You are the Procurement Manager of a large hospital within the Bright Road Health Care System, and you are faced with a dilemma. Upon hearing about a pharmaceutical company discontinuing a popular cancer treatment drug, you made several large purchases to stockpile the drug. A rival hospital ran out of the same drug, and is now asking you to give some of the drug to them, as they have a cancer patient in the middle of treatment. You must make a recommendation to the CEO on whether to provide some of your supply of the cancer treatment drug to the rival hospital or not; you will speak with hospital staff and Board members in order to gather information to make an informed recommendation. You need to consider the good of the individual vs. the community, public relations for the hospital, humanitarian aspects, the future costs of the medicine and whether or not substitutes are available, and the future needs of your hospital when making a decision.
This scenario illustrates the importance of taking a holistic approach when making business decisions. Seldom are decisions “black and white”. More than likely, the decisions will include “shades of gray”. Not only do we, as an operations professional, have a duty and obligation to consider the business implications associated with our decisions, we also need to take into consideration the political, social, and, yes, the ethical consequences. Have you ever heard someone allege that the decisions made by someone else were unethical or illegal? Many times, people will use illegal and unethical interchangeably when, in fact, these are two distinct concepts. Someone may strongly disagree with another’s decision, and then conclude it must be illegal—after all how could it not be illegal, since it is just plain wrong.
It is equally likely that someone will characterize a decision as unethical when it conflicts with their personal values and sense of right and wrong. When there is an ethical dilemma and no consensus can be reached, it can lead to the passage of laws and subsequent regulation. In other words, when an impasse exists regarding an ethical dilemma, legislators may propose a bill and if signed into law will legally resolve the ethical question. This doesn’t necessarily resolve the debate on whether a matter is ethical or not. For example, abortion is a highly charged topic with “pro-lifers” are on one side and “pro-choice” on the other. While the law permits abortions, the debate rages on. One’s ethical ethos influences the decision-making process.
Based on their observations, in this scenario, and upon a careful review of the available literature, the student is to consider him- or herself to be the Procurement Manager for XYZ Hospital within the Bright Road Health Care System. The student is to create a formal recommendation to Mr. Hines, the CEO, suggesting how best to proceed, in this scenario, and include a supporting rationale. As a reminder, the student must make a decision whether to provide some of the hospital’s supply of the cancer drug to the rival hospital, Steep Acres Hospital, or not. To make an informed recommendation, you will need to speak with key stakeholders such as hospital staff and Board members. You need to consider the good of the individual vs. the community, public relations for the hospital, humanitarian aspects, the future costs of the medicine and whether or not substitutes are available, and the future needs of your hospital when making your recommendation.
PLEASE write in your words and include 3 in text citations and references
You can also explore more resources on our website.
