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Ethics and the
Conduct of
Eighth Edition

John R. Boatright
Loyola University Chicago

Jeffery D. Smith
Seattle University

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Boatright, John Raymond, 1941– author. | Smith, Jeffery David, 1971– author.
Title: Ethics and the conduct of business / John R. Boatright, Loyola
University Chicago, Jeffery D. Smith, Seattle University.
Description: Eighth edition. | Boston: Pearson, [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2015050453| ISBN 9780134167657 | ISBN 0134167651
Subjects: LCSH: ethics. | Social responsibility of business.
Classification: LCC HF5387 .B6 2017 | DDC 174/.4—dc23 LC record available at
http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050453

ISBN-10: 0-13-416765-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-416765-7

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

http://www.pearsoned.com/permissions

http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050453

iii

9 Health and Safety 182

10 Marketing and Advertising 208

11 Ethics in 239

12 Corporate Social Responsibility 268

13 Governance, Accountability,
and Compliance 297

14 International Ethics 325
References 357

Credits 380

Index 387

1 Ethics in the World of 1

2 Ethical Decision Making 21

3 Ethical Theories 46

4 Whistle-Blowing 65

5 Information and Conflict
of Interest 82

6 Privacy 106

7 Discrimination and Affirmative
Action 133

8 Employment Rights 156

Brief Contents

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v

3 Ethical Theories 46
Case: Big Brother at Procter & Gamble 46

3.1: Utilitarianism 48
3.1.1: Principle of Utility 48
3.1.2: Cost–Benefit Analysis 50

3.2: Kantian Ethics 52
3.2.1: Universalizability 52
3.2.2: Respect for Persons 53

3.3: Virtue Ethics 53
3.3.1: What Is Virtue? 54
3.3.2: Defending the Virtues 54
3.3.3: Virtue in 55

3.4: Rights 55
3.4.1: Meaning of Rights 55
3.4.2: Kinds of Rights 56

3.5: Justice 57
3.5.1: Nature and Value of Justice 57
3.5.2: Aristotle on Distributive Justice 58
3.5.3: Rawls’s Egalitarian Theory 59
3.5.4: Nozick’s Entitlement Theory 59

Conclusion: Ethical Theories 60

Case: Exporting Pollution

Case: Clean Hands in a Dirty

Case: Conflict of an Insurance Broker

Case: An Auditor’s Dilemma

4 Whistle-Blowing 65
Case: Time’s Persons of the Year 65

4.1: What Is Whistle-Blowing? 67

4.2: Justification of Whistle-Blowing 69
4.2.1: Loyal Agent Argument 69
4.2.2: Meaning of Loyalty 71
4.2.3: Conditions for Justification 71

4.3: Right to Blow the Whistle 73
4.3.1: Existing Legal Protection 73
4.3.2: Arguments against Protection 75
4.3.3: Arguments for Protection 75

4.4: Developing a Policy 76
4.4.1: Benefits and Dangers 76
4.4.2: Components of a Policy 76

Conclusion: Whistle-Blowing 77

Case: A Whistle-Blower Accepts a “Deal”

Case: A Whistle-Blower’s Quandary

Case: Who’s a Whistle-Blower?

Preface ix
About the Authors xi

1 Ethics in the World of 1
Case: Merck and the Marketing of Vioxx 1

1.1: Decision Making 4
1.1.1: Nature of 5
1.1.2: Levels of Decision Making 6

1.2: Ethics, Economics, and 7
1.2.1: Ethics and Economics 7
1.2.2: Ethics and 9

1.3: Ethics and Management 11
1.3.1: Ethical Management and Management

of Ethics 11
1.3.2: Ethics and the Manager’s Role 12

1.4: Ethics in Organizations 13
1.4.1: Individual Decision Making 14
1.4.2: Organizational Decision Making 15

Conclusion: Ethics in the World of 16

Case: A Sticky Situation

Case: Beech-Nut’s Bogus Apple Juice

Case: Ethical Uncertainty at Bath Iron Works

Case: A Faked Résumé at Yahoo

2 Ethical Decision Making 21
Case: HP and the Smart Chip 21

2.1: Market Ethics 22
2.1.1: The Market System 22
2.1.2: Ethics in Markets 24
2.1.3: Breaches and Fraud 25
2.1.4: Wrongful Harm 26
2.1.5: Market Failure 27
2.1.6: Summary of Market Ethics 30

2.2: Roles, Relationships, and Firms 30
2.2.1: Agents and Principals 31
2.2.2: Fiduciaries and Professionals 31
2.2.3: Firms 32
2.2.4: Summary of Roles, Relationships,

and Firms 35

2.3: Ethical Reasoning 35
2.3.1: Philosophical Accounts 36
2.3.2: Psychological Accounts 37
2.3.3: Framework for Reasoning 38

Conclusion: Ethical Decision Making 41

Case: Lavish Pay at Harvard

Case: Broken Trust at Bankers Trust

Case: KPMG’s Tax Shelter

Contents

vi Contents

Case: Privacy of Text Messages

Case: Plugging Leaks at HP

Case: Information Handling at ChoicePoint

7 Discrimination and
Affirmative Action 133

Case: Race Discrimination at Texaco 133

7.1: What Is Discrimination? 135
7.1.1: Civil Rights Act of 1964 135
7.1.2: Disparate Treatment/Impact 136
7.1.3: Forms of Discrimination 137

7.2: Sexual Harassment 138
7.2.1: Defining Sexual Harassment 138
7.2.2: Forms of Sexual Harassment 139
7.2.3: Further Issues 140

7.3: Objections to Discrimination 140

7.4: Preventing Discrimination 142
7.4.1: Analysis, Recruitment, and Assessment 142
7.4.2: Objective Tests 142
7.4.3: Subjective Evaluations 143
7.4.4: Sexual Harassment Programs 144

7.5: Affirmative Action 145
7.5.1: Affirmative Action Plans 146
7.5.2: Court Actions on Plans 146
7.5.3: Compensation Argument 147
7.5.4: Equality Arguments 149
7.5.5: Utilitarian Arguments 150
7.5.6: Problems with Affirmative Action 151

Conclusion: Discrimination and Affirmative Action 152

Case: Jacksonville Shipyards

Case: Sex Discrimination at Walmart

8 Employment Rights 156
Case: The Firing of Robert Greeley 156

8.1: Employment at Will 157
8.1.1: Property Rights Argument 158
8.1.2: Freedom of Contract Argument 159
8.1.3: Efficiency Argument 160
8.1.4: Exceptions 161

8.2: Right to Due Process 162
8.2.1: Support for Due Process 163
8.2.2: of Due Process 163

8.3: Freedom of Expression 164
8.3.1: Defining Freedom of Expression 165
8.3.2: Legal Protection for Expression 165
8.3.3: Arguments over Expression 166

8.4: Workplace Democracy 167
8.4.1: Participation and Democracy 167
8.4.2: Arguments for Democracy 168

8.5: Worker Compensation 169
8.5.1: Setting Wages 170

5 Information and Conflict
of Interest 82

Case: Barbie vs. the Bratz Girls 82

5.1: Confidential Information 84
5.1.1: Duty of Confidentiality 85
5.1.2: Competitive Employment 86
5.1.3: Impact of Restrictions 87

5.2: Proprietary Information 88
5.2.1: Intellectual Property 88
5.2.2: Defining Trade Secrets 89
5.2.3: Property Rights Argument 90
5.2.4: Fair Competition Argument 91
5.2.5: Competitor Intelligence 92

5.3: Conflict of Interest 93
5.3.1: Defining Conflict of Interest 95
5.3.2: Some Relevant Distinctions 95
5.3.3: Kinds of Conflict of Interest 96
5.3.4: Managing Conflict of Interest 98

Conclusion: Information and Conflict
of Interest 102

Case: The Aggressive Ad Agency

Case: Procter & Gamble Goes Dumpster Diving

Case: A Conflict-Laden Deal

6 Privacy 106
Case: Psychological Testing at
Dayton Hudson 106

6.1: Challenges to Privacy 108
6.1.1: Privacy in the Workplace 108
6.1.2: Privacy in the Marketplace 109

6.2: Meaning and Value of Privacy 110
6.2.1: History of the Concept 111
6.2.2: Defining Privacy 111
6.2.3: Utilitarian Arguments 112
6.2.4: Kantian Arguments 113

6.3: Privacy Away from Work 114
6.3.1: Justifying Monitoring 114
6.3.2: Limits to Monitoring 115

6.4: Privacy of Employee Records 116
6.4.1: Ethical Issues with Records 117
6.4.2: Justifying a Purpose 117
6.4.3: Disclosure to Outsiders 118
6.4.4: Gathering Information 119
6.4.5: Accuracy, Completeness, and Access 120

6.5: Big Data Analytics 120
6.5.1: Data Collection 121
6.5.2: Ethical Issues with Big Data 122

6.6: Using the Internet 123
6.6.1: Information Collection 123
6.6.2: Ethical Issues with Internet Use 124
6.6.3: Protecting Privacy 125

Conclusion: Privacy 128

Contents vii

10.6: Irrational Persuasion 224
10.6.1: Threats to Free Choice 225
10.6.2: Dependence Effect 225

10.7: Impact of Advertising 226
10.7.1: Impact on Persons 226
10.7.2: Impact on Society 228

10.8: Internet Advertising 229
10.8.1: Online Placement 229
10.8.2: Ethics of Placement 230

10.9: Social Advertising 232
Conclusion: Marketing and Advertising 233

Case: McCormick’s Pricing Strategy

Case: Capital One’s Online Profiles

Case: Herbalife: A Pyramid Scheme?

11 Ethics in 239
Case: Goldman Sachs and the Abacus Deal 239

11.1: Financial Services 241

11.1.1: Deception 242

11.1.2: Churning 243

11.1.3: Suitability 244

11.2: Financial Markets 245

11.2.1: Fairness in Markets 246

11.2.2: Derivatives and HFT 248

11.3: Insider Trading 251

11.3.1: Theories of Insider Trading 252

11.3.2: Evaluation of the Two Theories 253

11.3.3: Recent Insider Trading Cases 254

11.4: Hostile Takeovers 255

11.4.1: Market for Corporate Control 256

11.4.2: Takeover Tactics 257

11.4.3: Role of Directors 260
Conclusion: Ethics in 261

Case: SCM Mutual Funds

Case: Merrill Lynch and the Nigerian Barge Deal

Case: Martha Stewart: Inside Trader?

Case: Oracle’s Hostile Bid for PeopleSoft

12 Corporate Social Responsibility 268
Case: Competing Visions at Malden Mills 268

12.1: The CSR Debate 270

12.1.1: Meaning of CSR 271

12.1.2: Examples of CSR 272

12.1.3: Related Concepts 273

12.2: Normative Case for CSR 274

12.2.1: Classical View 274

12.2.2: Friedman on CSR 276

12.3: Case for CSR 278

12.3.1: The Market for Virtue 278

12.3.2: Competitive Advantage 280

8.5.2: Market Outcomes 170
8.5.3: Minimum Wage 172

8.6: Executive Compensation 173
8.6.1: Criticism of CEO Pay 174
8.6.2: Justifying CEO Pay 174
8.6.3: Problems with Justification 175

Conclusion: Employment Rights 176

Case: Fired for Blogging at Google

Case: Worker Participation at Saturn

Case: Health Benefits at Walmart

9 Health and Safety 182
Case: The Ford–Firestone Brawl 182

9.1: Rights in the Workplace 184
9.1.1: Meaning of Health and Safety 184
9.1.2: Protecting Health and Safety 185

9.2: Hazardous Work 188
9.2.1: Justifying a Right to Refuse 189
9.2.2: Justifying a Right to Know 191

9.3: Reproductive Hazards 192
9.3.1: Scientific Background 193
9.3.2: Fetal Protection Policies 193
9.3.3: Charge of Discrimination 194
9.3.4: Defending against the Charge 195
9.3.5: Remaining Issues 195

9.4: Product Safety 196
9.4.1: Due Care Theory 196
9.4.2: Contractual Theory 198
9.4.3: Strict Liability Theory 200

Conclusion: Health and Safety 203

Case: Genetic Testing at Burlington Northern

Case: Johnson Controls, Inc.

Case: The Collapsing Crib

10 Marketing and Advertising 208
Case: Selling Hope 208

10.1: Marketing Ethics Framework 210

10.2: Sales Practices and Labeling 212
10.2.1: Deception and Manipulation 212
10.2.2: Information Disclosure 213
10.2.3: Labeling 214

10.3: Pricing and Distribution 215
10.3.1: Anticompetitive Pricing 215
10.3.2: Unfair Pricing 217
10.3.3: Distribution 218

10.4: Development and Research 219
10.4.1: Product Development 219
10.4.2: Marketing Research 220

10.5: Deceptive Advertising 222
10.5.1: Defining Deceptive Advertising 222
10.5.2: Applying the Definition 224

viii Contents

14 International Ethics 325
Case: Mattel’s Toy Woes 325

14.1: Different Standards 328
14.1.1: Relevant Differences 329
14.1.2: Variety of Outlooks 329
14.1.3: Right to Decide 330
14.1.4: Necessity 331

14.2: Guidelines for Multinationals 331
14.2.1: Rights 332
14.2.2: Welfare 333
14.2.3: Justice 333
14.2.4: International Codes 335

14.3: Wages and Working Conditions 336
14.3.1: Setting Wages 337
14.3.2: Working Conditions 339

14.4: Foreign Bribery 340
14.4.1: What Is Bribery? 341
14.4.2: What’s Wrong with Bribery? 342
14.4.3: Combating Bribery 343

14.5: Human Rights Abuses 346
14.5.1: Constructive Engagement 347
14.5.2: Liability for Abuses 348

Conclusion: International Ethics 349

Case: H. B. Fuller in Honduras

Case: Walmart in Mexico

Case: Google in China

References 357
Credits 380
Index 387

12.4: Implementing CSR 281
12.4.1: Program Selection and Design 281
12.4.2: Reporting and Accountability 283

12.5: with a Mission 285
12.5.1: Social Enterprise 286
12.5.2: Competing Successfully 287
12.5.3: Mission and Trust 289

Conclusion: Corporate Social Responsibility 290

Case: Starbucks and Fair Trade Coffee

Case: Timberland and Community Service

Case: Coca-Cola’s Water Use in India

13 Governance, Accountability,
and Compliance 297

Case: Fraud at WorldCom 297

13.1: Corporate Governance 299
13.1.1: Shareholder Control 300
13.1.2: The Shareholders’ Contract 303
13.1.3: Shareholders and Stakeholders 305

13.2: Corporate Accountability 307
13.2.1: Financial Reporting 307
13.2.2: Executives and Directors 310
13.2.3: Criminal Prosecution 312

13.3: Corporate Compliance 313
13.3.1: Program Components 314
13.3.2: Program Benefits 314
13.3.3: Federal Sentencing Guidelines 315
13.3.4: Codes of Ethics 317

Conclusion: Governance, Accountability,
and Compliance 319

Case: Sears Auto Centers

Case: Shareholder Rights at Cracker Barrel

Case: The Sale of Trans Union

ix

issues and the arguments for them are taken from a wide
variety of sources, including economics and the law. The
study of ethical issues in business is not confined to a sin-
gle academic discipline or even to the academic world. The
issues selected for discussion are widely debated by legis-
lators, judges, government regulators, business leaders,
journalists, and, indeed, virtually everyone with an inter-
est in business.

An underlying assumption of this course is that ethi-
cal theory is essential for a full understanding of the posi-
tions and arguments offered on the main issues in business
ethics. Fortunately, the amount of theory needed is rela-
tively small, and much of the discussion of these issues
can be understood apart from the theoretical foundation
provided here. The text also contains a substantial amount
of legal material, not only because the law addresses
many ethical issues but also because management deci-
sion making must take account of the relevant law. Many
examples are used throughout the text in order to explain
points and show the relevance of the discussion to real-life
business practice.

New to the Edition
Preparation of the eighth edition of Ethics and the Conduct
of has provided an opportunity to incorporate
new developments and to increase its value in the class-
room. The major changes from the previous edition are as
follows:

• Chapter 5 on business information has been expanded
to provide greater coverage on confidential information
and the duty of confidentiality.

• Chapter 6 on privacy has been expanded to include
more on the protection of both employee and consumer
privacy against intrusions, especially from advances in
technology.

• The section on product safety has been moved from
Chapter 10 on marketing and advertising to the cover-
age of worker health and safety in Chapter 9. This
change has allowed expanded treatment in Chapter 10
of emerging issues in marketing and advertising, espe-
cially those related to the use of social media and data
analysis, which have been facilitated by the Internet.

• Chapter 12 on corporate social responsibility includes
a new section on the recent development of for-profit
businesses, known as social enterprises, which operate
with a mission to deliver vital social services.

T
he eighth edition of Ethics and the Conduct of Busi-
ness has reached two significant milestones. The
first achievement, which is obvious to anyone read-

ing these words, is the transition to digital media. Through
Pearson’s online platform REVEL, this text offers not only
a new mobile reading experience—on computers, tablets,
and even smartphones—but also a new approach to learn-
ing, with many interactive features, videos, quizzes, and
other educational tools. REVEL creates a new frontier in
education for both students and instructors. It is exciting
for us, as authors, to be pioneer participants in this promis-
ing and innovative endeavor.

Users of previous editions will also note the appear-
ance of a coauthor, Jeffery D. Smith. His collaboration in
the eighth edition not only brings a fresh perspective to
what is now a joint venture but also prepares for the future
of this classic text, which first appeared more than 20 years
ago. Under Jeffery’s guidance, Ethics and the Conduct of
will hopefully continue to remain current and rel-
evant through many new editions.

The eight editions of Ethics and the Conduct of
have followed the development of the field of business
ethics, which has grown in recent decades into an interdis-
ciplinary area of study that has found a secure niche in
both liberal arts and business education. Credit for this
development belongs to many individuals—both philoso-
phers and business scholars—who have succeeded in
relating ethical theory to the various problems of ethics
that arise in business. They have shown not only that busi-
ness is a fruitful subject for philosophical exploration but
also that future managers in the world of business can ben-
efit from the results.

Ethics and the Conduct of , eighth edition, is a
comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of the most
prominent issues in the field of business ethics and the
major positions and arguments on these issues. It is
intended to be used as a text in business ethics courses on
either the undergraduate or M.B.A. level. The substantial
number of cases included provides ample opportunity for
a case-study approach or a combined lecture–discussion
format. There has been no attempt to develop a distinctive
ethical system or to argue for specific conclusions. The
field of business ethics is marked by reasonable disagree-
ment that should be reflected in any good text for a course.

The focus of Ethics and the Conduct of is pri-
marily on ethical issues that corporate decision makers
face in developing policies about employees, customers,
investors, and the general public. The positions on these

Preface

x Preface

have benefited from the support of the Banta Center for
, Ethics and Society and my colleagues at the Uni-
versity of Redlands. For everyone there I am grateful. My
thanks also go to DePauw University’s Prindle Institute
for Ethics for hosting me as the Nancy Schaenen Visiting
Scholar while portions of the eighth edition were written.
And I also owe so much to my lovely wife, Rita, who pro-
vides support when I need it most and continues to keep
me grounded.

John R. Boatright

Jeffery D. Smith

I, John Boatright, would like to express my gratitude
for permission to use material from the following sources:

John R. Boatright, Ethics in , 2nd ed. (Malden,
MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2008), copyright © 1999,
2008 by John R. Boatright; Ethics in , 3rd ed.
(Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2014), copyright © 2014
by John Wiley & Sons, by permission of the publisher.

John R. Boatright, “Financial Services,” in Michael
Davis and Andrew Stark, eds., Conflict of Interest in the
Professions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999),
copyright © 1999 by John R. Boatright.

John R. Boatright, “Corporate Governance,” Ency-
clopedia of Applied Ethics, 2nd ed., Ruth Chadwick, ed.
(Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2011), by permission of the
publisher.

John R. Boatright, “The Shareholder Model of
Corporate Governance,” in Robert W. Kolb, ed., Ency-
clopedia of Ethics and Society (Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications, 2008), by permission of the
publisher.

• The Chapter 13 section on corporate governance has been
completely rewritten for greater clarity and coherence.

• The eighth edition contains 58 short cases, including 12
new ones on such subjects as a falsified résumé at
Yahoo, conflict of interest at Goldman Sachs, a firing at
Google for blogging, profiling of Internet visitors by a
major bank, variable pricing strategies in grocery stores,
Herbalife’s unusual multilevel marketing scheme,
Coca-Cola’s water use in India, and bribery by Walmart
executives in Mexico.

Acknowledgments
I, John Boatright, am grateful for the support of Loyola
University Chicago and especially the Quinlan School of
. I have benefited from the resources of the Raymond
C. Baumhart, S.J., Chair in Ethics, which was
created to honor a former president of Loyola University
Chicago, who was also a pioneer in the field of business
ethics. To Ray Baumhart I owe a special debt of gratitude. I
am grateful as well to Jeffery Smith for graciously accept-
ing my offer to become a coauthor of this edition and my
ultimate successor in the preparation of future editions.
Finally, my deepest expression of appreciation goes to my
wife, Claudia, whose affection, patience, and support have
been essential for the preparation of the eighth edition, as
they were for the ones previous.

It goes without saying that I, Jeffery Smith, am excited
to work with John Boatright on this important project and
appreciate his generous offer to continue our collaboration
on future editions. I hope to maintain the clarity, depth,
and even-handedness that have made earlier editions so
valuable to students and instructors. For over a decade, I

xi

Jeffery D. Smith is the Boeing Frank Shrontz Chair of Pro-
fessional Ethics and Professor of Management in the
Albers School of and Economics at Seattle Uni-
versity, teaching ethics to management, accounting and
finance students. He currently serves on the executive
board of the Society for Ethics and the editorial
board of the international journal of the Society,
Ethics Quarterly. He is the editor of Normative Theory and
Ethics (2008) and has published in a variety of
business and philosophy journals. He received his Ph.D.
from the University of Minnesota.

John R. Boatright is the Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J., Pro-
fessor of Ethics in the Quinlan School of
at Loyola University Chicago. He has served as the Execu-
tive Director of the Society for Ethics, and is a
past president of the Society. He was recognized by the
Society in 2012 for a “Career of Outstanding Service to the
Field of Ethics.” He is the author of the book Eth-
ics in , and has edited Ethics: Critical Issues
in Theory and Practice. He serves on the editorial boards of
Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Ethics, and
and Society Review. He received his Ph.D. in phi-
losophy from the University of Chicago.

About the Authors

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1

Learning Objectives

1.1 Identify ethical issues created by diverse
business situations and relationships and
the level of decision making required to
address them

1.2 Recognize the role of ethics in the conduct
of business, with respect to economic
principles and the law

1.3 Distinguish between ethical management
and the management of ethics, and each of
the three main roles of a manager

1.4 Analyze how ethical business conduct is
challenged by decision making on
individual and organizational levels

Chapter 1

Ethics in the World of

Case: Merck and the
Marketing of Vioxx
On September 30, 2004, Merck & Co. announced the with-

drawal of Vioxx, its highly profitable pain reliever for arthritis

sufferers, from the market.1 This announcement came only

seven days after company researchers found in a clinical trial

that subjects who used Vioxx more than 18 months had a sub-

stantially higher incidence of heart attacks. Merck chairman

and CEO Raymond V. Gilmartin described the action as “the

responsible thing to do.” He explained, “It’s built into the prin-

ciples of the company to think in this fashion. That’s why the

management team came to such an easy conclusion.”2 In the

lawsuits that followed, however, damaging documents

emerged casting doubt on Merck’s claim that it had acted

responsibly by taking appropriate precautions in the develop-

ment and marketing of the drug.

Development of Vioxx

For decades, Merck’s stellar reputation rested on the company’s

emphasis on science-driven research and development. Merck

employed some of the world’s most talented and best-paid

researchers and led other pharmaceutical firms in the publica-

tion of scientific articles and the discovery of new medicines for

the treatment of serious conditions that lacked satisfactory ther-

apies. For seven consecutive years in the 1980s, Merck was

ranked by Fortune magazine as America’s most respected com-

pany. Merck received widespread accolades in particular for the

decision, made in 1978, to proceed with research on a drug for

preventing river blindness (onchocerciasis), which is a debilitat-

ing parasite infection that afflicts many in Africa, even though the

drug was unlikely to pay for itself. Eventually, Merck decided to

give away the drug, called Mectizan, for as long as necessary at

a cost of tens of millions of dollars per year. This kind of princi-

pled decision making was inspired by the words of George W.

Merck, the son of the company’s founder: “We try never to forget

that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits

follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed

to appear. The better we have remembered it, the larger they

have been.”

Vioxx is an example of Merck’s innovative research. Devel-

oped as a treatment for the pain of arthritis, the drug acts as an

anti-inflammant by suppressing an enzyme responsible for ar-

thritis pain. Other drugs in the class of nonsteroidal anti-inflam-

matory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit the production of two enzymes

COX-1 and COX-2. However, COX-1 is important for protecting

the stomach lining, and so ulcers and stomach bleeding are

potential side effects of these drugs. The distinctive benefit of

Vioxx over other NSAID pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil)

and naproxen (Aleve), is that it inhibits the production of only the

COX-2 enzyme, and not COX-1. After approval by the Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) in May 1999, Vioxx quickly became

a popular best seller. More than 20 million people took Vioxx

between 1999 and 2004, and at the time of the withdrawal, with

2 million users, Merck was earning $2.5 billion annually or 11 per-

cent of the company’s total revenues from the sale …