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Critical Thinking s a. Pfizer’s trial test of Trovan on Nigerian children was not only unethical, but also inhuman. Although the company claimed that the drug saved 94% of all children suffering from meningitis during that time, the experiment resulted in 11 deaths and others ended up blind, deaf or mentally handicapped. Pfizer took advantage of the desperation of the Nigerians to use their children as guinea pigs. It is also worth noting that an article in the Washington Post (2006) proved that the certificate of approval for the trial was a fake. This shows that the drug was not yet approved by health organizations. It is unethical to gamble with human life regardless of race, gender or social status for the sake of economic prosperity. Furthermore, this drug was banned in the US and Europe as it was responsible for massive liver damages.
b. It is unethical to test drugs on children during the time of emergency. That is gambling with human life which is against the human rights. Chances are that the drug may destroy immune systems of the patients and lead to a high number of casualties. Lack of proper health care in developing countries does not mean that these people are lesser beings or are immune to toxins; this should not be an excuse.
2) Since hiring the child would be unlawful, the executive may opt to take care of the child by himself or look for a guardian locally or overseas. There are many people who would be willing to help the child to meet her daily needs. However, if the guardians are unwilling to live with her, then she may be taken to an orphanage.
3) a. Look at the oil excavation from two perspectives, the good side of it and the bad side. Think about the effect on the environs and the people. When the good outweigh the bad, then you can proceed. However, if there is any form of doubt safely etched at the deepest parts of your hearts, then abandoning such a task would be the plausible thing to do.
b. Outsourcing may or may not a company’s best bet. However, outsourcing would be the best option when a company needs to speed up the production process and increase the quality of their output. Division of labor ensures that parties partake on tasks that best fit them.
4) It would be ethical to outsource the production process to developing countries when the company is facing the problem of the high cost of production and low sales returns. The most reasonable thing to do would be to look for cheaper labor even if it means job cuts for employees in the mother country. Failure to do so would lead to losses for the company and the management will be forced to retrench its workers.
5) Facilitating payments are unethical from a business ethics point of view. Small businesses may not be in a position to compete with larger businesses due to limited financial muscle to grease officials in foreign lands. It cannot be distinguished from a bribe and therefore, may lead to business malpractices.