ENTREPRENEURIAL LAW MRL2601

1 INTRODUCTION It is a pleasure to welcome you to Entrepreneurial Law (MRL2601). We hope that you will find it both interesting and rewarding. We shall do our best to make your study of this module successful. You will be well on your way to success if you start studying early in the semester, and resolve to do the assignments properly. This tutorial letter contains important information about this module. We urge you to read it carefully, and to keep it at hand when working through the study material, completing the assignments, preparing for the examination, and when asking your lecturers questions. In this tutorial letter, you will find the two assignments for both of the semesters, and assessment criteria as well as instructions on the preparation and submission of the assignments. This tutorial letter also provides all the information you need with regard to the prescribed study material. In addition, the tutorial letter contains certain general and administrative information regarding the module. Please study this information, and try to get hold of the prescribed study material as soon as possible. Except for this tutorial letter, you will also receive other tutorial letters in the course of the semester. These tutorial letters are not necessarily available upon registration. It will be sent to you as soon as it is available or necessary. You can also access the study material on myUnisa. We encourage you to register on myUnisa – this is an aide that makes it possible to communicate with other students and your lecturers, to submit assignments online and to access library and study material. You can access myUnisa at . For further information regarding myUnisa and other administrative matters please consult the publication my Studies @ Unisa. Please read Tutorial Letter 301 with this tutorial letter as it provides information of general pertinence to distance students. Appendix B of this tutorial letter contains a time frame to help you plan your study time for this module. Please remember that this is a semester module of twelve (12) credits for second-year students. This means that you need to spend ten (10) hours per week on this module. A semester is twelve (12) weeks long, and you therefore have 120 hours to study for this module. The last three to four weeks of the semester is for revision purposes. It is extremely important that you read all tutorial letters that you receive in the course of the semester immediately and thoroughly. They always contain important, and sometimes urgent information. Your study material for MRL2601 consists of a MO001 and tutorial letters that you will receive from Unisa, as well as a prescribed textbook that you must purchase yourself. Please be very careful when using any other study material, for instance notes with summaries, or exam papers that are not provided by Unisa directly. They are not compiled with our cooperation. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information contained therein. 4 2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES OF THE MODULE 2.1 Purpose This module is aimed at students in the study of law who are for the first time introduced to the different forms of South African business enterprises. This module will be useful if you wish to acquire general background knowledge of the main characteristics, and the basic operations in partnership, companies, close corporations and business trusts. Furthermore, it introduces the regulatory framework around which these business forms are set with specific emphasis on the Companies Act 71 of 2008 which came into operation on 1 May 2011. In addition, it will expose you to case law and the practical application of the law in these South African enterprises. 2.2 Outcomes If you pass this module you should be able to advise others wishing to start their own business which form of enterprise would be most suitable for the specific business, indicating some of the pertinent advantages and disadvantages associated with such forms of enterprise. Furthermore, the module is aimed at providing you with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to analyse and solve welldefined practical problems relating to the South African law on partnerships, companies, close corporations and business trusts. 3 LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS 3.1 Lecturers All queries that are not of a purely administrative nature but are about the content of this module should be directed to us. The details of all the lecturers involved in this module will be provided to you in Tutorial Letter 102. The general number for the Department of Mercantile Law is (012) 429 8579. You can also contact us by sending a letter to: The Module leader (MRL2601) Mercantile Law Department P.O. Box 392 UNISA 0003 MRL2601/101 5 PLEASE NOTE: Letters to lecturers may not be enclosed with or inserted into assignments. You are welcome to visit us to discuss any queries about or problems with the contents of this module. However, please make an appointment beforehand, otherwise you run the risk of the lecturer not being available to see you. Our offices are situated in the Cas van Vuuren Building, Main Campus, Preller Street, Muckleneuk Ridge, Pretoria. 3.2 Department The general number for the Department of Mercantile Law is (012) 429 8579. You may also contact the departmental secretary at (012) 429 8460. Our fax number is (012) 429 3343. 3.3 University  Unisa website: and All study related information is now accessible on the new Unisa corporative website in both web- en mobiformats.  myUnisa: your own information through either the myUnisa website or through mobi.  E-mail: . You may send an e-mail to acquire information on how to contact Unisa.  SMS 32695. Only for students in South Africa. You will receive an automatic SMS in reply. This SMS will provide you with various SMS options. The cost per SMS is R1.  Fax: 012 . Enquiries may be faxed to this number after which it will be directed to the relevant department. Communication with the University If you need to contact the University about matters not related to the content of this module, please consult the publication my Studies @ Unisa. This booklet contains information on how to contact the University (e.g. to whom you can write for different queries, important telephone and fax numbers, addresses and details of the times certain facilities are open). Always use your student number when you contact the University. 6 MODULE RELATED RESOURCES (Prescribed study material for MRL2601) 4.1 A study guide and tutorial letters As the module is facilitated online from 2016, the study guide is replaced by a MO001 document. You will also receive the printed MO001 document from the Department of Despatch. 4.2 Prescribed textbook The prescribed text book for MRL2601 is Piet Delport New Entrepreneurial Law (2014) LexisNexis. You must purchase the prescribed text book yourself. The prescribed text book can be acquired at the University’s official book dealers. Should you experience any problems in purchasing the text book from the dealers, you can contact the Prescribed Book Division at Tel or e-mail . PLEASE NOTE! In the MO001 you are referred to case law that you are required to know only in as far as they are discussed in the MO001. To keep the module as up to date and relevant as possible the references to no more than five (5) of the most recent cases in the field will be provided in the Tutorial Letter 102. These cases you are required to access, read and summarise. Copies of these prescribed cases will be made available under Additional Resources on myUnisa for students who are unable to access them by some other means. 4.3 Recommended books There are no recommended books for this module. When you purchase the prescribed text book, you will also receive an updated copy of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. We also provide a copy of the Companies Act and other important legislation on myUnisa under Additional Resources. 4.4 Electronic Reserves (e-Reserves) There are no e-reserves for this module. MRL2601/101 7 5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE For information on the various student-support systems and services available at Unisa (eg student counselling, language support etc) please consult the publication my Studies @ Unisa. 6 MODULE SPECIFIC STUDY PLAN We would like to support you in your learning process. However, we can do so only if you take responsibility for your own learning. You have to work through the tutorial letters and the learning material and plan a schedule for your learning process to ensure that you submit all the assignments, and prepare for the examinations in time. We have compiled a schedule that you may use, or adapt to your specific needs (See Appendix B). We suggest that you follow the following steps in your learning process: Start with the learning units dealing with Partnerships and Trusts. You are not examined on these sections of the work. Your examination will consist only of the work dealing with companies and close corporations. Therefore, after you know the content dealing with Partnerships and Trusts, you can complete Assignment 01. Then you can concentrate on only the parts of the work that you will be writing the exam on: Close Corporations and Companies. It will immediately feel like you have less to study! Step 1: Read the entire section in the particular learning unit that you are studying to provide you with an overview. Step 2: Make a short summary (about 2 sentences) of the legislation and the cases referred to under the topic indicating the importance of each specific case. Step 3: Attempt to answer the key questions in the beginning of each learning unit. If necessary reread the prescribed section in the textbook. Step 4: Make a brain chart of the specific topic or, if you prefer, a written summary. Make sure that you: (1) Set out the relevant legislation (Sections in the Companies Act 71 of 2008 or the Close Corporations 69 of 1984); and (2) Include your summary of the relevant cases.