Parable of the Sadhu, McKoy - Essay Example

Organizational Values and Business Ethics Grade Organizational Values and Business Ethics The focus on Merck & Co. Inc. acts as a good example in showcasing the use of organization values and business ethics, in the terms of affecting critical decision making processes. According to the author, river blindness could have had a better drug formulation rather than the already discovered but ineffective drugs. The discovery of Diethylcarbamazine and Suramin was a milestone, though they had severe side effects and needed closer attention and monitoring of the infected individuals.

The prevalence of the black fly, which is the disease carrier and transmitter of river blindness, in the third world was a serious crisis that lacked the necessary interventions from the United States and other developed international countries. As a matter of fact, these countries consider the business viability of drug manufacturing, rather than the ethical service delivery and elimination of human diseases. The United States effected legislation, in 1978, to help the drug manufacturing industries develop and innovate drug formulations to counter many diseases affecting Americans.

This included tax benefits and exclusive marketing rights for the American manufacturers, for the American people. Many people affected by the river blindness disease hailed from the third world countries, where most of the population could not afford low drug prices. The increment of attacks along the rivers caused migration from the fertile and wet lands, and hence created risks for food shortages and abject poverty. This is bound to have adverse effects on agricultural growth and food production, which are vital in economic development.

The author implies that an intervention by the US government and other developed nations and organizations, such as the World Health Organization, could have achieved the development of a more effective drug formulation. This could have eased the economic and health burden on the poor third world population, especially those affected by the river blindness. Merck organizational policies and business ethics are highly contradictory since at some point there was conflict of interest due to fear of failure.

Merck could have invested in Dr. William Campbell’s research on the development of an effective drug formulation from the Sample No. 0S3153, which yielded the veterinary Ivomec drug. Failure inevitability in drug innovation and the tediousness, and cost, of the research led to the use of sophisticated research managers, such as Vagelos, and thereby hindered the critical innovation and approval of potential drug formulation for river blindness. I concur with the author since Merck invested heavily on the American population and did not effectively use its financial ability and research stations to help in the worsening river blindness crisis.

Studies had proven that it could have taken 12 years and cost of $ 200 million, which was affordable for Merck at that particular time. On the other hand, drug manufacturers should focus on alleviation of human disease and supporting the suffering world, rather than concentrating on profit-making. The failure inevitability should have acted as a motivation factor, rather than a barrier, for Merck managers and researchers towards the achievement of a drug for the betterment of a larger suffering population.

According to George Merck, drug investment should aim at serving the people and not profit-making, and hence Merck had the chance and ability to innovate a drug formulation for river blindness, with failure inevitability notwithstanding. The lack of fund allocation and approval procedures also hindered company functionality and had a poor reflection on Merck’s organizational values and business ethics.