IEthics and Legal Environment
Tracey is a widow with two middle-school-aged children. For the past several years she has worked very successfully as a mid-level manager for a large, transnational pharmaceutical corporation, making a salary of approximately $90,000 per annum. She is proud of her work and proud to be affiliated with such a prestigious employer.
Her company has recently completed phase II of its animal testing on a promising new cancer drug. The successful development and commercialization of this drug is a key component in the company's strategic growth plan. Before the company can move from the animal testing stage to human trials the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must review and approve the animal testing results and give the okay for the human trials. Without human trials the drug has no chance of making it to market.
This morning, Tracey's boss called her to a private meeting in his office. After reiterating how important the success of the cancer drug trials is to the future of the company, he directed her to change some figures related to the percentage of animals that died as a result of receiving injections of the cancer drug during the phase II trials. Specifically, he told Tracey that her report to the FDA will have to show a percentage of animal deaths that is 10% lower than the actual rate of deaths the raw data in the test results indicate.
Based on the above, respond to each of the following:
• What are Tracey's obligations as an agent of the company?
• Analyze the ethics of the situation using the approach outlined in Badaracco's framework. Be sure to support your analysis through sound reasoning, incorporating appropriate ethical principles and theories.
• Based on your legal and ethical analysis, advise Tracey on what she should do. Identify her main options, then tell her which she should choose, and why.
Be sure to cite any reference sources you use from the AMBA 610 course materials. Do not use any materials outside of AMBA 610 course materials.