester 1, 2016
General Information
Word Length
It is recommended that you prepare an assignment of between 1500 words.
Submission details:
Online via Moodle by 5.00 pm Friday in week 8 or in accordance with procedures at your institution.
General requirements:
Students will be required to conduct independent research, to understand and analyse the law and to structure an argument in relation to a particular aspect of the law.
Students should keep a copy of the assignment when they submit their assignment for marking.
Marking criteria:
The assignment will be marked on the basis of four general criteria: quality of the research, analysis, argument and presentation.
Research quality means:
? That the student has undertaken sufficient independent research to address the research topic.
? The research conducted by the student is relevant to the topic.
Analysis means:
? There is sufficient evidence contained in the essay to show that the student understands the topic.
? That where the essay canvasses an issue where points of view differ, that the student presents those various arguments.
Argument means:
? The student displays critical thinking where required.
? The student is able to construct an argument or conclusion that logically follows from the facts presented.
Presentation covers:
? Proper citation in footnotes and a bibliography
? Clear expression used throughout the essay
? The essay is well structured
? In relation to presentation, the use of headings and sub-headings is acceptable.
? Students may only use bullet points if the facts or arguments presented in such a list are clearly articulated and explained.
Reference style to be used for the assignment:
Australian Guide to Legal Referencing which is available online.
Suggested time to devote to this task:
It is recommended that students spend approximately 20 hours on this task.
Feedback and return of work:
Lecturer will return marked assignment with written comments included. Marked assignments will be returned within 3 weeks of submission.
Late Submission
Assessment tasks submitted after the due date, without prior approval/arrangement, will be penalised at 10% of the available marks per day. Requests for extension of time must be made with the lecturer concerned and based on Special Consideration guidelines http://policy.federation.edu.au/student_services_and_administration/enrolment/special_consideration/ch01.php
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of another person as though it is one's own without properly acknowledging that person.
Students must not allow other students to copy their work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. In cases of copying, normally all students involved will be penalised equally; an exception will be if the student can demonstrate the work is their own and they took reasonable care to safeguard against copying.
Plagiarism is a serious offence. Please refer to the following documents:
Statute 6.1: Student Discipline
Regulation 6.1: Student Discipline
Regulation 6.1.1: Plagiarism

Topic
The collapse of retailer Dick Smith has been in the news since late 2015. Your assignment is to write a briefing note for Mr Scomo, Australian Treasurer, outlining:
? The history of the group of companies (keep this brief);
? The structure of the group (use a diagram if you wish);
? Some details about the group from the most recent consolidated financial statements – eg. The identities of the board of directors, value of assets, value of liabilities and reported profits.
? The events that led to the appointment of voluntary administrators and then receivers to the companies;
? What happened during the administration and receivership; and
? The implications of the collapse for at least two of the following:
? Directors,
? Employees,
? Customers generally,
? Customers holding gift cards.
Hint: The key to doing well with this assignment is to focus on the really important issues and be able to describe and discuss these issues knowledgeably and concisely. Rather than try to include every piece of information that might be relevant, try and work out what information would be useful for the Treasurer.
It is recommended that you try to keep the briefing note to the recommended word length between 1500-1700 words as concise and intelligible writing is an important skill in the business world.
The assignment topic requires you to read about and discuss areas of the law that you have not yet covered in class. Hopefully this will spark your interest in those future topics.
The markers are aware that you will not have studied all relevant topics by the time you submit your assignment and they will mark accordingly.
To assist you to begin your research, the following are links to relevant material:
http://asic.gov.au/about-asic/media-centre/key-matters/dick-smith-holdings-limited/
https://www.accc.gov.au/update/consumer-information-on-closure-of-dick-smith-holdings
http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/announcements.do?by=asxCode&asxCode=DSH&timeframe=D&period=M6
http://dicksmithholdings.com.au/asx-announcements/
http://www.nickxenophon.com.au/media/releases/show/legislative-move-to-save-dick-smith-gift-card-holders/
http://dicksmithholdings.com.au/about-us/
Copies of relevant documents from the receivers have been added to Moodle.