Law with Business

How can we compete in today’s global business environment? How can we create a sustainable competitive advantage over other businesses? In this module, you’ll gain critical skills and key knowledge of the classical principles of business strategy. Using well-established analytical tools, you’ll examine how organisations create value through the effective exploitation and development of their internal resources and capabilities. And you’ll explore the links between an organisation and the external environment in which it operates.  

In this module, you’ll get to grips with employment law. You’ll look at the difference between a self-employed person and an employee. You’ll analyse:

• the contract of employment
• terms of employment
• the flexibility of the relationship between employer and employee.

You’ll then explore a wide range of employment rights, including: 

• protection against unfair dismissal
• redundancy rights
• discrimination protections.

In this module, you’ll gain a strong knowledge of enterprise, and develop a wide range of relevant entrepreneurial skills. You’ll get to know the rich variety of meanings in enterprise and entrepreneurship. You’ll learn new and innovative ways of thinking about business, increasing your ability to think creatively and effectively for your Law with Business degree. You’ll consider topics including,

• entrepreneurship
• intrapreneurship (when an employee acts like an entrepreneur within an organisation)
• Business spin-offs, including technological ones
• Social and public enterprise.

How do societies react to environmental crises? How do we address environmental problems in the law? In this module, you’ll look at the relevant regulations and laws around the environment. You’ll look beyond legal cases, and consider the historical, political, ethical and technological issues of law and the environment. You’ll examine:

• anthropocentrism vs ecocentrism
• environmental rights and environmental justice
• ecology and conservation
• climate change and risk
• the ethics of environmental law.

You’ll develop key critical skills as you consider the fascinating interaction between the law, society and one of the biggest issues facing humanity - the environment.

In this module, you’ll gain a strong understanding of International Business Law. You’ll gain key knowledge of the legal environment of business organisations throughout the world. You’ll gain excellent analytical skills as you compare and contrast these environments, and consider how they affect trading between states. 

In this module, you’ll explore the key laws of the international community. You’ll examine the origins and basis of international law. You’ll also look at the sources of international law, including treaties and customary norms. You’ll enhance your critical skills as you analyse the relationship between:

• international and municipal law
• subjects of international law
• the concept of territory or jurisdiction.

You’ll consider the core principles in the use of force, and the way armies behave. And you’ll look at the law of state responsibility, individual accountability and violations of international rules.

In this module, you’ll get to grips with organisational behaviour and management. This is when we analyse the behaviour of people in organisations, and apply certain principles to our interaction with them. You’ll understand the key elements of organisational behaviour and management, and understand how to apply it practically. You’ll gain core skills in critiquing and evaluating research, allowing you to become a better user of information and evidence.

In this module, you’ll dive into the criminal justice system, and the main issues of criminal justice. You’ll understand  wider aspects of the criminal justice system and engage critically with the system’s flaws and shortcomings. You’ll gain key critical skills as you explore how well the system achieves its aims. You’ll explore specific areas such as:

• punishment
• sentencing
• crime prevention
• community safety
• policing
• youth crime
• prisons
• the criminal court system

You’ll observe the criminal justice system, first hand. You’ll then devise a social-science experiment to test your understanding of the system you’ve studied. This means you’ll devise a hypothesis on how the criminal justice system operates, and test to see if your hypothesis was right. You’ll conduct work in prisons, police stations and the streets of Oxford, allowing you to access the real world of the criminal justice system. 

How do we do business in an ethical way? In this module, you’ll discover how to make moral decisions, both as a member of a business organisation, and as a human being. You’ll gain key analytical skills in business, as you understand, analyse and evaluate the ethical choices of others. You’ll also gain core critical skills as you evaluate the ethics of different systems of production, distribution and exchange.

Why should businesses be socially responsible? Why is it our responsibility to make sure others don’t suffer as we make money? In this module, you’ll dive into the different corporate regimes which ensure that we hold businesses to account for their actions. 

The internet rules society. In a vastly digital age, lawyers really need to understand technology and the legal challenges it presents. In this module, you’ll examine the legal issues of current internet technologies and hardware. You’ll gain key technical knowledge, as you evaluate the regulatory systems of these technologies, and how they affect society. You’ll explore how digital technologies challenge copyright law. And you’ll be introduced to some of the legal issues relating to the use of artificial intelligence. 

In this module, you’ll explore the ways we define and measure crime. You’ll develop core critical skills as you explore theories about the causes of crime. And you’ll consider some major crimes in detail. You’ll dive into the following topics:

• crime and the media
• criminal behaviour 
• crimes in action - from violent crime to white-collar crime
• critical criminology: race and gender.

You’ll think about crimes and criminality in a wider sense than simply ‘innocence’ or ‘guilt’. You’ll look at the social contexts of crimes, and what causes people to commit them.

This module gives you the chance to do research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll work independently, with the support of our expert academic team, and will carry out work on a specific project of your choosing. You’ll gain core skills for work, including in:

• enquiry
• research 
• analysis 
• evaluation.

How can we effectively protect human rights? In this module, you’ll get to grips with international human rights law. You’ll gain key critical skills as you analyse arguments and ideas about human rights, and the ideas behind them. You’ll also consider their current legal and political meaning through examining: 

• relevant laws
• current debates
• case studies.

How do we prevent discrimination against race and sexual orientation in the law? In this module, you’ll focus on the Equality Act 2010, and other legislation on:

• sex
• race
• sexual orientation
• religion
• disability discrimination
• equal pay. 

You’ll explore how courts interpret the Equality Act, and how it impacts the workplace. You’ll look at how it interacts with the law of the European Commission (EC), and how we might extend equality law. You’ll gain valuable critical skills for your career, as you ask:

• what difference the Equality Act has made
• who benefits (and does not benefit) from the act
• what we can do in the future to improve protection.

This module gives you the initiative and courage to take calculated risks as an entrepreneur. You’ll develop an entrepreneurial mindset, where you’ll see the world in terms of its rich opportunities. You’ll gain the skills and resilience to manage organisational change, and learn how to operate and make decisions in conditions of uncertainty.

In this module, you’ll get to grips with the structure of the NHS. You’ll explore topics such as:

• access to health care
• autonomy and consent
• responsibility
• accountability and negligence
• birth and its regulation
• death, dying and the incurably ill patient.

In this module, you’ll get to grips with nationality and immigration law, and what it reveals about British society. You’ll examine the key issues and policies around nationality, national identity and migration. You’ll gain a firm understanding of migration in the UK and abroad, as you debate critical issues of today. You’ll also consider current UK law, and the historical, social and political factors that have shaped it. 

In Year 2 and 3 you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the CLOCK scheme (Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele). Where you'll gain firsthand experience of the legal world. You’ll be interviewing and advising clients, in legal cases and courtroom settings. You'll join a commitment to provide wider access to justice in the local area and gain useful legal expertise for your CV.

If you take this module you will study Law in a university outside the UK for an academic year, experiencing different educational and legal cultures. This will help you develop your knowledge, skills and understanding. After the *International Study Exchange year you will complete your final year with Oxford Brookes and then graduate. The International Study Exchange year is not credit-bearing.

*To go on this exchange you must have completed all your Level 5 studies, and your exchange is dependent on the appropriate partner university's availability.