BBM208/05 Business Ethics

BBM208/05 Business Ethics

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Talc  is  a  natural  mineral,  formed  in  underground  deposits  under  the  same geological conditions as asbestos. In mines, veins of asbestos can intermingle with talc, geologists say.Johnson  &  Johnson  officials  emphasized  on  Friday  that  the  level  of  asbestos detected  was  very  low,  just  a  fraction  of  1 percent of  the  sample. United  States health  agencies,  however,  say  there  is  no  known  safe  level  of  exposure  to asbestos.While  health  risks  increase  with  heavier  and  longer  exposure  to  asbestos,  the overall evidence suggests no level of asbestos exposure is safe, and disease has been found in people with only brief exposures, according to the National Cancer Institute.Several  earlier  F.D.A.  tests,  including  one  in  the  past  year  and  another  about  a decade ago, did not detect any asbestos in samples of baby powder.The  F.D.A.  does  not  require  safety  testing  for  personal-care  products  and cosmetics before they are marketed, and tests products only occasionally, usually after complaints by consumers or advocacy groups.The  agency  considered —and  soon  abandoned —a  plan  to  monitor  talcum products for asbestos in the 1970s, when concern about asbestos in household products  captured  the  public’s  attention.  The  F.D.A.  commissioned  tests  of Johnson & Johnson powdersback then, and the company successfully challenged their validity.This year, after consumer tests found asbestos in makeup kits for children sold at Claire’s, the F.D.A. followed up with its own tests. It detected the carcinogen in half of  20  products, including Claire’s eye shadow and compact powder, JoJo Siwa makeup sold at Claire’s, and bronzers, blush and other makeup made by Beauty Plus  Global  City  Color  Cosmetics  and  sold  in  retail  outlets.  The  products  were eventually recalled.The agency plans to test 30 more products containing talcum powder, including those  popular  on  social  media  and  others  marketed  to  children,  Ms.  Sánchez-Contreras said. The products are a tiny percentage of the thousands of personal-care products available for sale.Questions:1.Although Johnson & Johnson took a massive short-term loss as a result of its actions to recalled 33,000 bottles of the baby powder, it was cushioned by therelative wealth of the company.If the survival of the company is at stake, in your opinion, provide reason(s) as whether the company should have acted the same way.2.Dr. Susan Nicholson, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of women’s health, said  during  a  short  conference  call  with  investors on Friday that the F.D.A.’s report showed “an extremely unusual finding” that was “inconsistent with our testing to date.”Provide  reason(s)  on  whether  there  was  a  moral  imperative  to  recall  all Johnson & Johnson baby powder.(25 marks)3.Determine the moral minimum required of the company in this case. Provide your opinion on whether it would favor some stakeholders more than others. If so, provide your defense in balancing the interests of some stakeholders more than others4.Imagine  that  an  under-developed  country  volunteers  to  take  the  recalled product. Its representatives make assurances that all the baby powder will be visually inspected and random samples taken before distribution.Provide   your   argument   whether   it   would   that   be   appropriate   in   these circumstances or that it would have been a better solution than destroying all remaining baby powder bottles