Reflect upon your ethical beliefs by responding True or False to the following statements.

Behaviors are considered moral if they produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Right or wrong actions should be judged solely by their consequences, not by their intent.

People should seek to maximize the total good of their actions even when this means ethical rules are violated.

Rules are designed to produce good consequences.

Motives are important when judging ethical behavior.

People should use a standardized process when making ethical decisions.

When people confront a difficult decision, their values or morals should guide their actions.

Ethical behaviors are the result of societal roles and conforming to societal expectations.

An evaluation of ethical practices should consider differences in the values, opinions, and beliefs of others.

Managers should consider the social impact of their decisions.

Asked why the company invested so much money in developing, manufacturing, and distributing a drug that made no money, Vagelos replied in an interview that once the company thought that one of its animal drugs might cure a severe human disease, the only ethical choice was to develop it. Moreover, he said that people would remember how Merck helped them.* He claimed that the company had learned how these actions have strategically important long-term advantages. "When I first went to Japan fifteen years ago, I was told by Japanese business people that it was Merck that brought Streptomycin to Japan after World War II to eliminate tuberculosis. We didn't make any money, but it's no accident that Merck is the largest American pharmaceutical company in Japan today."*

1. Why was Merck hesitant about developing a human version of ivermectin?
2. What were the benefits and costs of developing a human version of ivermectin?
3. Why did Dr. P. Roy Vagelos and his team ultimately decide to develop a human version of ivermectin?
4. How do you think Merck's investments in the human version of ivermectin create value for its stakeholders and corporate goodwill?