Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the Workplace and the World

While Walgreens is exposed to all the general ethical conundrums of the business world, the highly regulated “Pharmacies and Drug Stores” industry does not give much room for them to act unethically.

The twenty-first century has seen pharmaceutical companies grow in unprecedented size and strength. Due to the unprecedented growth the larger pharmaceutical companies have gained leverage and power in the prescription drug industry, but they lack innovation to market and they seek ways to help the business continue to increase its profits. The pharmaceutical industry was once ethically sound and was a valuable player in the development of human health. However, overtime with the lack of innovation pharmaceutical companies are becoming an unethical market that exploits patients, doctors and anyone else it can to increase its profitability. With eyes only on profitability this can create a hazard for patients because there

Organization leaders have a responsibility for upholding the proper standards as they pertain to ethical behaviors in the workplace. Leaders are constantly faced with making the best decisions possible for their corporations and to increase profits for company stakeholders. Unfortunately, some stakeholders do not always make the right choices, especially when the wrong one choice is more enticing. My research will determine the stakeholders invested in PharmaCARE, analyze the ethics of their treatment of the indigenous population and its rank-and-file workers versus the executives, and determine whether Allen can legally fire a few of his employees. Also, determine

22. Which of the following involves the disclosure of unethical or illegal activities to someone who is in a position to take action to prevent or punish the wrongdoing?

the indication it is not ok or acceptable to misuse their power in any situation.

The Pharmaceutical industry has been in the spotlight for decades due to the fact that they have a reputation for being unethical in its marketing strategies. In The Washington Post Shannon Brownlee (2008) states, “We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow.” This honorable statement is completely lost in today’s world of pharmaceutical marketing tactics. These tactics are often deceptive and biased. Big Pharma consistently forgets their moral purpose and focuses primarily on the almighty dollar. Big Pharma is working on restoring their reputation by reforming their ethical code of conduct.

Whistle blowing in organizations can be an outstanding source of needed information to the organization. On the other side, that same information that is delivered can have a negative effect on the employee that has decided to take matters in to their own hands and inform management of potential unethical behavior. An article called “Nonprofit whistle-blower employee nets $1.6 million retaliation award” written by Tricia Gorman is in reference to an employee whistle-blower that her place of employment violated the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, which is part of the organizations policy for hostile work environment.

In this paper, I will cover ethical issues within the pharmaceutical industry, present opinion on Direct-to-Consumer marketing by drug companies, determine the parties responsible for regulation of compounding pharmacies, PharmaCARE used U.S. law to protect its own intellectual property, summarize at least one current example of intellectual property theft, analyze the potential issues surrounding the death of John’s wife, and lastly present major arguments that John can claim as a whistleblower.

PharmaCARE has many stakeholders. The stakeholders include: the company and its employees; the healers (the inviduals that provide support and share information about indigenous cures); the African nation of Colberia where the factory is located and Colberians who provide the human capital to harvest plants and in return gain meaningful employment. Materials for the packaging and production of the products are also stakeholders. The FDA, insurance companies, and distributing pharmacies are all stakeholders. The communities in New Jersey are stakeholders. Stakeholders also include low income consumers to whom PharmaCARE own foundation that sponsors healthcare, educational programs, and scholarships, but rely on the parent firm to provide it

Pharmaceutical companies must have ethical responsibility to its stakeholders (Weber, 2006). Stakeholders are those that will either benefit or be injured from the pharmaceutical companies decisions (Weber, 2006). In this case the largest stakeholders are the patients that are prescribed the medications that the pharmaceutical companies produce; because the patients take the biggest risk by taking the medication that the company produces (Weber, 2006).

PharmaCARE needs to make several changes in order to become more ethical. Firstly, PharmaCARE should pay the Colberians a fair wage for labor and also offer free healthcare. PharmaCARE should offer back-pay to make-up for any time of any under payment. While it is true that the company provides its employees with economic benefits, their compensation toils in comparison to its executives. While lower level employees should not expect PharmaCARE to provide all of its workers with the same amount of compensation of an executive level, it should at least raise compensation to poverty line standards. Secondly, no matter the amount of information or labor wanted for the purpose of making a profit should be compensated. PharmaCARE needs to stop

This is considered a violation of public policy. For example, it is a violation of public policy for an employer to fire an employee who takes off of work to perform his or her jury duty obligation.

This definition captures clearly the traditional use of the term in business contexts. In the context of research, however, the concept of whistleblowing seems to be understood a bit more broadly, so that it is not limited to public disclosures brought to an external entity. In what follows, I will use the term to refer to internal as well as external reporting to include situations in which a wrong-doer’s supervisor or department chair is notified of a researcher’s misconduct. This broader understanding may be an appropriate translation of the definition for the academic research context given the organizational and power structure differences between business and academia. The idea that there may be a moral requirement to report research misconduct is not novel. The Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy has taken a position consistent with the above claim, stating that “someone who has witnessed misconduct has an unmistakable obligation to act” (COSEPUP, 2009). A similar requirement can be inferred from articles 1 and 10 in the IEEE Code of Ethics, which state that its members agree “to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment” and “to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics” (IEEE, 2006). In

ITC Ltd has worked exremly hard to start several procedures that have led to compliance of the standards of social responsibility. ITC’s dealings within the tobacco industry have contributed to the increase in company revenues and the company has worked towards following the triple bottom line and giving back to society. Most, businesses pay little attention to their social responsibilities and make it part of their overall strategy, instead they concentrate more on financial benefits from the sales of products. Consequently, managing business in a socially responsive manner contributes to the best combination of business success and societal acceptance, trust and loyalty. Giving back to the community in ways that benefits only society such as planting trees to curb pollution and help the environment or using biodegradable materials in packaging can reap financial benefits to a company by building loyalty among the community. The notion of business ethics and corporate social responsibility is becoming a defining concept in all industries worldwide. ITC believes in the Triple Bottom Line philosophy where the performance and perception of a corporation should not be judged only on the basis of its financial statements or revenues, but its environmental and social performance as well. ITC is one of the only companies in the world to be carbon positive, water positive, and conduct solid waste recycling. ITC provides water to areas where water is very

You will be directed by recorded message to select between the “unauthorised use of public funds or possible fraud or corruption” (press1) or “any other types of concerns covered by the whistle-blowing policy” (press 2).