Virtue
The virtue ethical theory judges a person by his character rather than by an action that may deviate from his normal behaviour. It takes the person's morals, reputation and motivation into account when looking at behaviour that is considered unethical. For example, if a person plagiarized a assignment that was later found out by a friend, the friend who knows the person well will understand the person's character and will be able to judge the friend. If the friend who plagiarized normally follows the rules, the friend who found the plagiarized assignment may be able to judge his friend more leniently. On the other hand, if a person who has a reputation for being dishonest and lazy is more likely to be judged harshly for plagiarizing because of his consistent past of unethical behaviour.
One weakness of this ethical theory is that it does not take into consideration a person's change in moral character.
LO2.1
HOW BUSINESS OBJECTIVES ARE AFFECTED BY ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS?
Pfizers main objectives are to produce medicines for people all around the world, there also working towards a new product that will cure challenging diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Cancer. A business operating in an ethical conduct will be beneficial for the economy and society itself.
Business ethics usually have principles such as honesty, full disclosure, accountability and others, in doing this the business is able to meet its objectives.
With all this said I believe Pfizer have implemented the ethical code of conduct. “As a member of today’s rapidly changing global community, we are striving to adapt to the evolving needs of society and contribute to the overall health and wellness of our world. We are continually reviewing and improving our efforts to lessen our impact on the environment, nurture a workplace of diversity and inclusion, conduct responsible business practices, and uphold the highest ethical standards in everything from research and development to sales and marketing. And, we are building partnerships in communities throughout the world to strengthen health systems, increase access to our medicines and find sustainable solutions to the health challenges of today, and tomorrow”.
(Pfizer.com/Responsibility 18:00 12/9/14)
LO2.2
For a business of the magnitude like Pfizer they have numerous stakeholders such as patients, customers, colleagues, investors, suppliers and business partners. All these mentioned have a valid but different interest or view in regards to Pfizers policies and business practices.
PATIENTS INTERESTS
• The best medicine
• The best service
• Affordable
COLLEAGUES INTERESTS
• Good salaries
• Good work conditions
• Commitment to ethical code of conduct
INVESTORS INTERESTS
• Profits
• Business reputation
• Business growth
As said earlier Pfizer implement the ethical code, in doing so for the short term investors may not like to hear that its possible they could see a decrease but in time they will increase creating a competitive advantage.
“In 2013, we sought to create deeper connections with people who share our goal of fostering a healthy society. We continued our multi-year initiative called “Get Old,” where we are forging a richer societal dialogue on aging, and increased the public outreach of our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, to share health and medical information in ways that encourage people to take charge of their health care. We have gained recognition from external stakeholders and increased the perception of Pfizer as “honest
