Yeni Rojas
Legal, Ethical and Social Values of Business
Chapter 4 “Traditional Theories of Property and Profit”
January 27, 2015

Abstract This paper examines chapter 4 Traditional Theories of Property and Profit. It starts off with the case study of New Protocol: How Drug’s Rebirth as Treatment for Cancer Fueled Price Rises, and the ethical challenge being faced by Celgne Corp. The company must choose between securing the financial wellbeing of their company or responding to the public’s need. We also examine the ethical positions of Milton Friedman and R. Edward Freeman in their respective essays found in Chapter 4 of the textbook as they are applied to the case study of " New Protocol: How Drug’s Rebirth as Treatment for Cancer Fueled Price Rises."

Celgne Corp., in my opinion is a great example of a company that is facing the age-old question of who companies owe their loyalty to? The stakeholders who are investing in our company or the community we sell our products to and for whom the product is essentially developed for. While my belief is that in any business there is the need to make a profit and constantly grow not only the assets but also the stakeholder’s investment, one has to analyze up to what point it is fine to stop benefiting the company’s financial health and maintain the ethical responsibility to the public. It does not seem ethical to price gouge customers simply for the benefit of the stakeholders; especially when the cost to manufacture the product has not increased with the rate of the price increase, and the best answer that can be provided when questioned on the rise of the cost of medicine is that the competitor costs more, but at the same the point can be made that thalidomide costs 40% less than the competitor and the company has invested the company’s profits in research and development to continuously better the product