Ethical and legal issues in marketing, product safety, and intellectual property

¶ … Marketing

Product Safety, And Intellectual Property

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual

Ethics and legal issues refer to the morals and principles that govern the behavior and conduct of individuals or organizations. These legal principles and ethics serve to guide and offer directions on how to act or respond when faced with moral dilemmas. Marketing, advertising and product safety are areas of importance to everyone in the community. Production, distribution and use of products or services are areas guided by the laws of the land. The laws function to protect the community from exploitation or mishandling by the participants in the above sectors. In the marketing and advertising framework, the concept of ethics deals with personal moral principles and values. Under this framework, the society understands that laws are values and standards that are enforceable in the court. In the production of goods and services, the laws of the land stipulate the moral principles and guidelines abided by producers.

PharmaCARE use of Colberian property rights

Utilitarianism refers to a straightforward method of deciding a morally right action for a particular situation. This is an ethical theory that points to right or wrong based on the outcomes choosing one option and neglecting another option. PharmaCare use of Colberian property rights is unethical because utilitarianism suggests the use of one option at the expense of another. PharmaCARE does not consider their effect to the people of Colberia. Utilitarianism is in two parts, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. PharmaCARE justifies their immorality in using Colberian property rights using act-utilitarianism. PharmaCARE also generates unjust rules using rule-utility by subjecting the people of Colberia into torture while benefiting others. Using utilitarianism, the company's use of Colberian property rights is unethical.

Deontology

Deontology and ethics refer to moral systems characterized by a focus towards moral rules or duties. It explains our duties and the rules available to regulate those duties. In simple terms, deontology explains that people are behaving morally if they follow their rules and immorally if they do not follow their duties. The duties in deontology are God given. In this respect, we obey God by following our duties and disobey Him if we go against these duties. PharmaCARE did not follow their duty in protecting the environment in Colberia. It is our duty to protect the environment for our benefit and future generations. It is unethical that PharmaCARE was negligent of the damage they cause to both the people and the environment in Colberia. Hurd (1996) notes that deontology implies carrying out actions that consider the consequences and not out of negligence.

Virtue ethics

Virtue ethics refer to the character-based ethics. This ethic looks at the moral character of a person carrying out an action or the consequences of the actions. Based on virtue ethics, PharmaCARE use of Colberia property rights is unethical. The executives of PharmaCare live a luxurious life in Colberia with their house having electricity and water connection while the Colberians have none of these. Individuals in PharmaCARE exploit the workers and mistreat them. The executive of the company do not practice the principles of virtue such as justice, care and prudence. The executives failed to understand that all human beings are the same and guided by the same set of virtues. Carden (2006) explains that, all human beings share certain natural conditions in order to survive in any environment.

Ethics of care

Ethics of care refers to the interdependence of all human beings. It takes into account the fact that communities in the world are not equal as others are more vulnerable. It requires individuals in the non-vulnerable community to take extra care in our actions to consider the vulnerable communities. PharmaCARE do not obey these ethics and exploit the people of Colberia. It is unethical that PharmaCare pays very little wages to the people of Colberia compared to the amount of work that they do. It is unethical because PharmCARE takes advantage of the vulnerability situation of the community in Colberia. PharmaCARE does not consider the effects of their actions to the surrounding community. Employees are subjected to harsh working environment because of their poverty and lack of important amenities.

Own moral/Ethical compass

PharmaCARE's use of Colberia's property rights to their own advantage is unethical. PharmaCare is not socially responsible for their actions towards the community in Colberia. According to the moral compass, individuals or organizations should operate under guidelines and principles of ethics in conducting their duties and to determine what is right and wrong. Although moral compasses vary from one individual to another depending on cultural differences, morality bears that all humans are equal although vulnerability varies from one individual or community to another. According to Carden (2006), an individual incorporation of virtue ethics in personal ethical compass helps to understand that all human beings are equal before God and the environment is God's gift to his creation.

PharmaCARE violates the property rights in Colberia for their own advantage while strictly adhere to the property rights in the U.S.A. PharmaCARE uses the law to protect its properties and ideas through full ownership. In order to avoid the law and the scrutiny of FDA, PharmaCARE established a whole-owned subsidiary company for drugs compounding. There are no strict laws on property rights in Colberia. PharmaCARE takes this advantage to steal resources and treatment ideas from Colberia and protect them in the U.S.A. PharmaCARE can compensate the people of this nation through proper payment for the services that people offer to the company. Compensation to the healers who freely gave their ideas on how to cure certain disease can also be through payment of agreeable amount and recognition of owners of such ideas.

Compensation can also be through offering of the necessary social services to the community of Colberia. Water connection and electricity to homesteads and the establishment of schools can be a form of compensation to this nation. Compensation to the environment can be through planting of trees and putting up regulatory measures that prevent exploitation of natural resources. In order to avoid continuity in environmental exploitation, PharmaCARE should encourage recycling and re-using of environmental products. Compensation to the people of Colberia can also be in the form of developing suitable infrastructure such as roads and proper housing. Proper housing will help the people Colberia move out of their primitive houses. PharmaCARE actions are similar to real the world industrial chemical producing companies such as Dow and DuPont in the U.S.A. Emission of poisonous gases in the air is hazardous to the living creatures such as human beings. Although it is legal to operate in such an industry, it is not ethical to emit substances that endanger the lives of living creatures on the earth's surface.

Production of such industrial chemicals is highly expensive, and the products are necessary for industrial manufacture of many products. Termination of production activities due to pollution leads to heavy financial losses to both the company and others that rely on the products. Cleaning of the polluted air is not an easy and cheap process. When PharmaCARE realized the effects of its compounding business firm, they sold it to Wellco, which is a big drug chain store. A few weeks later after this move, stock prices of both PharmaCARE and Wellco fell drastically. This was because of AD23 linking to over 200 cardiac deaths. Shareholders of both companies will be successful in their suits against the companies because it is the companies' fault. PharmaCARE ignored early reports that patients using AD23 developed heart attacks. The shareholder suit will be successful because Wellco knew the situation of compCARE before making the move to purchase it from PharmaCARE.

Although there were early signs of the effects of AD23 to employees due to the many sick sheets and poor attendance to production schedules, PharmaCARE went ahead to filling huge orders and paying large amounts of bonuses to its managers. Shareholders of both companies will succeed in their suit because the firms engaged in unethical and illegal activities. It is unethical that PharmaCARE encouraged advertising of their products to patients and encouraged doctors and other health care givers to fax huge lists of bogus patients in order to increase production of diabetic drugs.

PharmaCARE does not live up to its brand due to involvement in unethical business activities that ruin its reputation. Production and compounding of AD23 that does not meet the safety measures destroys organizational brand name. The company does not live up to its brand values due to violation of property rights in Colberia while using the law to protect the in U.S.A. Complaints about the effects of AD23 to patients are not attended, and the company proceeds to produce high quantities of the drug and advertise it in order to gain more profits. PharmaCARE advertising and distribution of large quantities of drugs to hospital, clinics and pharmacies are unethical and illegal according to DFA. The company's brand name deteriorates further when AD23 is associated with the 200 cardiac deaths and the move to sell CompCARE to wellco. Building a strong brand name is essential for all forms of organizations. From a strong brand name, equity flows, customer loyalty and increase in profits (Keller, 2000).

PharmaCARE should ensure highest legal and morals are observed in relation to their business. The company should strive to meet the needs of customers and safety measures in their products. Ignoring customer complaints are unethical and can destroy the brand name. Ethical decisions build trust to customers and other suppliers. The company should consider the approved societal ethics in its line of business. The community expects the business to operate in an ethical manner that promotes the image of the business and that of the community. The organization's management should design a code of ethics that will serve as a framework for decision-making. This code of ethics should offer guidelines and principles of carrying out tasks. PharmaCARE should incorporate property rights, compensate and acknowledge borrowed business ideas. Without acknowledging and compensating for borrowed ideas, the firm will be exploiting the society.

In order for the company to stay relevant in its market, they should tie the brand quality to both the actual products and services and other intangible factors (Keller, 2000). One of the most distinguishing factors for successful businesses is the practice of admirable business ethics. Organization's management should meet obligations and be respectful to both the external environment and internal environment. Management should strive to gain the trust of customers who had lost it due to past mistakes. The organization should treat and respect the surrounding community as one of their own and critical for their success. This respect will enable the firm avoid unethical business practices such as exploitation of people and the environment. The organization should bear much attention to product safety to avoid effects to consumers. Product effects may significantly ruin the brand name and image of the organization.