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unethical behavior by Pfizer and Parke-Davis in research
Business research
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When a business intends to prove that its products or services are safe and effective, it might engage in practices that are morally unethical and professionally suspect. An example of unethical business research conduct was the case of Neurontin, a drug manufactured by Pfizer and Parke-Davis. The drug is approved for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia and epilepsy but it can also be used off-label for uses that FDA has not approved. These off-label uses include treating bipolar disorder, migraines and restless leg syndrome (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009).
In many instances, physicians prescribe the drug off-label for a wide range of conditions such as insomnia and hot flashes. With time, it has been found that the off-label uses have exceeded the uses that FDA has approved. In 2004, Pfizer urged physicians to give more prescriptions of the drug’s off-label uses something that is not legal. The company was interested in having more of the off-label uses approved by FDA, it went ahead to carry out research to establish if the drug also works for other conditions. If they are able to convince the federal regulation that they have enough evidence of the drug’s efficacy and safety, then FDA can extend some of off-label uses. Pfizer and Parke-Davis used some unethical strategies to offset their scuttle publications of some unfavorable findings they got (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009).
They used deceptive tactics such as delaying reports that had indicated no evidence of the efficacy of the drug. They also reinterpreted negative data and bundled negative findings together with positive studies in order to neutralize their results. They used selective outcome reporting, a practice that employed two different techniques: changing trial outcomes to produce the results they wanted and not reporting negative outcomes. Alteration of outcomes of trials so as to achieve the desired results involves the modification of the purposes of research after it has been done. Drug trials involve primary and secondary outcomes, but the primary outcomes rea more important.
In this unethical research behavior the injured parties are the patients who were deceived to think that the drug could treat some of their conditions. Patients bought the drug with the knowledge that it could cure some of their conditions which was not true. The patients ended up buying the drug but the drug was not effective in treating their conditions. Physicians who were convinced to sell the drug for other uses were also affected by the unethical behavior. They often had to deal with unsatisfied patients who bought the drug to treat their conditions. The physicians would also be reported to authorities for prescribing a drug that was not effective.
The unethical behavior by Pfizer and Parke-Davis resulted to the company being fined $430 million for criminal fines and other civil penalties (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009). The public image of the organization was also destroyed by the unethical business behavior. People no longer believed in the organization and the negative image made people stop purchasing other drugs produced by the company. The unethical behavior resulted to individuals boycotting products from the organization as they no longer trusted the organization. The unethical behavior resulted into the society having a negative impression of the company. These practice undermined the trust the society has on science and also mocked the system that comes up with evidence for making decisions (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009).
The unethical behavior could be avoided by publishing the correct results regarding the research. The organization should not have altered the results in any way but displayed the true outcome of the research. Clinical trials are the core of what people do in healthcare and hence any results should be adequately reported to avoid any problem from drug use.
References
Ramírez de Arellano, A. (2009). HEALTH AND SAFETY. Retrieved January 10, 2015, from http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=2887
Submit a 1,000 – 1,250 word paper that identifies and examines various legal
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Submit a 1,000 – 1,250 word paper that identifies and examines various legal, ethical, and managerial elements as they apply to employee monitoring.
Employee monitoring refers to any method of tracking the activity of employees at work. Keeping a constant watch on the work of employees while he is at work is known as employee monitoring
In today’s scenario employees monitoring has become much easier due to the use of new technologies. From the view point of employers, use of monitoring devices to track the work of employees increases the efficiency and productivity of employees but at the same time employees feel that continuous monitoring reduces the efficiency and loses the privacy.
However there are certain ethical, legal and managerial implications of employee monitoring which are discussed as follows:-
There are many legal issues involved in employee monitoring. The electronic Communications Privacy Act 1986 does not allow interception of various electronic communications unless certain conditions have been met. The exemption under the act is provided to service organizations. In many countries like Canada it is illegal to perform employee monitoring unless it is proved that monitoring is necessary and no other alternative is available. Wiretap Act which has been amended to include electronic and computer communication prohibits the intentional interception of any information. There are two exceptions provided under the wiretap act which are: a) when party has agreed to perform the interception b) when the interception is related to legitimate business reasons. The exemption under the act is provided to service organizations. In many countries like Canada it is illegal to perform employee monitoring unless it is proved that monitoring is necessary and no other alternative is available. However there are certain legal uses of employee’s information obtained during employee monitoring. In other words some of the uses of employee information which are considered to be legal are discussed as follows:-
Extracting needed information related to business.
Check against the offensive mails
Check on installation of illegal software
Investigation regarding complaints filed for harassment
Employee monitoring has emerged as a necessity and employers are more concerned with the proper behavior of employees during working hours. Some employees are not satisfied with the process of employees monitoring because they feel that too much monitoring destroy the privacy. It is not necessary that employees will always use the internet facilities of employer for business work because they are sometimes anxious to know about the performance of their stock and sometimes about the safety of their family if any unwanted event occurs. Need is felt to explore the ethical issues because employers feel that excess use of internet for private purposes may distract the mind of the employees during work and will increase the cost to the company. Ethics are principles which direct the people towards right act. Ethics involve value and morals. Values are worthy act and morals refer to character and behavior which is acceptable in the society as a whole. Due to emergence of new and advance technology employee monitoring is considered to be an ethical issue. As employee monitoring is emerging as an ethical issue there is a need to establish ethical standards for a company and the ethical application of those standards along with ethical treatment of shareholders.
Ethics and morals are disappearing day by day with the advancement of technologies although the new technology is making the lives of people easier. With the increased use of internet computers email and voice mails, people do not adopt face to face interactions. In the coming years people have to deal with ethical issues due to the wide use of internet and web technology.
These activities are performed during periods of time when they are being paid by their employer. The individual is called a cyber loaf.
Cyber Loafing is the act of employees using their company’s internet access for personal purposes during work hours.
Causes of cyber loafing includes:-
Diversion of responsibility
Efficiency is reduced because contribution cannot be measured.
The relationship between an individual’s input and the group’s output is clouded.
Lim, 2002 concluded after cons of internet that leaders and managers should understand the effect of cyber loafing to work for the company against the company.
Another Ethical issue involved is the loss of privacy at work. But the fact is that reading private emails and messages without the permission of employers are against the ethics of the company. From the point of view of employer the private use of company’s assets may be prevented if a check and continuous monitoring is placed on employers. Legislation has taken steps to solve such ethical issues. One such step is introduction of Capital One Ethical Policy which states that company has right to access emails or read delete and receive any communication.
Certain Managerial implications are also involved in the case. To fully understand the managerial implications, need and reasons of employee monitoring should be considered. Managers should try to develop code of conduct. Code of Ethics should be taken as priority by all the companies.
To develop positive employee relations following five strategies should be considered:-
Educate the employees about the ownership of the property that computer system and services are property of the employer
Company reserves the right to monitor employees emails and internet information
Reasons related to business for monitoring should be clearly understood
Penalty clause should be inserted in the policy and penal provisions in case of policy violations should be imposed.
Positive reasons for monitoring should be explained in a legitimate manner so that they are acceptable to employees
Policy should prohibit personal use in a reasonable manner because it is impossible and impracticable to establish a stringent policy
Legal implications with regard to obtaining consent of employees before monitoring private telephone calls, messages should be discussed.
On the basis of code of ethics focus should be placed on following 10 areas:-
Dignity
Privacy
Confidentiality
Informed choice
Access to services
Social needs
Freedom of association
Lodge a complaint • Internal • External • Advocacy
Express ideas and opinions
An agree standard of care
Although there are certain legal ethical and managerial issues involved in employees monitoring which are discussed above, proper understanding about it will help to resolve such issues.
Reference
http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/Jame/articles/employee-monitoring.cfmhttp://books.google.co.in/books?Legal,+ethical,+and+managerial+elements
Trumps trade war
Trumps trade war
A trade war is a situation where nations try to destroy each other’s trade by obtruding tariffs or allocations on imports. It happens when a country goes against another by raising import duties or placing restrictions on another country’s imports. This is done to protect domestic industries and the creation of jobs.
President Donald Trump in his efforts to create more jobs has started a trade war. His strategy of decreasing the U.S trade deficit which stands at $621 billion has led him to impose tariffs on imports which has caused multiple battles with several countries particularly China.
The first battle involving Solar Panel and Washing Machine. After President Trump approves defense tariffs on imports of solar panels and on washing machines it caused a stir. China and South Korea reacted against this. The second battle on steel and aluminum included tariffs affecting mostly Canada, EU, Mexico, South Korea, and China, which was later lifted on a few countries due to retaliatory tariffs of other countries. Trade war with the EU being the third battle, EU responses to US tariffs by threatening 25% tax on US imports which has caused a tussle between the two nations for a long time. The battle on tariffs on Mexico happened after Trump threatened to impose 5% tariffs on all US imports from Mexico to cater to “the emergency at the southern border, “which was later lifted after discussions in the reduction of illegal migrations. The battle between the US and China which began when the US put a 25% tax on Chinese exports which led to the nations imposing debts on each other till an agreement is reached.
The trade war has had vast effects;Companies have made loses due to the increase in taxes, the employment rates have dropped due to increasing input costs, housing rates have increased to about $1,245 a year for the average American, a crucial indicator of manufacturing freight rail traffic has slowed down drastically.
A trade war can have a few positive effects on a nation’s trade but not long term. In the long run, it can have immense effects on economic growth. The US is in war with Mexico, China, Canada, and the EU affecting America since the countries will sign trade agreements with other countries. Trades should be equally beneficial to involved parties to avoid conflicts and in-depth problems caused by trade wars.