...Vioxx Rod Carveth, Marywood University Claire Ferraris, Western Oregon University Nick Backus, Western Oregon University Abstract In this paper we demonstrate how to focus an empirical application in reaching an ethical decision by working with the Potter Box, a model created by Ralph Potter as an analytical tool assessing the ethics of corporate decision-making, The facts emerging in news accounts regarding lawsuits against the pharmaceutical company Merck and its painkiller Vioxx are analyzed for ethical consideration. Utilizing the Potter Box model, the case against Merck can be interpreted and studied in light of ethical considerations. The results demonstrate not only how a decision is argued, but what is missing in the overall consideration for the decision. Introduction The mythos of freedom and responsibility in the United States is premised on the ethical actions of members of the society, particularly those in positions of power. And ethics in communication takes a place of preeminence since the words spoken by authorities are often all a public relies upon to pass judgment. How is the citizen or the communication analyst to evaluate the ethics of the utterances of others? And how does the communicator determine the ethical appropriateness of a planned message? This paper is an introduction to an accessible method of ethical decision-making in communication. The Potter Box allows both student and scholar to analyze the ethical responsibilities of communicators in terms...
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...Ethics Essay By Christopher Matthews Business Law 210 May 14th, 2012 Professor Scott Bergstedt Stance on Merck/ Overview: It is the view of the author to discuss in detail why and how Merck caused gross negligence in its marketing and labeling practices. During this discussion, I will outline several instances where Merck has plead guilty to numerous law suits spanning from the United States to Great Britain (UK). In addition, I will define ethics and based on ethical business practices and attempt to identify what Merck may have done to prevent such unethical and in some cases immoral behavior. Brief History of case: In 2004, Vioxx (Rofecoxib), an anti inflammatory, pain-reliving medication, to treat such conditions as osteoarthritis and acute pain had been recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Several reasons include illegal marketing and label practices, concealment of known side effects, intentionally misleading the general public, medical professionals and government officials. “Vioxx was taken by more than 80 million people worldwide before it was recalled in 2004 (Independent 2010). Merck, Sharpe & Dohme (Merck), Vioxx’s manufacturer vigorously denied any wrong doing and from 1994 thru 2011, several multi-national law suits were sought pertaining to the overall liability and health hazards that Merck had placed on the general public. United States v. Merck: In late November of 2011, the US Department of Justice...
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...Ethical? In the late 1990s, a pharmaceutical company called Merck was a leader in this industry. The pharmaceutical industry required millions of dollars and great amounts of time to be invested in research and development. From 1995 to 2001, Merck was successful in releasing 13 major drugs into the market. One of these drugs was one that would treat rheumatoid arthritis. The drug, Vioxx, acquired the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2009 (Cavusgil, 2007). Vioxx became one of the top five selling drugs in the market in the next five years. However, Merck pulled the drug from the market on September 30, 2004 due to increased observations of cardiac arrest and stroke in many consumers. Merck faced an ethical dilemma when it found increased observations of cardiovascular problems in patients. However, it took many years for the company to pull its top selling drugs from the market. The ethical issue, the interested parties and solutions will be addressed in the following paragraphs (Brooks & Dunn, 2012). Ethical Dilemma As in many industries, the pharmaceutical industry has great competition. Vioxx was competing successfully with Pfizer’s products, Celebrex and Bextra. However, Merck’s product was especially thriving because, unlike Celebrex and Bextra, Vioxx did not contain naproxen. This ingredient is harmful to the gastrointestinal system (Cavusgil, 2007). By 2003, Vioxx gained revenue for Merck that reached $2.5 billion per year and was available in 80...
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...Ethics and the Conduct of Business, 7/e Boatright ©2012 / ISBN: 9780205053131 Chapter begins on next page > PLEASE NOTE: This sample chapter was prepared in advance of book publication. Additional changes may appear in the published book. To request an examination copy or for additional information, please visit us at www.pearsonhighered.com or contact your Pearson representative at www.pearsonhighered.com/replocator. C H A P T E R 1 Ethics in the World of Business Listen to the Chapter Audio on mythinkinglab.com CASE 1.1 Explore the Concept on mythinkinglab.com Merck and the Marketing of Vioxx On September 30, 2004, Merck & Co. announced the withdrawal of Vioxx, its highly profitable pain reliever for arthritis sufferers, from the market.1 This announcement came only seven days after company researchers found in a clinical trial that subjects who used Vioxx more than 18 months had a substantially higher incidence of heart attacks. Merck chairman and CEO Raymond V. Gilmartin described the action as “the responsible thing to do.” He explained, “It’s built into the principles of the company to think in this fashion. That’s why the management team came to such an easy conclusion.”2 In the lawsuits that followed, however, damaging documents emerged casting doubt on Merck’s claim that it had acted responsibly by taking appropriate precautions in the development and marketing of the drug. For decades, Merck’s stellar reputation rested on the company’s...
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...Case Study: Merck and the Vioxx Recall Kelvin Gabel Benedictine University Case Study: Merck and the Vioxx Recall According to Lawrence and Weber (2014), former Merck CEO George W. Merck implied a corporate vision of social responsibility for Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) when he stated in 1950 that medicine was for the people and that loyalty to that concept would lead to greater profits. On the surface, it appears Merck has historically lived its declared mission of putting people first. This is demonstrated by the company forfeiting patent and profits from the antibiotic streptomycin and the drug Mectizan (Lawrence, 2014). Merck was well rewarded for its people first philosophy. Though it was ranked fifth in asset and market value, it ranked first in profits. Additionally the company had a stellar reputation of being perceived as the most ethical and socially responsible of the major drug companies (Lawrence, 2014). Today Merck Pharmaceutical’s mission statement is “to discover, develop and provide innovative products and services that save and improve lives around the world (Merck, 2015).” Reading Merck’s current mission statement lacks both the compassion of placing people first and the implied social responsibility of Mr. Merck’s statement in 1950. To be contextually correct historically in forming a view of Merck and the Vioxx recall issue, I sought to find a corporate mission statement from the period of the recall which was in 2006. According to Culp...
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...Walk the Ethical Talk Case Analysis Introduction and situational analysis: In the late 1970’s a disease known as onchocerciasis was running rampant throughout much of Africa and parts of Latin and South America. Onchocerciasis which is also known as “river blindness”, an insect-borne disease, caused by a nematode worm , Onchocerca volvulus affecting both a person’s skin and eyes and is transmitted to humans by the bite of blackflies. Symptoms of this disease range from irritating and intense itching, to disfiguring dermatitis and skin and eye lesions, and ultimately can lead to sight impairment and blindness. Onchocerciasis has been classified as the “second leading cause of infectious blindness” (Water Related Diseases, 2011). During the development of the veterinary drug ivermectin, research scientist William C. Campbell, speculated on the potential the drug would have for human application; ivermectin was being developed to combat parasitic worms in livestock which are very similar to the worms that caused onchocerciasis. Campbell wrote a letter to the head of Merck’s research laboratories, who at the time was P. Roy Vagelos, requesting development of ivermectin for human use. Campbell's request causes a dilemma, the only viable uses for the drug would be for people who living in some of the poorest countries in the world; how could Merck underwrite the development of such a product for which there would most likely be of no economic value? On average...
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...Name: Anila B. Merck is a very large pharmaceutical company. One of the scientists at Merck realized that Merck’s new drug for de-worming animals from parasites could also help fighting against river blindness, which is a disease that has hit places of most poverty. River blindness is a skin disease, which is transmitted by the bite of blackflies. This parasite can migrate into the eye and cause blindness. Unfortunately those who get the disease do not have the money to pay for this drug. The countries will not be able to pay for it either. So now, the ethical dilemma is whether Merck should invest in research and risk losing money, or go for profit instead. Merck believed that medicine is for the people, not for the profits. This statements, is one of the many reasons why Merck had a responsibility to develop the drug. Eliminating human suffering and curing human disease is one of the main goals for Merck. They are committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. Merck wants to preserve and improve human life and its quality. Coming from this it is really important to consider the ethical decision making questions. Are there other alternatives? Who will be affected? Who will benefit and who will be harmed? Let’s start with saying that yes, there is an alternative. If Merck is afraid of losing money, it should start cooperating with global donators, UNICEF, non-governmental development organizations, international foundations, as well as local communities. People...
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...CONSENSUAL RELATIOSHIP AGREEMENTS CASE STUDY Ethic is a one of important competency in the relationship between the basic organizational behavior models of individual, group, and organizational processes. Ethic competency is a wide section, which include vary sub topic related with organizational behavior. This paper discuss one section of Ethic Competency is diversity and specifically Consensual Relationship Agreements into diversity section. The paper clarifies to followings. • Consensual Relationship Agreements (CRAs) in my future workplace. • A counter argument against the use of CRAs in my future workplace • The ethical principles involve in the use of CRAs • One other option besides CRAs that would address workplace romances. Consensual Relationship Agreements ( CRAs ) are becoming more important everyday into business environment. Several research show, whoever share same work place in average 40 hours per week, some of workers discover their common interest and enjoy sharing time together. Different companies have different policies and procedures and the company would like to sign contract before hiring someone and they will show companies vision about consensual relationship into work place. In the future I would like to choose my career path in the health care industry and I would like to work at a pharmaceutical company due to my previous experience and my background of education. Merck is a one of the company into global...
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...Merck & Costa Rica Case Study Rory S Smith Ethics in Global Environment State University of New York Empire State College Introduction Companies globally are often times scrutinize for their business practices. They face strong opposition and public humiliation when they conduct their business in an unethical way. When companies operate globally, they must ensure they are operating in a socially responsible manner. Being socially responsible is not just giving back to the local community but to be aware of any unforeseen threats that may affect the business. Many countries around the world do not have strict laws governing the preservation of their natural resources. Global companies see this to their advantage to reap the natural resources and leaving back not an ounce of guilt, for a country’s social and economic instability caused by their actions. Industries like manufacturing, pharmaceutical and oil refinery, many corporations contribute to the injustice of violating human rights and the environment. As the business world and economy evolves into a free market enterprise, many corporations continue to demonstrate poor business practices and it is becoming difficult to hold them liable for their actions. Many corporations are also being very silent about their unjust business practices and have many ways to cover up any reported abuse. Countries that experience environmental violations, should impose strict regulatory policies so that...
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...2. Select one of the case studies in our textbook (chapters 1-2) and discuss how and why you would make a decision you would consider to be ethical. (refer to the case study analysis steps we discussed in class) Why is your chosen case study important for the study of ehics in the workplace? Slavery in the Chocolate Industry: The Ivory Coast in Africa produces much of the world’s cocoa beans, but in order to do so cheaply, thousands of cocoa farms use child slavery. Many large American chocolate companies knowingly purchase these tainted cocoa beans, also in order to keep costs low. The stakeholders in this case study are child slaves, the farmers, the distributors, and the chocolate manufacturing corporations and the consumers. The slaves keep the costs low for the farmers and the corporations. The distributors gather the cocoa beans from the small farms. The chocolate manufactures produce the goods and the consumers buy the products. The large American chocolate factories unwillingness to get involved in the issue of child slavery would imply that their mission is to continue to make cheaper products. Because the companies involved are all large corporations, it would seem that they are more concerned with pleasing their investors and shareholders, rather than focusing on their ethical/social responsibilities. The managers of these large companies should be looking for the truth and asking themselves if they are doing enough to improve the situation. They should...
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...MERCK AND RIVER BLINDNESS 1. Think about the definition of stakeholders — any parties with a stake in the organization’s actions or performance. Who are the stakeholders in this situation? How many can you list? On what basis would you rank them in importance? People suffering from the disease or those who potentially may be infected – would directly benefit from the cure Merck employees at all levels – profitability and the economic health of the company affects current employees Merck shareholders – inability to profit from the drug might have a negative effect on shareholder’s value, but taking the stand on “doing the right thing” might have a favorable effect on company’s reputation and increase the value of the stock Various healthcare organizations – Merck is one of the leaders in the industry whose actions or inactions may affect the state of the industry as a whole One way to rank stakeholders in importance is by their level of benefit from the drug putting people suffering from the disease in the first place as they would benefit the most from the invent of the cure. Then, employees and shareholders would share the second place, provided that the company would most likely not be able to recover funds invested in the long and expensive process of developing the drug which in turn would affect company’s profitability. Finally, various healthcare organizations would rank third; the effect on them would depend on the level of their involvement in the process...
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...girls between fifteen and twenty-five years of age. Because there are over a hundred strains of this disease, contributing to about 70% of all cervical cancer cases, scientists have researched and developed a vaccine to protect against several strains of HPV. This vaccine is called Gardasil. The research that led to the development of the vaccine started in the 1980s, and finally in June of 2006 a pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., had the vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Keywords: epidemic, Human Papilloma Virus, vaccine, Gardasil, Merck & Co Ethical Issues and Principles with Gardasil After 5 years of clinical trial, Gardasil has been proven to protect against four of about 40 types of HPV, according to the CDC's informational brochure. HPV strains 6 and 11 are responsible for 90 % of genital warts diagnosed in the United States, and HPV strains 16 and 18 are responsible for 70 % of cervical cancers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). More specifically, Gardasil is expected to reduce the incidence of HPV related genital disease, including cervical, penile, vulvar, vaginal, anal cancer, precancerous lesions, genital warts, and laryngeal papillomatosis. In order to produce the vaccine, which costs patients about $360 for 3 shots, pleasant to American consumers, Merck took attention away from its controversial qualities. The company marketed Gardasil as a “cervical cancer vaccine, with girls in advertisements repeating the...
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...a physical medium; the work automatically becomes the copyright owner. Copyright ownership, operation specific work in specific ways to the owner of an exclusive right to the use of data. This paper will discuss intellectual property and the ethical and legal restraints in respect to marketing and advertising (book citation). II. Various surveys conducted from 1990 with the most important ethical problems faced by businesses are to determine what are these problems. Armstrong (1990) in a study conducted by the Australian international business managers was asked to indicate the most serious ethical problems such as corruption, cultural differences, pricing practices, gifts and nonconforming products. From Advertisements undisputed impact on the community is increasing day by day. The advertisements aim to influence consumers to purchase products and to guide them. This routing when there are issues to be considered. These considerations can call as 'Advertisement Ethics'. Ethics advertisement; away from the concept of honesty and integrity, without the morality of society, according to the comparison builder without resorting to unfair competition, consumers from deception, exaggeration in moderation and to...
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...Registration of Project Management Professionals in Rwanda. LOCATION: Kigali, Rwanda. BENEFICIARIES: All Project Managers. PROJECT DURATION: 13 Months. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In the recent past, there have been increased cases of professional malpractice. There have been increased cases of scandals in the business world. The scandals of WorldCom, Enron, Tyco, Merck, Bristol, Kenya Airways, Haco Industries and many others across the world have shaken the public confidence. A study by an American accounting firm revealed that large American corporations each lost on average $1.3 million from fraud in 2012. Similar studies in the Canada have revealed that white-collar crime may cost the private sector as much as $100 billion (US) each year. These developments have stimulated a growing realization that ethics and business are closely connected to each other. This has led to developing better and more robust understanding of the role of ethics in leadership and corporate culture. The result is that the issue of ethics in organizations is getting lot of attention from public to senior management and government. NEED FOR ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Is ethical conduct especially important in the management of projects? Ethics in project management is important for several reasons. First, projects are often high risk, high reward, high visibility ventures; when the stakes are high, the pressure to is high as well. Second, the long project lifecycle in many...
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...Qn 1 1. The Natural Environment One of the more common ways marketers demonstrate social responsibility is through programs designed to protect and preserve the natural environment. a) Many companies are making contributions to environmental protection organizations, sponsoring and participating in clean-up events, promoting recycling, retooling manufacturing processes to minimize waste and pollution, and generally reevaluating the effects of their products on the natural environment. b) Green marketing refers to the specific development, pricing, promotion, and distribution of products that do not harm the natural environment. c) Although demand for economic, legal, and ethical solutions to environmental problems is widespread, the environmental movement in marketing includes many different groups, whose values and goals often conflict. d) Some environmentalists and marketers believe that companies should work to protect and preserve the natural environment by implementing the following goals: (1) Eliminate the concept of waste (2) Reinvent the concept of a product (3) Make prices reflect products’ true cost (4) Make environmentalism profitable 2. Consumerism a) Consumerism refers to the efforts of independent individuals, groups, and organizations working to protect the rights of consumers. b) A number of interest groups and individuals have taken action against companies they consider irresponsible by lobbying government officials and agencies...
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