Business Obligations MPK

Module CodeModule Title
Module Credits
GHL5006
Business Obligations
20
Academic Year and
Semester
Examination Board
Level & Block
2023-24, 2nd Semester
July 2024
L5 B2
Method of Assessment
Term
Weighting
WRIT1
Mid-term
50%
Module Leader
Module Leader email
Dr. Roland Getaruelas
roland@gulfcollege.edu.om
Additional Information (if any)
Deadline of Submission: April 25, 2024
Time: 9:00 PM
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Assessment Details
Assessment title
Abr.
Weighting
Coursework
WRIT1
50%
Pass marks for undergraduate work is 40%, unless stated otherwise.
Task/assessment brief:
Case study: Read the case carefully, understand and answer the 3 questions with 2000 total number of
words.
Chemical Leak – Business Obligation
Union Carbide Corporation, major American manufacturer of chemicals, petrochemicals, and related
products. It became a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company in 2001 up to this time. However, before
the company became a subsidiary it was started as Union Carbide sole proprietary, until the accident
happen in Bhopal disaster, chemical leak in 1984 in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh state, India. At
the time, it was called the worst industrial accident in history.
On December 3, 1984, about 45 tons of the dangerous gas methyl isocyanate escaped from
an insecticide plant that was owned by the Indian subsidiary of the American firm Union Carbide
Corporation. The gas drifted over the densely populated neighborhoods around the plant, killing
thousands of people immediately and creating a panic as tens of thousands of others attempted to flee
Bhopal. The final death toll was estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000. Some half a million
survivors suffered respiratory problems, eye irritation or blindness, and other maladies resulting from
exposure to the toxic gas; many were awarded compensation of a few hundred dollars. Investigations
later established that substandard operating and safety procedures at the understaffed plant had led to
the disaster. In 1998 the former factory site was turned over to the state of Madhya Pradesh.
In the early 21st century more than 400 tons of industrial waste were still present on the site. Despite
continued protests and attempts at litigation, neither the Dow Chemical Company, which bought out
the Union Carbide Corporation in 2001, nor the Indian government had properly cleaned the site. Soil
and water contamination in the area was blamed for chronic health problems and high instances of birth
defects in the area’s inhabitants. In 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the state to supply clean
drinking water to the residents of Bhopal because of groundwater contamination. In 2010 several
former executives of Union Carbide’s India subsidiary—all Indian citizens—were convicted by a Bhopal
court of negligence in the disaster.
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(Sources: 1. https://www.britannica.com/event/Bhopal-disaster)
2. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/union-carbidedow-lawsuitre-bhopal/)
Given the above case problem, answer all the following tasks:
1. Analyse the damages of accident may cause in relation to health security, work displacement and
environmental pollution.(300 words)
2. Identify the legal liabilities of Union Carbide in relation to negligence and how they should solve the
issues, Support your answers with relevant concepts, laws and regulations in Oman. ( 900 words)
3. Give your advice to:
a. Union Carbide in relation to business obligation to the community and business sector. (400 words)
b. The local government in order to avoid this incident. (400 words)
***End of task***
Additional Instruction
1.
This assignment is individual, and you must give your analysis in all three tasks given, each task has
required number of words.
2. Total number of words required for the three tasks is 2000 words respectively. (+ or – 10%) that go over
the word count will have marks deducted.
3.
Ensure to follow and write the specific task given accordingly and do not mix the sequence, always follow
the order of the task.
4. Relevant theories and citations must be included in every task.
5. Make sure to organise your thoughts, words and analyses, proper spelling in British English must be
observed.
6. The assignment must be submitted in Turnitin.
7. A minimum of 10 academic references must use within this assignment.
8. You must acknowledge all your source(s) and all work should be correctly referenced using the standard
Harvard referencing style adopted by the college, with a complete reference list at the end of the
assignment. There is a guide on Moodle.
9. You should illustrate your answer with real life examples as this highlights your understanding of
academic theory and your ability to apply practice to theory and theory to practice.
10. If you only research using just the recommended text from the reading list and/or base your essays on
the lecture material alone, you will not gain high marks.
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11. If you wish to gain higher marks you will need to engage in further reading using not just textbooks and
but also articles, and you should read around the topics.
12. Write total word count just before the reference page.
13. Please upload your work in MS Word, no other file formats are allowed.
*************
Word count (or equivalent):
2000 words equivalent
This is a reflection of the effort required for the assessment. Word counts will normally include any text,
tables, calculations, figures, subtitles and citations. Reference lists and contents of appendices are
excluded from the word count. Contents of appendices are not usually considered when determining
your final assessment grade.
Academic or technical terms explained:
Submission Details
Submission
Deadline:
Mid – 25th April 2024
Estimated
Feedback
Return Date
After the result
announcement (10
working days) –
September 2024 EB
Submission
Time:
9:00 PM
Turnitin:
Any assessments submitted after the deadline will not be marked and will be
recorded as a non-attempt unless you have had an extension request agreed or have
approved mitigating circumstances. See the Gulf College website for more
information on submission details and mitigating circumstances.
File Format:
The assessment must be submitted as a word document and submit through the
Turnitin submission point.
Your assessment should be titled with your:
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Student ID number, Module code and Assessment ID,
e.g. 1610200 GAC3000 WRIT1
Feedback
Feedback for the assessment will be provided electronically via Turnitin / MS Teams
/ Face to Face. Feedback will be provided with comments on your strengths and the
areas which you can improve. Module tutors give students two types of assessment
feedback: formative, which is given when the student is working on the completion
of an assignment or coursework, and summative, which is given upon completion of
the module. A comprehensive assessment feedback on your performance will be
given after the announcement of the results. (10 Working Days)
Assessment Criteria
Learning outcomes assessed
On successful completion of the module, a student should be able to:
 Understand and critically reflect upon the theoretical foundations and central principles that underpins
the operation of the contemporary laws of contract and torts within social, economic, political, and
business context.
 Develop the ability to use relevant information to understand how the laws of contract and torts
operate and to apply their understanding through analysing problem based practical scenarios.
 Communicate effectively and accurately the content of legal principles and advice based upon the
application of those principles in an appropriate written format.
In addition, the assessment will test the following learning outcome:


Understand and critically reflect upon the theoretical foundations and central principles that underpins
the operation of the contemporary laws of contract and torts within social, economic, political, and
business context.
Communicate effectively and accurately the content of legal principles and advice based upon the
application of those principles in an appropriate written format.
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Marking/Assessment Criteria
Question
Marks
Allocated
Description
Task 1.
1. Analyse the damages of accident may cause in relation to health
security, work displacement and environmental pollution.( (20 marks)
20
Discussions
Task 2
1. Identify the legal liabilities of Union Carbide in relation to
negligence and how they should solve the issues, Support your
answers with relevant concepts, laws and regulations in Oman.
(40 marks)
40
Task 3
Give your advice to:
a. Union Carbide in relation to business obligation of oil company. (20
40
marks)
b. The local government in order to avoid this incident. (20 marks)
TOTAL
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100
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AY: 2023-24
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Further Information
Who can answer questions about my assessment?
Questions about the assessment should be directed to the staff member who has set the task/assessment
brief. This will usually be the Module tutor. They will be happy to answer any queries you have.
Referencing and independent learning (Not applicable for Examination)
Please ensure you reference a range of credible sources, with due attention to the academic literature in the
area. The time spent on research and reading from good quality sources will be reflected in the quality of
your submitted work.
Remember that what you get out of university depends on what you put in. Your teaching sessions typically
represent between 10% and 30% of the time you are expected to study for your degree. A 20-credit module
represents 200 hours of study time. The rest of your time should be taken up by self-directed study.
Unless stated otherwise you must use the HARVARD referencing system. Further guidance on referencing
can be found in the on Moodle. Correct referencing is an easy way to improve your marks and essential in
achieving higher grades on most assessments.
Technical submission problems (Not applicable for Examination)
It is strongly advised that you submit your work at least 24 hours before the deadline to allow time to resolve
any last minute problems you might have. If you are having issues with IT or Turnitin you should contact the
IT Helpdesk on (+968) 92841521/ 92841217. You may require evidence of the Helpdesk call if you are trying
to demonstrate that a fault with Turnitin was the cause of a late submission.
Mitigating circumstances
Short extensions on assessment deadlines can be requested in specific circumstances. If you are
encountering particular hardship which has been affecting your studies, then you may be able to apply for
mitigating circumstances. This can give the teachers on your programme more scope to adapt the
assessment requirements to support your needs. Mitigating circumstances policies and procedures are
regularly updated. You should refer to your Academic Advisor for information on extensions and mitigating
circumstances.
Unfair academic practice
Cardiff Met takes issues of unfair practice extremely seriously. The University has procedures and penalties
for dealing with unfair academic practice. These are explained in full in the University’s Unfair Practice
regulations and procedures under Volume 1, Section 8 of the Academic Handbook. The Module Leader
reserves the right to interview students regarding any aspect of their work submitted for assessment.
Types of Unfair Practice, include:
Plagiarism, which can be defined as using without acknowledgement another person’s words or ideas and
submitting them for assessment as though it were one’s own work, for instance by copying, translating from
one language to another or unacknowledged paraphrasing. Further examples include:
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 Use of any quotation(s) from the published or unpublished work of other persons, whether published in
textbooks, articles, the Web, or in any other format, where quotations have not been clearly identified as
such by being placed in quotation marks and acknowledged.
 Use of another person’s words or ideas that have been slightly changed or paraphrased to make it look
different from the original.
 Summarising another person’s ideas, judgments, diagrams, figures, or computer programmes without
reference to that person in the text and the source in a bibliography/reference list.
 Use of assessment writing services, essay banks and/or any other similar agencies (NB. Students are
commonly being blackmailed after using essay mills).
 Use of unacknowledged material downloaded from the Internet.
 Re-use of one’s own material except as authorised by your degree programme.
Collusion, which can be defined as when work that that has been undertaken with others is submitted and
passed off as solely the work of one person. Modules will clearly identify where joint preparation and joint
submission are permitted, in all other cases they are not.
Fabrication of data, making false claims to have carried out experiments, observations, interviews or other
forms of data collection and analysis, or acting dishonestly in any other way.
How is my work graded?
Gulf College uses Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Generic Band Descriptors (GBD), in conjunction with
programme-specific and/or assessment-specific descriptors that are developed in accordance with the
principles underpinning the generic descriptors, as a reference in marking student work outputs. This is to
ensure that marking is consistent across all Cardiff Met students’ work, including the work outputs of students
in Gulf College.
Assessment marking undergoes a meticulous process to make sure that it is fair and truly reflects the
performance of students in their modules. Marking of work at each level of Cardiff Met degree programmes
are benchmarked against a set of general requirements set out in Cardiff Met’s Guidance on Assessment
Marking. https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/registry/academichandbook/Documents/AH1_04_03.pdf
To find out more about assessments and key academic skills that can have a significant impact on your
marks, download and read your Module Handbook from Moodle and your Programme Handbook from the
college website.
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