Assignment
Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the Work Place and the World
Legal 500
Law and Ethics
08/30/2013

Abstract

Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the Work Place and the World provides insight on who the stakeholders of an organization are and who takes on the overall responsibilities of the organization. The importance of the decisions made by mid-level management are discussed and answered. The ability to make changes to support a more ethical work environment. The ability to improve operations and turn a profit are explained by discussing management’s requirements to abide by regulations governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Federal Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Equal Employment Opportunity , Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act and other regulatory policies.

The stakeholders within PharmaCARE are all the individuals and groups that are affected by the company’s decisions. The employees that may suffer from the lack of environmental safety or abuse of the production location allowing the organization to payless to workers for their hard work. The consumers of the organization’s products that may purchase bad goods that cause a negative reaction. The investors and stockholders who will lose any monetary investment due to the company’s loss of profits which would be an effect of inappropriate management of the organization. Due to the inappropriate management employees may lose their jobs which effects them as the stakeholders of the organization. At first glance PharamaCARE seems to have no ethics at all but with further review we would like to believe that PharmaCARE would have been trying to practice free market ethics. Free market ethics within an organization allows its only goal to be to obtain a profit at any cost as long as it is following all laws required by an organization. Companies like PharmaCARE walk the line and try to insure they never cross it in order to turn a profit. Management of such organizations try to be knowledgeable of what is allowed to insure they can get away with anything that would allow them to achieve the ultimate goal of making money. In this case PharmaCARE management needed to research further about creating compounding pharmaceuticals since there are many red flags regarding the company manufacturing medications instead of compounding which is typically created with all natural products and made uniquely for each individually. PharmaCARE likes to save money whenever it can by paying the least knowledgeable or least needy at least for their life style the lowest income while providing those who have a greedy nature with the most income. This is shown by how they have taken advantage of the Colebrian people and their indigenous culture of only taken what they need to survive. While the executives live in the lap of luxury. By at least taking care of the decision makers they are actually paying them off to be quiet and help the organization save money and turn a profit. The rank and file workers are also taken advantage of because the company is utilizing their skills and knowledge while making them suffer the consequences can faces of bad management and safety violations so the company can save money to insure a profit. Donna, Tom and Ayesha are all rank and file workers that have experienced negative conditions and situations at their place of work. Donna has become ill with bronchial problems and has filed for workmen’s compensation. Even though legally Allen can fire Donna while she is on workmen’s compensation but it might not be a good idea since the employees are able to file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Donna’s case could be evidence to help prove that there is a hazardous violation. It would also help make the company look bad and support that the company knew of the violations all along. Tom can be fired but again he would more than likely file a complaint anyway and be a witness during the investigation again supporting the lack of desire for the organization to correct any violations. Ayesha cold be fired since the state is a right to work state and the employment at will laws allow for an employer to fire anyone at any time. Ayesha would need to be able to prove that her ethnicity or race was the factor for her not being promoted instead of her lack of management skills. Firing Tom may not be a good idea since he will be a witness to the lack of safety in the work environment. If I were Allen I would consult with Human Resource and make sure all incidents at work are documented. The documentation needs to show that effort has been made to correct any safety violations. Allen needs to document and make sure his interviews with Ayesha were documented and that reviews of Ayesha’s work has been documented. Manager’s should make notes specifically about them and their work habits that support their skills or lack of certain skills so any claims of discrimination cannot support why an employee was not promoted or hired. Allen could definitely make sure that work orders are made to correct the mold problem in the facility. Instead of firing everyone Allen could take the more ethical approach and report the company himself for any and all violations. The benefits for him would be that he would be able to keep his job since he would not be able to be fired. The evidence is piling up against the organization and he will eventually lose his job anyway. By revealing the truths himself it is more likely he will receive a promotion and his boss will be fired. In noticing and correcting the company’s violations while saving the organizations reputation, PharmaCARE could continue to grow and prosper under new positive ethical management. The first thing Allen should implement is a leadership training program for his good employees who may need help with developing their skills for further promotion within the organization. Allen is protected by the whistle blower protection act which includes the Occupational Safety and Health Act. His employees at the facility our being affected by mold which is a violation. Employees must provide a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. Allen also needs to make reports to the Federal Department of Agriculture of what he knew about the creation of the supposed compounding drugs that were actually manufactured drugs. He should make a full whistle blower report to the Occupational safety and Health Adminstration. Maybe by reporting the truth he can save the reputation of the company and keep his job. The manufacturing of drugs without Federal Department of Agriculture approval is not only a violation of the law but a criminal act since many people became ill and died from utilizing products that were not approved by the Federal Department of Agriculture. When consumers purchase items under false marketing and are deliberately being lied to it is not only a Federal Department of Agriculture violation but an act against the Consumer Product Safety Commission which protects consumers from purchasing goods that are harmful for them. The company is also responsible under the evolution of products liability law which requires an organization to be responsible for the products they are selling and pay any consequences for any of their products that have harmed consumers. Strict product liability allows consumers to sue for negligence caused on by the manufacturing company and makes the company responsible for their consumers. Providing evidence and assisting in correcting PharmaCare errors will assist with rebuilding the company and its reputation. Compensating the victims of PharmaCARE while creating a new organization will help Allen retain his employment and make more money in the future. Many companies like PharmaCARE have claimed to be socially responsible but have neglected many of its stakeholders and lobbied against regulations that would keep consumers, employees, investor’s and stockholders safe from fraud and negative experiences. Even though PharmaCARE has done some positive environmental contributions and has been charitable with the cost of its pharmaceuticals but it has only been for show since they have proven to be hypocritical by stealing the Colebria’s proven to work medication’s and selling them as their own and not even compensating the people for their own natural discovery. And they only pay the indigenous workers a dollar a day. Allen should offer the Colebrian people a portion of the profits to compensate them for their discovery and pay the employees a decent wage. Even though our federal laws do not apply outside the United States of America regarding labor laws for non- United States citizens an American company should compensate all its employees with a decent wage to continue to have a good reputation. Organizations with good reputations throughout history have been proven to be the most successful and profitable in the long run.

As the new Director of Operations, Allen should continue the company’s public stance to be a leader in environmental matters. With PharmaCARE’s new reputation and access to natural medications that does not need Federal Drug Administration approval which will not be manufactured unless they are purely natural. And the proceeds will be given to the Colebrian people in order to build the community along with other charitable gifts from PharmaCare, since profits will increase greatly for all of Allen’s good work. The original purpose of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act was to clean up the areas that were contaminated with hazardous substances. The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liabilities Act is commonly known as the Superfund the fund was created for those to contribute to the fund that caused the pollution to areas in our environment. The Superfund developed the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry which has the authority to clean up areas affected by hazardous substances or to protect the environment from any intentions to harm the area with hazardous substances. The Superfund was solely funded by organizations who caused environmental disasters at the time of its origination. Since the origination of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act its authority has extended to include violations that would affect the public’s health and welfare or that may eventually affect the public health and welfare of humans. The super fund also assist today with rebuilding environments that have suffered from hazardous chemicals. Today Superfund is not just supported by the organizations that violate the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act but also those that may potentially violate its regulations. Companies that produce or use hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants have to pay a tax to support the Superfund. A portion of federal tax payer’s monies is also utilized today to support the Superfund. The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act has also helped to revise the National Contingency Plan. The National Contingency Plan provides the guidelines and procedures needed on how to respond to releases or potential releases of chemicals dangerous to the environment and the public. The National Contingency Plan also created the National Priorities List. The National Priorities List is a guide for the Environmental Protections Agency on how to establish whether or not a release or intended release of chemicals needs further investigation. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act PharmaCARE has violated the provision of endangering the public. The public health was violated when manufactured drugs were offered to the public that had not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Drugs were offered to individuals as compounded drugs that should have been made of natural substances and made specifically for that specific individuals utilizing the medication. PharmaCARE has made false claims and marketed drugs illegally to individuals, hospitals, clinics and doctors which has caused a public hazard. PharmaCARE and doctors also committed fraud by created false prescriptions. Individuals who have taken the drugs have become ill and have had heart attacks. PharmaCARE is also in violation of the Clean Air Act which is a provision of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation Act because of their employees becoming ill and not providing a clean and safe environment. Any number of chemicals used in the lab could be a cause of the employee’s illnesses. Further investigation needs to be done to determine what exactly the cause of the employee’s illnesses is. Allen should include the false advertising and usage of manufactured drugs when reporting the company’s errors in his whistle blower report. Allen should also include the illness of all his employees and request an inspection of his lab right away.

References
Suzanne Sommers, Ageless, the Naked Truth about Bio identical Hormones (2007) Random House Incorporated

Olga L. Moya and Andrew L. Fono, Moya and Fono’s Federal Environmental Law: The User’s Guide (2010) West Group

Richard Busse, Employees Rights (2004) Source Book Incorporated

Terry Halbert and Elaine Ingulli, Law and Ethics in the Business Environment (2012) Cergage Learning

Mike Johnston, Compounding (2005) Pearson