03-Report Case Study Chapter 2

QUESTION 1

Explain how utilitarianism might provide a defense for Roche and how a rights - based ethic might instead condemn Roche’s drug trials in China. Which of these two approaches is stronger or more reasonable? Explain the reasons for your answer.

ANSWER 

tilitarianism is a general term for the view that action and policies should be evalu evaluat ated ed on the the basis basis of the the bene benefit fitss and and cost cost they they prod produc ucee for for every everyon onee in socie society ty.. !pecifically" utilitarianism holds that morally right course of action in any situation is the one that" when compared to all other possible actions" will produce the greatest balance of   benefits over costs for everyone affected. #he inclusive term used to refer to the net benefits of any sort produced by an action is utility. $ence" the term utilitarianism is used for any theory that advocates selection of that action or policy that maximi%e utility.

i.

&igh &ightt pro provi vide de a defe defens nsee for for Roc Roche he by statin stating g that that the the org organ anss ta'e ta'en n from from the the pri priso sone ners rs with their consent for the purpose of Roche’s drug trials is acceptable because of(

) utilitarian would argue that Roche was respecting the Chinese laws by first testing the drugs on Chinese patients. *ne could argue that prohibiting the research that Roche was performing could inhibit future Chinese patients from receiving a drug that could be necessary to sustain life. Roche’s CellCept had a beneficial plan for the Chinese society in creating a drug to help sustain life for their specific ethnicity. )s a utilitarian" finding a resolution for the greater good is the most ethical and +ust decision. #he utilitarian might argue argue that Roche had no control over how how the organs were harvested. ,nowing or not 'nowing where the organs were originating from wouldn’t be as important" as long as their end goal of saving lives would be completed.

ii. ii.

&igh &ightt ins instea tead d cond condem emn n Roch Roche’ e’ss drug drug tria trials ls in Chin Chinaa bec becau ause se of( of( Rights are defined as an individual entitlement to freedom of choice and well being. #his may lead a rights based ethic to say that the prisoners from which the organs were being harvested could not be consenting because they were being held against against their free will. )n ethic ethic may also argue that that there is no way to 'now under  under  1

what conditions the organs were being removed from such executed prisoners. $owever since rights’ are up to the individual" it cannot be determined if the individual is deceased. #he conditions of this study are uestionable since there is no way of 'nowing if the prisoner would have volunteered or declined to be a part of this study. &ore so" if the organs are being sold for a monetary profit instead of research" then this decision would be defined unethical by moral standard.

iii.

Which one is stronger and reasonable?

/n reference to which viewpoint being the strongest and most reasonable" this is an extremely controversial issue. 0ives are on the line in both situations. 1iews differ from person to person and legitimate arguments can be made for both utilitarianism and rights-based. When it comes to the right-based ethic" Roche was in violation of the prisoner’s human rights. #he company 'new that up to ninety percent of organs came from executed prisoners. #he company should have loo'ed into why the prisoners were executed because some of them were there because of their  religious belief and the different opinions between them and the governments. *ne view is that of the rights based ethic. ) utilitarian measures utility of the benefits  produced by an action. )n ethic could prove that many prisoners being held were not criminals. #hey could also prove that many organs were being harvested only for  money. #he ethic has a strong and more reasonable case in this situation. Even though most people in China would have benefited by 'eeping the drug" the process of testing the drug was tainted by the violation of basic human rights that even the  people using the drug would have despicable. $owever" on the other hand" utilitarianism provides a defense for Roche because the company was loo'ing to  benefit the country of China as a whole given that they were in favor of the medicine that prevented patients from post-transplant organ re+ection. #his view would have  been a strong decision for society even though if you would only +eopardi%e the  prisoners. #he company felt that 2the greater good would be served by going ahead with its drug tests even though many of the transplanted organs in its test patients were harvested from prisoners3.

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QUESTION 2

/s it ethical for Roche to continue testing CellCept on its Chinese transplant patients?

ANSWER 

4efore we continue to answer this uestion" we must 'now the more important uestion than Roche’s ethical responsibility over drug testing CellCept. #he important uestion is if Roche move bac' or stop the testing CellCept will people in China also stop their unethical organ donations? !o" the answer to this uestion will prove how more or less Roche has control and influence over the unethical use of organs. !econdly it is proven that Roche is indirectly ta'ing advantage of executed prisoner’s organs as the case states that 2p 56 percent of all transplant organs in China come from executed prisoners3. We can held Roche responsible for not putting restrictions over patients who doesn’t have proper  documents of their organ’s that proves the rightful owner’s information" but on the other hand even if Roche put an effort to ma'e sure they chec' the legal documented of the transplant organ. #he Chinese law on the matter of organ’s donation in so wea' that people are massively misusing it to +ustify their illegal use as legal" as mentioned in the case 2the China government banned the sale of human organs and reuire that living donors could donate their organs only to spouse" blood relative or step and adopted families. 7evertheless" the organ trade continued to flourish in China.3 8urthermore if we loo' at ethical responsibility more from the economic point of view compare to the individualist point of view" as medical transplants an ongoing day-to-day activity that can’t be stopped because of individual concerns or opinions" as this organ transplant matter is connected to thousands of patient’s life ris'. *n a big picture one can say Roche’s CellCept is saving more innocent people’s life than guilty executed prisoners whose organs are donated" and as per utilitarian ethics it is less important to consider guilty  prisoner’s death-will decision over their organs than to consider transplant patient’s life ris'  at clinic. &orally it can be considered as wrong if one doesn’t care about transplant patient  before its own death as eventually his or her organs are going to be wasted in the grave.

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QUESTION 3

/s #raidos 4an' ethically +ustified in excluding Roche’s stoc' from the funds it offers its customers? Consider your answer in light of the ban'’s duty to invest money wisely and in light of its own conclusion the Roche was among 2the best performing 96: of   pharmaceutical companies in Europe.3 was 2transparent about sustainability issue3 had a comprehensive position regarding genetic engineering and clear ethical guidelines for clinical trials3" enforced high 2standards3 for its suppliers" and stove to 2reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions3.

ANSWER 

8rom the commercial interest point of view the companies are made on positioning of  their branding strategies and creating factor that differentiate them from other" those factors has a great influence on their sales. !imilarly #raidos 4an' has drop down Roche from their  investment list +ust to maintain their brand images or else they will lose their sales. #raidos 4an' has more concern about its brand image or else then to the ethical solution reuired for  Roche’s transplant patient drug testing they +ust do not want to associated themselves with a company that has received ;ublic Eye )ward. /t is a responsibility of #raidos 4an' to further  carry an independent investigate and evaluation under the laws of ethical relativism on Roche case in China" as in this case it is less about universal right or wrong and more ethical complex the issue" they will have to come up with their ethical +ustification report that has no connection with the ;ublic Eye )ward. #he #rados 4an' should have thin' twice before  banning a reputable brand li'e Roche" as Roche service has direct influence over human life" la'e of CellCept drugs available in the mar'et can create serious health ris' to many Chinese  patient’s lives. #here should be a dialogue between two parties in which they will have to redefine the boundaries of its 2ethical guidelines for clinical trials3 before even putting the  bam on Roche funding as this can create serious damage to Roche as they might not be financially prepared for such sudden actions. !uccess means different thing to different  people because they normally thin' within their boundaries instead of loo'ing outside to other people performance" in reality success comes from achieving mutual interest between  producer " client" customer" and society. #raditionally #raidos 4an' is loo'ing at its own ethical criteria measures instead of Roche’s performance or outcomes.

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QUESTION 4

)re #raidos 4an'’s ethical standards set too high?

ANSWER 

)ccording to #raidos 4an' closes social investment fund <=6>6" the ban' said the fund" 'nown as the #riodos *pportunities 8und" had been set up to ma'e euity investments in growing social enterprises" but that there were not enough businesses that met its criteria. #hey were loo'ing for mature" scaleable businesses in nited ,ingdom that were loo'ing for  euity to grow and most number of propositions also did not meet their reuirements. 4ased on the article" the ethical standards of organi%ation is too high because ris'y for client getting disualify by #raidos 4an' for anytime. #raidos might have to redefine their six principals in order to ma'e fund available for social enterprise. /t main focus should be less on principle  but more on outcomes" in utilitarian ethics most of the ethical decisions are prised by their  outcome rather than cooperates standing up for principles. $igh ethical standards always reuire continuous attention and support. 4usinesses nowadays do not always needs fixed rules and regulations" the smart people at the top of organisations" who 'nows how to ad+ust the business in the ever changing commercial environment" who are able to consistently redefine the values the organisation that they agrees to follow" who needs to practices for   promotion that reflect and strengthen those values" who need an open cultures in its cooperate environment where staff can discuss ethical issues in more depth and help to identify  potential problems without destroying the relationship with their clients. Ethical issues in  businesses need to new features as regular items on board agendas @.

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REFERENCES

1elasue%" &. A. <=6>B.  Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases " <th ed." ;earson" nited ,ingdom.

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