Module Title:	Business and Company Law
Module Code:	B7LW100
Module Leader:
Stage (if relevant):	Year 2 – Level 7
Assessment Title:	Archie, Bannon and Professional Accountancy Solutions
Assessment Type:	Case Study Analysis
Restrictions on Time/Length : +/- 10%	Case Study Word Count – 1600-1800 words
Individual/Group:	Individual
Assessment Weighting:	30%
Issue Date:	w/c 25th June 2018
Hand In Date:	17th August 2018
Planned Feedback Date:	After Autumn Exam Results Issue
Mode of Submission:	Electronically – through Moodle

Groups / Student must submit:
 
Submission of the case study must be made through Moodle by the submission deadline.  Submissions made by email will NOT be accepted.  In accordance with the student handbook, assignments submitted after the latest deadline (date and time) specified, including any extension, are deemed to be “late” and are penalised as follows:
 

• Where an assessment is submitted between 1 and 14 days late 2 marks per day are deducted
• An assessment submitted after the deadline but within 24 hours of the original deadline will attract the first day penalty, i.e. deduction of 2 marks Dublin Business School
• Where an assessment is more than 14 days late it is annotated at the discretion of the lecturer but no marks can be awarded.
• Where an assessment is undertaken in a group, the piece of work should be submitted in its entirety, and any penalty for late submission incurred applies to all group members.

 

ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVES:

 
Case Study: this coursework will consist of a practical case study based problem solving exercise.  Legal research and application of the law to the facts will be tested in this component of the module in order to evaluate the learner’s ability to apply legal theory to a basic practical problem, support that theoretical application through the use of case law, and draw a reasonable conclusion.
 

Requirement

 

• Archie has operated a successful accountancy practice in Galway City Centre for the past thirty years. As Archie is nearing retirement age he has decided to sell his practice.  He placed the following advertisement in the Galway Business Times newspaper:

 
“Strong Business With Loyal Clients For Sale for €300,000: well established accountancy practice located in modern fully equipped offices based in Galway city centre. Approx. 3,000 active clients on database, good mix of individual clients, partnerships, sole traders and companies. Turnover in the region of €400k per annum. Two long term staff in place. First time offered for sale. Vendor will assist for smooth transition and handover. Tel. 086 6499795”
 
Bannon telephoned Archie and told him that he was very interested in the practice. Archie invited Bannon to visit the practice on Monday the 6^th March to inspect the books of account. After inspecting them and talking the matter over with his solicitor, Bannon offered Archie €270,000 for the practice. Archie replied that he felt unable to take less than €285,000. Bannon asked for time to think the matter over and Archie agreed not to sell the practice before Monday the 20^th March, in order to give Bannon time to consider the matter and review his finances.
 
A few days later Bannon met with his solicitor to discuss Archie’s offer. After they reviewed Archie’s accounts again Bannon decided that €285,000 was a fair price and he wrote a letter to Archie on the 14^th March saying:
 
“I am prepared to pay you €285,000 for the practice – I assume that all of the office equipment, furniture and fixtures are included.”
 
Bannon posted this letter on the morning of Wednesday the 15^th March. Meanwhile, on Thursday the 16^th March in the evening Bannon happened to be in Galway city centre and as he was passing by Archie’s office he saw a sale agreed sign on the door – indicating that the office was now under new management.  Bannon immediately telephoned Archie and left him a message on his answering machine saying that he accepted Archie’s offer to buy the practice for €285,000. Archie did not hear the message until the following day, at which point he emailed Bannon informing him that the practice was already sold.  Later that same day Archie received Bannon’s letter of the 14^th March in the post.
 
Bannon is now threatening to sue Archie for breach of contract.  Archie has contacted you for advice.
 
Required:
 
Review the law in relation to contract formation and based on this review assess whether a valid and binding contract has been created between Bannon and Archie.  Your answer should pay particular attention to the law relating to offer, methods of termination of an offer and acceptance, and should be supported by relevant case law.
(45 marks)
 

• In September 2016 Archie entered into a contract with Professional Accountancy Solutions to write a study manual for ACCA Paper F9 – Performance Management. The manual was to cover the exam period June 2017 to December 2017, and it was a term of the contract that Archie provide the text by 1 December 2016, so that it could be proofed, typeset and printed in time for the commencement of ACCA classes in February 2017.  In early November 2016 Archie had not yet commenced work on the text, and he was so busy in his practice that it became clear to him that he would not be in a position to write this text.  He immediately contacted Professional Accountancy Solutions and told them that he was sorry, but that he was no longer able to write this text as he had agreed.

 
Professional Accountancy Solutions are extremely annoyed by this news, especially as it has an on-going contract to provide ACCA manuals to 18 different tuition centres in Ireland.  In addition, they had recently secured a contract to sell this manual to a UK-based tuition provider, with 30 different delivery sites in the UK.  Professional Accountancy Solutions has also paid preliminary expenses to the publisher, who had already designed the cover for this manual.
 
Professional Accountancy Solutions has contacted you for advice regarding this matter.
 
Required:
 
From the perspective of contract law examine the nature of the breach that has been committed by Archie, any remedies that may be available to Professional Accountancy Solutions and any obligations imposed upon them in this situation.
(45 marks)
 
Note:    An additional 10 marks will be allocated to the presentation of Part A.
(Total 100 marks)
 
The total maximum word count for Part A of 1800 words excludes references and the bibliography. All work is to be clearly referenced in the bibliography section of the assignment. The referencing style for this assignment is Harvard.
 
Important Points to Note
 

• Please ensure that the assignment is submitted as a word document.
• Please ensure that your name or DBS identification number is included in the assignment, and if possible, ensure that these details appear either as a header or footer on each page.
• It is the learner’s responsibility to ensure their file is uploaded correctly.
• When an assignment is submitted, it is the learner’s responsibility to ensure that the file is in the correct format and opens correctly.
• When you submit your assignment you will be asked to click on a button which will declare the following:
  • By submitting this assignment I confirm that I am aware of DBS’s policy regarding cheating, plagiarism and all other forms of academic impropriety. The coursework submitted is my own or my group’s work, and all other sources consulted have been appropriately acknowledged.   I am aware that in the case of doubt an investigation will be held.

 

Assessment Criteria

 

Heading	Required
Case Study Analysis – Content and structure       90%	Accurate and comprehensive review of the law regarding contract formation, breach of contract and contractual remedies encompassing relevant academic theory and case law Correct application of the law to the facts presented Drawing a reasoned and logical conclusion and advising on an outcome in the scenarios presented
Language and style         10%	Appropriate vocabulary, formal academic tone Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting (including the appropriate use of capitals) Fluent sentences, clear transitions, and effective paragraph structure The correct citation of case law Correct referencing
Total 100%

 
The following specific criteria will also be used to assess your performance for this assignment:
 
Knowledge and Understanding:

• Does the student clearly present the legal issue(s) to be resolved?
• Does the student present the relevant legal principles/rules to be applied?

 
Evaluation, Analysis and Application:

• Does the student clearly explain the relevant legal principles/rules?
• Does the student explain how these principles/rules relate to the facts in the problem and thereby support the student’s conclusion?

 
Language and structure

• Does the student use appropriate grammar and spelling?
• Is the coursework typed and well presented?
• Does the discussion follow a clear structure?

 

 

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Assessment
Business Failure Case Study – 100% of total mark
2 The final document will be a 3,000 word case study (word limit +/- 10% ok) in
which you present and analyse a company experiencing business failure.
o Sections and approximate weighting:
 Identify – Conduct a multi-level root cause analysis (60%)
5
 Strategise – Develop a turnaround or exit strategy (30%)
From the organisational options you will be given, choose one and justify why you
believe this organisation is failing/has failed. Use tools, theories and concepts drawn
from lecture material, recommended reading, reputable business and news media
sources (e.g. Forbes, BusinessWeek, BBC), and independent study to identify root
causes of failure and develop a turnaround or exit strategy.
A good assignment will:
• Conduct a multi-level analysis to identify and evaluate the root causes of
failure, and any changing conditions or major decisions central to failure
• Have a clear argument and thesis, with a balance of analytical and
descriptive writing, and diagrams where necessary
• Frame and support analysis with relevant company performance
information, industry evidence, references to material from the module
and wider academic reading
• Offer considered rationale for turnaround or exit strategy
• Be clearly structured and written with references in Harvard style format
All assignments will be marked against the standard Institute for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship marking rubric.
Reading List
Due to the nature of this module, there is no one recommended text. We have organised
the recommended reading into themes corresponding with those introduced in the
module.
Introduction to Business Failure
Balcaen, S., Ooghe, H. (2006) 35 years of studies on business failure: an overview of the
classic statistical methodologies and their related problems. The British Accounting
Review, 38(1): 63–93.
Berryman, J (1983) Small Business Failure and Survey of the Literature. International
Small Business Journal, 1: 47-59.
Sharma, S., & Mahajan, V. (1980). Early Warning Indicators of Business Failure. Journal
of Marketing, 44(4), 80–89.
Watson, J and Everett, J (1993) Defining Small Business Failure. International Small
Business Journal, 11: 35-48.ll, T. (2015) Entrepreneurial failure: statistical and psychological
Causes of Failure
Artinger, S., Powe explanations. Strategic Management Journal.
Everett, J., Watson, J. (1993) Small Business Failure and External Risk Factors. Small
Business Economics 11(4): 371-390.
Gelder, J., de Vries, R., Frese, M., Goutbeek, J. (2007) Differences in Psychological
Strategies of Failed and Operational Business Owners in the Fiji Islands. Journal of Small
Business Management, 2007 45(3), pp. 388–400
Khelil, N. (2016) The many faces of entrepreneurial failure: Insights from an
empirical taxonomy. Journal of Business Venturing, 31: 72–94.
Honjo, Y (2000) Business failure of new firms: an empirical analysis using a
multiplicative hazards model. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 18:
557–574.
Mata, J., Portugal, P., Guimaraes, P. (1995) The Survival of New Plants: Start-up
Conditions and Post-Entry Evolution. Journal of Industrial Organisation, 13: 459-481.
Michael, S., Combs, J. (2008) Entrepreneurial failure: The case of franchisees. Journal of
Small Business Management 2008, 46(1), pp. 73–90.
Richardson, B., Nwankwo, S., Richardson, S. (1994) "Understanding the Causes of
Business Failure Crises: Generic Failure Types: Boiled Frogs, Drowned Frogs, Bullfrogs
and Tadpoles", Management Decision, 32(4): pp.9 – 22.
Shepherd, D., Douglas, E., Shanley, M. (2000) New venture survival: ignorance, external
shocks, and risk reduction strategies. Journal of Business Venturing 15: 393–410.
Thornhill, S., Amit, R. (2003) Learning About Failure: Bankruptcy, Firm Age, and the
Resource-Based View. Organization Science 14(5): 497-509.
Effects of Failure
Byrne, O., Shepherd, D. (2013) Different Strokes for Different Folks: Entrepreneurial
Narratives of Emotion, Cognition, and Making Sense of Business Failure.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(2).
Corbett, A., Neck, H., DeTienne, D. (2007) How Corporate Entrepreneurs Learn from
Fledgling Innovation Initiatives: Cognition and the Development of a Termination
Script. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31(6).
Khanna, R., Guler, I., Nerkar, A. (2015) Fail Often, Fail Big, and Fail Fast? Learning from
Small Failures and R&D Performance in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Academy of
Management Journal, 59(2): 436-459.
7
Laamanen, T, Lamberg, J., Vaara, E. (2016) Explanations of Success and Failure in
Management Learning: What Can We Learn From Nokia’s Rise and Fall? Academy of
Management Learning and Education, 15(1): 2-25.
Rider, C., Negro, G. (2015) Organizational Failure and Intraprofessional Status Loss.
Organization Science, 26(3): 633-649.
Singh, S., Corner, P., Pavlovich, K. (2007) Coping with entrepreneurial failure. Journal of
Management & Organization, 13: 331-344.
Singh, S., Doyle Corner, P. Pavlovich, K. (2015) Failed, not finished: A narrative approach
to understanding venture failure stigmatization. Journal of Business Venturing, 30:
150–166.
Shepherd, D. (2003) Learning from Business Failure: Propositions of Grief Recovery for
the Self-Employed. Academy of Management Review, 28(2): 318-328.
Shepherd, D, Wiklund, J., Haynie, J.M. (2009) Moving forward: Balancing the financial
and emotional costs of business failure. Journal of Business Venturing, 24: 134–148.
Ucbasaran, D., Westhead, P., Wright, M., Flores, M. (2010) The nature of entrepreneurial
experience, business failure and comparative optimism. Journal of Business Venturing,
25: 541–555.
Life After Failure
Deichmann, D., van den Ende, J. (2014) Rising from Failure and Learning from Success:
The Role of Past Experience in Radical Initiative Taking. Organization Science 25(3):
670-690.
Mueller, B., Shepherd, D. (2014) Making the Most of Failure Experiences: Exploring the
Relationship Between Business Failure and the Identification of Business Opportunities.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Ucbasaran, D., Shepherd, D., Lockett, A., Lyon, S. J. (2013) Life After Business Failure:
The Process and Consequences of Business Failure for Entrepreneurs. Journal of
Management, 39 (1): 163-202.
Wolfe, M., Shepherd, D. (2013) “Bouncing Back” From a Loss: Entrepreneurial
Orientation, Emotions, and Failure Narratives. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,
39(3): 675-700.
Yamakawa, Y., Peng, M., Deeds, D. (2015) Rising From the Ashes: Cognitive
Determinants of Venture Growth After Entrepreneurial Failure. Entrepreneurship
Theory and Practice, 39(2).

 

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