It’s been known for pharmaceutical companies to hike up their product prices to generate more revenue. Mylan, an American Epipen manufacturer, is not afraid of making more cash off public health. Since 2007, Mylan has spiked up their prices from $100 to over $600 for just a pack of two Epipens. Many individuals and parents are outraged by the new prices took action through petitions and social media. Can you really put a price on a 6-year old’s life? Or anyone’s life?
Is Mylan being ethical and fulfilling its “social responsibilities”? But first, we must define what “social responsibilities” are and whom they apply to. Social responsibilities are set to guide individuals and organisations to take actions that will benefit society as a whole – socially, culturally, economically, and environmentally.
Milton Friedman believes in a “fundamentally subversive doctrine”, when in a free society, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use it[s] resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game”. In other words, he is saying it is fine if you can produce revenue disregarding ethics and social responsibilities without breaking any laws. He mentions how businesses hide their actions with the term social responsibilities. Corporations and proprietors use this phrase to mask decisions based on other reasons instead of being the main reason for those decisions.
However, I disagree with Friedman’s opinion on corporate ethics. I believe that R. Edward Freeman’s, an ethics professor at the University of Virginia, Stakeholder Theory is a correct way to approach social responsibility. Stakeholder Theory states that every “stakeholder”, including customers, suppliers, employees, communities, financiers, investors, and banks, should be valued equally in a company’s eyes. Looking at all the stakeholders as one is the way to go; all their interest must point in the same direction. It is the entrepreneurs and managers who must find common interests in all groups. Businesses and proprietors need to consider every stakeholder to move forward in the business world, as a whole. Mylan had obviously failed to do so. It is not right to care about one group; Mylan’s shareholders in this case. Mylan ignored to care about their customers who depend on their product to live by raising the price by over 600%. Customers are and should be part of the company’s group of stakeholders too. If your child needed the medication you produce, would you still spike the price up?
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Articles:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/business/100000004614154/outrage-over-epipen-pricing.html?smid=pl-share
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/reader.action?docID=10187339&ppg=171
http://www.imasocialentrepreneur.com/social-responsibility/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRUaLcvPe8&feature=youtu.be\
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