UPSC Articles
ETHICS CASE STUDY
Topic:
- GS-4: Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; Corporate Governance
You are appointed as senior sales executive of a ABC consultancy firm. The firm is one of the biggest player in the sector and has high handed connections with the Politicians of the country. In your previous firm you were known for taking up challenging issues and resolving them amidst opposition from various quarters. It was this attitude that made ABC company to recruit you into their firm with hefty pay check. After few months in new firm, you are summoned by the top management and given a challenging project of turbocharging drug sales of a Pharma Company.
After initial study of the project, you realize that the drug which is used as a pain killer can also cause addiction and is being diverted for illegal activities. There is also debate raging amongst scientific community and regulatory authorities about the addictive nature of such class of drugs and the need to strictly regulate them.
You have innovative ideas about boosting sales of drug by aggressive emotional marketing and collaborating with doctors. However, you also know that it borders on unethical behaviour. What would you do at this juncture? Analyse the ethical issues involved in this case study.
Interesting Fact: Mc Kinsey was fined $600 million for its role in exacerbating the opioid crisis in the USA by working with Purdue Pharma to boost sales of an addictive pain killer drug.
