business ethics discussion post replies 5

You will see the original questions presented to the class underlined below. I need responses to the following students’ posts #1-4. The #5 post is the instructor’s reply to my post. Every response to #1-5 should be at least a paragraph or two. This is for Business Ethics 400 class so please read the attached links. You need to only reference the links provided at the bottom for your sources. Please don’t forget page numbers in your citations if applicable. It is for a forum setting so please do not use, …”This student’s post….”. Please write as if you are responding to the student. Also, please complete citations for each response separately in order for me to keep each one organized. Only use the attachments I provided for sources please.

THE FOLLOWING IS THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ANSWERED BY THE STUDENTS. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THEM JUST USE THEM FOR REFERENCE.

Learning Activity #1

Dewey’s Prescription for Success

Dewey Cheatham is the new Vice President of Marketing for a large online search engine company, Pottstown Innovative Enterprises (AKA, PIE). Dewey has been doing some research into how he can increase the Company’s revenues and thereby really impress the Company brass. During his research he came across an article about Brazilian pharmacies looking for an advertising vehicle to tap into the U.S. consumer market. Further research reveals that this could be a billion dollar venture and if PIE plays its cards right, it could make a substantial amount of money given its extensive advertising network. Dewey is super ecstatic about the possibilities and is salivating over what this could mean for his career with PIE.

Before Dewey decides to go ahead with this, he consults with his legal department. The legal department tells Dewey the following:

1. The shipment of prescription drugs from pharmacies outside the United States to customers in the United States may violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and in the case of controlled prescription drugs, the Controlled Substances Act.

2. The FDA cannot ensure the safety and effectiveness of foreign prescription drugs that are not FDA-approved.

3. Imported drugs typically do not meet FDA’s labeling requirements and may not have been manufactured, stored and distributed under proper conditions; and may not have been dispensed in accordance with a valid prescription.

4. The government has historically been very lax in enforcing the laws in this area and legally there are a few gray areas; therefore, the risk of any prosecution may not be significant.

After the consultation with Legal, Dewey is confused as to what his decision should be. If you were advising Dewey on the ethical implications presented by this case, what would you say to him? Specifically, identify and discuss: the ethical dilemma Dewey faces (be certain to provide Dewey with a resolution of his ethical dilemma) and the ethical issues associated with the ethical dilemma. Identify and discuss the relevant stakeholders for the Dewey and his company.

Learning Activity # 2

Whistle-blowing: Harder Than It Looks?

R.U. Kidding, the comptroller for Rocket Man Enterprises, a government defense contractor, has a delicate ethical issue on his hands. In the course of his employment, Kidding has uncovered evidence that seems to indicate that Rocket Man has been overbilling the government for a weapons system project. Under its contract with the government, Rocket Man was supposed to calculate its hourly rate with a formula dividing charges between the more expensive work done directly in their offices and the less costly hourly labor performed by subcontractors. What Rocket Man did was simple: they billed subcontractor work at the higher in-house rate.

R.U. Kidding, realizing that the weapons system project is the lifeblood of Rocket Man, is at a loss as to what he should do with the information he has uncovered. On the one hand he feels he has a duty to bring this wrongdoing to light. After all, he reasons, there is the greater public interest and common good to consider. On the other hand, the project is so critical to the financial future of the Company that the disclosure of wrongdoing could be devastating for the Company and its employees, many of whom are R.U.’s colleagues and friends. If you were in R.U.’s shoes, what would you do and why? What specifically are the ethical dilemma and the related ethical issue for R.U.?.

THE FOLLOWING #1-#4 ARE STUDENT RESPONSES YOU SHOULD RESPOND TO.

1

“Learning Activity #1

Dewey needs to consider the ethical implications that would bring the marketing of a company whose products are not approved by the FDA. Although the government does not typically enforce laws regarding the safety and effectiveness of foreign products, Dewey needs to keep in mind that these products do not guarantee to be effective or safe, and even if they claimed to be natural, does not necessarily mean that they are safe (Seres, 2017). In fact, over 23,000 people visit the emergency room every year for reasons that may have been caused by unregulated dietary supplements (Thielking, 2015). So, the ethical dilemma is whether he wants to bring the company large amounts of profit and beneficiate his career by providing the advertising for this pharmaceutical, or if he feels like he owes the duty to protect the American people from potential harm from these products, even when he knows that another marketing company might take the deal.

I personally do not believe that Dewey is in the wrong of advertising for this company as long as there is a warning on the marketing campaign stating that their products have not been evaluated and approved by the FDA.

Additionally, there are hundreds of supplements at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe that have a label that says that, and the Americans still go and purchase these products regardless of not knowing the risks. Everyone who consumes products like this has the responsibility to do their own research. At the end of the day, cigarette boxes have a very visible sign that says “SMOKING MAY CAUSE LUNG CANCER” and people still buy them regardless of the warnings.

Learning Activity # 2

If I was in R.U.’s shoes, I would bring up the issue to light because although this might cause a lot of good friends to lose their job, it will also cause them and the rest of the Americans to stop paying for taxes that are being stolen by this company.

It is understandable that RU may feel like he is betraying his employer and colleagues, at personal perception he might feel like he has a lot to lose by blowing the whistle (Matthewson, 2012), and this may create a personal conflict between himself, his organization, and his colleagues. However, R.U. should not feel responsible for the wrongdoings of his employer, and now that he knows this information, he could be the one that helps reveal one of the biggest cases of fraud against the government. He has a bigger responsibility to his government and the taxpayers.

References

Matthewson, K. (2012, January 22). What’s Ethical About Whistleblowing?(CSRwire, Producer) Retrieved from https://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/280-what-s-ethi…

Seres, D. (2017, March 30). The Danger of Loosely Regulated Supplements. Retrieved from https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/03/30/danger-loosel…

Thielking, M. (2015, October 14). Unregulated Supplements Send Thousands to Hospital Each Year. Retrieved from Stat News: https://www.statnews.com/2015/10/14/unregulated-su…“

2

“Learning Activity #1:

The ethical Dilemma facing Dewey is whether to advertise a product of questionable legality in the United States or to pass up on this opportunity for himself and his company in favor of more legitimate sources of ad revenue. If he elects to advertise the pharmaceutical company, it would represent a significant revenue stream for the company, and would impress his management and be good for his career. I could not find any laws specifically outlawing online advertisement of illicit drugs, but there are laws preventing Television advertising of prescription drugs so PIE would need to stick to online advertising. (21 USC 353c: Prereview of television advertisements, n.d.) Since importing and selling the drug as an Online Distributer would be illegal if the company has not registered with the DEA and undergone FDA testing for the drug, there is a risk that the company they are advertising would be busted for illegal activity. (Yeh, 2012) There could also be risks to PIE’s reputation if this occurs and potential liability for false advertising if they misrepresent the legality of the drug they are advertising. The FTC has regulatory enforcement authority for advertising, and can file civil lawsuits on behalf of consumers if they believe that something has been misrepresented. There are also risks to Dewey personally if this does result in negative impact to PIE, it would likely damage his career. If Dewey elects to do nothing, he removes the risk from PIE, however misses out on a significant opportunity to make the company money and impress his bosses.

The stakeholders involved in this dilemma are: Dewey, his management, his customers, and the audience of the ads. If Dewey elects to advertise the Brazilian Pharmaceutical companies, it may have a positive effect for his career, but long-term risks if the government decides to go after the Pharmaceutical companies for illegal distribution. If Dewey elects to do nothing, it would have a neutral effect on his career and he would need to find a new big idea to impress his bosses. For his management, if Dewey elects to run the ads, they would have a significant revenue stream, but some risk to the company’s reputation if the drug companies are shut down. If Dewey elects to do nothing, there would be no effect on his management. Dewey’s customers, the Brazilian Pharmaceutical companies, would be happy to have found an online advertising company to advertise their products if he elects to run their products. They do run some risk of having their distribution channels shut down, but since they are outside the United States, they have little risk of prosecution. If Dewey elects to not accept them as clients, they will likely have to go elsewhere to find a company that will accept them as clients and run their ads. The last stakeholders are the consumers of the advertising. If Dewey elects to run ads for these drugs, they may have some confusion about the legality of the drug and if they order a controlled substance could be at risk for the DEA showing up and arresting them. (Yeh, 2012) There is also a risk to the consumer, because the FDA is not regulating the Brazilian Pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the drugs received are safe. On the other hand, if Dewey does not advertise the products and another ad company does, the consumer will likely find out about the drug via another channel or pay incredibly high prescription drug prices from an American company.

So, what should Dewey do? The company that would be liable for the illegal activity is the Brazilian Pharmaceutical company and the customer, PIE is simply pointing the customer towards the online pharmacy website that they can order prescription drugs from. Does PIE have an ethical obligation to not advertise a service that consumers want, but may not be legal? If the online pharmacy websites are shut down, PIE simply loses a customer and the impact to their reputation would be limited since most people do not choose which ads they receive. A utilitarian might argue that to advertise the products would create the greatest overall happiness to all the stakeholders, and the results outweigh the risks. Even a Kantian may argue that as an advertising company, you are not treating any stakeholder as a means to an end. In fact, you are giving the consumer an option that they do not otherwise have to receive a prescription drug, and giving them the freedom to choose to get it from an American Pharmacy at a higher price, or a Brazilian Pharmacy at a much cheaper price with some amount of risk. The choice seems clear. He should accept the Brazilian Pharmaceuticals as clients and keep his fingers crossed that it doesn’t come back to bite him.

Learning Activity #2:

The ethical dilemma that faces R.U. Kidding, is whether he should report his findings internally, report his findings externally, or to stay silent and do nothing with his findings. There are positive and negative implications for all three scenarios. The first step is to outline the facts associated with the situation.
Rocket Man Enterprises is currently over billing the government for contract labor. While this may not have been done purposefully, it created an ethical issue in that their customer paid more for a service than they were contractually obligated to pay. Since their customer is the government, these additional costs are ultimately paid for by the public through taxes and reduced capital for other projects that may benefit the public. However, Kidding must be careful because he also has his own company and employees’ well-being to think of. If there is significant backlash against what could be an honest mistake, it could result in significant impact to his company and lay-offs for his colleagues. As comptroller of Rocket Man Enterprises, it is his responsibility to ensure the accuracy of accounting and financial reporting, so it is within the scope of his job responsibilities to ensure any issues are resolved.

The first option R.U. Kidding has is to report his findings internally. Reporting the findings internally will allow the issue to be addressed, while allowing Rocket Man Enterprises to avoid any public pressure or negative damage to the company’s reputation. (The Business Ethics Workshop, 2012, p. 293) This will also allow Rocket Man Enterprises to reach out to the customer and offer to rectify the situation by some method, such as offering credits for future services for the difference in cost between in-house contractors and subcontractors. There may also be some negative ramifications choosing this option, such as lost revenue, missing financial projections, and disciplinary action for employees that made the mistake or knowingly allowed it to happen. It is also not certain whether the company would decide to take any action if this course were taken. This creates an ethical dilemma for the company, as now their management must decide what action to take.

The next option is to report the findings externally, or whistleblowing. In this scenario, If R.U. Kidding reports this externally there will likely be significant damage to the reputation of Rocket Man Enterprises. This may also damage the reputation of R.U. Kidding within the industry, and while it is illegal for a company to retaliate against an employee for whistle-blowing, they would likely damage their career both internally to Rocket Man Industries and externally if they are known for whistle-blowing. Kidding may also have a sense of loyalty to the company, and worry that this would damage their relationship with their friends and colleagues. (Matthewson, 2012) However, there is a significant incentive for Kidding to report this misdeed to the government. The federal False Claims Act entitles a whistle-blowing to 30% of any money that the government recovered. In a similar case, the whistle-blowing comptroller walked away with a 7-figure sum for reporting the company to the government. (The Business Ethics Workshop, 2012, pp. 294-295) There may also be ethical issues with this approach, as it can be unclear whether R.U. Kidding would be acting from an altruistic perspective, or an egoist perspective since there is a significant reward associated with the reporting.

The last option for R.U. Kidding is to simply do nothing. Ethically, to not do something is the same as lying since it is the comptroller’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the accounting. There is also the risk that this is uncovered by the government, in which case it could significantly damage the reputation of the company, breach of contract, and employee layoffs if the contract is termed. There is also the chance that this is not noticed due to the complexity of government billing and accounting, so no negative effects for anyone involved.

If I were in R.U. Kidding’s shoes and had to decide, I would elect to report the discrepancy internally as a first step. This would allow the company time to develop a plan to rectify the situation and perform damage control, prior to external entities from learning about it. I would ensure that I documented when, how, and to whom I reported the discrepancy to so in the event there was any retaliatory behavior I would have evidence of what was done. If the company decided to do nothing with the information, I would report the discrepancy to the government. By reporting the issue internally and the company deciding to do nothing with that information, I will have demonstrated that there was continual wrongdoing, and I have exhausted my channels for internal reporting, which are two of the five justifications for whistle-blowing. (The Business Ethics Workshop, 2012, pp. 296-297) Then, I’d sleep on my bed of money with a clear conscious that I’d done the ethical thing, and got a nice payday out of it because of the False Claims Act.

References:

21 USC 353c: Prereview of television advertisements. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2019, from US Code House.gov: http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title21-section353c&num=0&edition=prelim

Matthewson, K. (2012, January 22). What’s Ethical About Whistleblowing? Retrieved from CSRWire: https://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/280-what-s-ethical-about-whistleblowing

The Business Ethics Workshop. (2012). Washington, DC: The Saylor Foundation.

Yeh, B. T. (2012, December 13). The Controlled Substances Act: Regulatory. Retrieved from Congressional Research Service: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34635.pdf“

3

“ Mr. Kidding’s ethical dilemma is choosing between notifying the appropriate authorities that Rocket Man is overbilling the US Government or keeping quiet so that he and his company can continue to prosper from the weapons system project.

If Mr. Kidding kept quiet the only stakeholders affected would be the US Government and by extension the US taxpayer who funds the government. The small amount that Rocket Man is overbilling is just a drop in the bucket containing the federal budget that numbers in the trillions of dollars. Mr. Kidding’s conscience could also be negatively impacted as he is now a knowing accomplice to a crime. In comparison to these factors the benefits to Mr. Kidding, his colleagues and company may generate more net happiness for the greater amount of people per utilitarian ethics (Green, 2016).

If, on the other hand Mr. Kidding reported the incident then his conscience would be clear but his company could face fines, negative publicity and possibly lose the lucrative government contract. Rocket Man and its employees including his friends and colleagues may view him as disloyal for inviting the consequences of his whistleblowing (Matthewson, 2012, para. 10). The cost to the US Government for the weapon system could increase due to delays and the necessity of rebidding the contract possibly to a company that would charge more for their services.

It is clear in this case that reporting the overbilling to the appropriate personnel is the only correct course of action for Mr. Kidding. Rocket Man’s actions are crimes committed against the US Government and subject to penalty under the law.

Green, H. (2016, November 21). Utiltarianism: Crash course philosophy #36. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ

Metthewson, K. (2012, January 22). What’s ethical about whistleblowing. Retrieved from https://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/280-what-s-ethical-about-whistleblowing“

4

“In this case study the ethical dilemma that Mr. Cheatham faces is whether to import the prescription drugs from Brazil or not to. The stakeholders are Mr. Cheatham, his company PIE, the Brazilian pharmacy that he deals with and the patients in the US that would benefit from the prescription drugs.

If Mr. Cheatham imports the drugs from Brazil then he, PIE and the pharmacy in Brazil stand to benefit financially from a deal making these drugs available in the United States. The patients that use these drugs would benefit from better health. Doing so may expose Mr. Cheatham and his company to the risk of drawing the attention of the US Government for violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic act as well as the Controlled Substances Act. In the event any negative side effect from the drug on consumers due to the lack of testing by the US FDA or poor quality control or packaging by the Brazilian pharmacy PIE would also be liable for damages.

A loose comparison can be drawn between the effects of illegally importing prescription medication from other countries and taking unregulated supplements. The US FDA does not have oversight over the products from either of these events. Unregulated supplements have been attributed to 23,000 American’s requiring a visit to the emergency room every year (Thielking, 2015, par. 1). It can be argued that if proper FDA testing and approval were conducted on supplements then it would lead to a decrease in the number of ER visits due to elimination of the harmful supplements from the marketplace. If the FDA were to lessen its requirements for imported prescription drugs then it is possible that unregulated prescription drugs would have as much of an adverse effect on patients as currently supplements do.

Alternatively, if Mr. Cheatham decides not take the opportunity presented in the case study then he could suffer a career setback and his company would lose out on the potential for profit from these drugs. The patients that could benefit from this medication would not have a chance to improve their health due to the medication not being available. The patients that would have suffered negative side effects from the medications would still be sick but they may be in better health by not taking the drugs because there would be no chance for the side effects to manifest.

From a utilitarian standpoint the course of action that provides the most happiness to the most number ofstakeholders would be for Mr. Cheatham to import the drugs from Brazil (Green, 2016). He, his company and the patients the drugs would benefit incur the happiness of a larger group of people than those who would be harmed by the drugs side effects, inadequate testing or improper packaging.

In contrast when viewed using the ends principle proposed by Emmanuel Kant then Mr. Cheatham’s actions would be quite different. In this case study Mr. Cheatham is contemplating putting patient’s lives at risk with unapproved prescription medications for the benefit of himself and his company. This is treating the patients as the means to his success as well as PIE’s which is in violation of Kant’s ethical theory (Westcott, 2019, para. 19).

By comparing these two courses of action it should be clear that Mr. Cheatham should reject the opportunity to import the drugs from Brazil regardless of the impact it has on him and his company. Compliance with the regulations of the US Food and Drug administration will ensure that his actions do not pose a threat to the safety and wellbeing of American.s

Green, H. (2016, November 21). Utiltarianism: Crash course philosophy #36. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ

Thielking, M. (2015, October 14). Unregulated supplements send thousands to the hospital each year. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2015/10/14/unregulated-supplements-send-thousands-to-hospital-each-year/

Westcott, E. (2019, January 24). Kantian ethics in a nutshell: The moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/kantian-ethics-moral-philosophy-immanuel-kant-4045398“

THE FOLLOWING IS THE #5 WHICH IS THE INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS. I WILL POST MY COMMENTS FIRST THEN HIS COMMENTS FOLLOWING THAT. REPLY TO HIS COMMENTS.

MY POST:

Learning Activity 1
Dewey has a great challenge of balancing his need of making a profit for his company and the avoidance of harming the public following the use of Brazilian drugs by the US. He should observe a positive impact on both sides. Also, the federal government of the United States has strict rules and regulations that manage foreign investment especially in such fields as medicine (“First-To-File Patent Law Is Imminent, But What Will It Mean?” 2013). Therefore, he needs to consider the regulations accruing from the government that may hinder the idea of engaging Brazilian investors from accessing the market in the United States of America. Following his consultation with the security team of Pottstown Innovative Enterprise, he gets to understand that winning chance in the country for a foreign medicine supply may be against provisions in its constitution. If he decides to get into a deal with the Brazilian firms, the drugs may not meet the demands of the US law. In it so happens, the company of Dewey will be missing in a very profiting deal. There various things that are difficult for Dewey to judge. Also, his company’s legal department, his company, the people to use the drugs, and the FDA Act have no ideas what would be the nature of drugs.

The legal department of the Pottstown Innovative Enterprise advises the Dewey that the drugs from the Brazilian pharmacist may violate the requirements of the US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The act states that all cosmetics, drugs, and foodstuffs meet the required quality, quantity, and should have an appropriate identity. Therefore, he is not sure if the prescriptions that be contained in the drugs will satisfy the FDA act. Following the need to protect the public and save time for Dewey in his situation of dilemma, I would advise him to leave the idea of getting into a deal with the Brazilian pharmacist because of various reasons. Firstly, the means used in the production, transportation, and storage of the drugs by the company may not be of good standards (Robert Pearl, 2017). Hence, they may lead to negative health effects to the public after missing them. Secondly, following the trend of the way the United States treats the patents interested in making it their business venture, it may take the Brazilian pharmacist ages before they get access to the US market leading to delays (Hadzima, 2005). Hence, Dewey should look for a different business that favors the welfare of the public and goes by the legal demands of its target location.

Learning Activity 2

When an individual is employed a certain firm or running a certain business, they are driven by two main goals. These are inclusive of satisfying the public or their clients, and ensuring their businesses makes the desired profits. Therefore, for firms or individuals who are ethically upright in their operations, they should be in a position attaining the two aspects. However, in their quest to achieve the two main aims, they should also ensure that they remain within the demands of the law (Matthewson, 2012). Rules are guiding the operations of various businesses. Violation of such rules leads a business into unethical practices. According to the case, R.U Kidding and his employer, Rocket Man Enterprises, the employer engaged itself with unethical operations by charging the government more than it was supposed to do. It made the government pay the subcontractor services following the bill of a high rate similar to the one charged at the services of their offices. By so doing, the company was practicing dishonesty in work, which a serious unethical practice (Lexie, 2018). Therefore, although the company carries out its activities as assigned by the government as well as serving its employees, it should also avoid exploiting the government by overcharging the service given by some of its employees.

Whistleblowing is an ethical practice. It helps to keep the public the public from the exploitation of some firms. It can also help one party from being exploited by the other when the two are engaged in business. However, whistleblowing can lead to various unappealing outcomes both to the whistleblower, their fellow employees, and the company, which is their employer (Phillips & Cohen, 2016). Following the case of R.U Kidding, he was ethically right to whistleblow about the exploitation that his employer, Rocket Man Enterprises, was doing to the government. However, following the impact that the revealed information would cause, he gets stuck into the ethical dilemma issues. He does feel to have exposed the malpractice of Rocket Man. However, in case the government gets the project off the company, its financial stability would greatly be affected, leading to unemployment of most of its workers, his friends inclusive. Putting myself in his position, I would work to ensure that the company operates ethically from the beginning of the project to the end. In case of any malpractice, I would speak it out for the welfare of the clients served.

First-To-File Patent Law Is Imminent, But What Will It Mean? (2013, February 16). Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/16/first-to-file-a-…

Hadzima, J., (2005). The Importance of Patents. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/e-club/hadzima/the-importance-o…

Lexie. (2018, December 13). 5 Famous American Whistleblowers Who Stood up for What Is Right. Retrieved from Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount!
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