Unethical Practices in Johnson and Johnson: A Case Study

Johnson and Johnson
Taking the Pain Away

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Part- 1...............................................................................................................................................3
A) Report.........................................................................................................................................3
Ethical issues faced in company.................................................................................................3
Role of business in society..........................................................................................................4
Stakeholders affected by unethical practices and how................................................................5
Examples of good and bad ethics................................................................................................5
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................6
B) Discussion on two ethical theories..............................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9
Part-2..............................................................................................................................................10
Reflective essay.........................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
For an organisation to survive sustainably over a long period of time in the market it is
important that ethical practices and code of conduct are followed in the operations and functions
of business. Business ethics are the written or unwritten codes of morals, values and principles
which governs the decisions of company so that they can produce goods and services which can
help in maximising the interests of all the stakeholders (Edens, Petrila and Kelley, 2018). Ethical
practices in business ensure increased productivity and profitability along with enhanced trust of
its stakeholders so that it can continue to survive in the market in an efficient manner. In this
report the unethical practices which are followed in Johnson and Johnson which is an American
multinational corporation established in 1886 and deals in medical devices, pharmaceuticals,
consumer goods etc. will be discussed. The various types of issues faced by the company
because of its unethical practices will be discussed along with certain recommendations so that
ethical practices can increase. Further ethical ethical theories will also be discussed which can be
applied in company. In the second part of report a reflection will be produced so that ethical
practices that can be applied in business will be discussed.
Part- 1
A) Report
It is important that ethical code of conduct is followed by businesses so that they can
make ethical decisions which can help in making better decisions so that interest of all its
stakeholders can be maximised which also help in increasing its profitability in market. Ethics
are also important as it help in preventing the business from legal issues, increasing the trust of
its customers, improving its brand image in market etc. so that its productivity can increase.
Ethical issues faced in company
Johnson and Johnson is an American multinational corporation which is headquartered in
New Jersey, US and deals in a variety of products like pharmaceuticals, medical devices,
healthcare equipments etc. The company was founded in 1886 and is one of the world's most
valuable companies with over 132,200 employees and revenue of over $82.059 billion in the
year 2019. The company is facing an ethical issue regarding its false and dangerous sales
campaign that caused addition and death of many people in America thereby leading to opioid
crisis. An estimate of 1.7 million people in US suffered from substance use disorders related to

prescription of opioid pain relievers. The company faced a fine of $572 million to the state of
Oklahoma so as to mitigate the losses faced by the state. As the opioids are very profitable drugs
for Johnson and Johnson which lead to increasing its marketing campaigns related with increased
sales of this drug as a better pain killer along with not being addictive. The company also
manipulated the scientific findings related with drugs and persuaded doctors in increasing the
prescription of opioids. This lead to increased addiction among people leading to their deaths
thereby causing an opioid epidemic (Williams, 2017).
Role of business in society
The main role of a business is to produce and make available goods and services to the
customers which can help in satisfying their needs along with increasing the profitability of
business. It is also important that businesses follow ethical code of conduct and bring
innovations in their products and services so that they can fulfil the changing demands of
customers. The ethical issue which has been identified in Johnson and Johnson is regarding its
false claims regarding their opioid drugs which lead to opioid crisis and also a large number of
deaths in US. It is important that the ethical challenges faced during marketing drugs are
identified so that effective actions can be taken and accurate information is made available to
customers. Some of the the challenges identified are drug safety, pricing, data disclosure, clinical
study design etc. which were manipulated by the company leading to adverse effects on its
customers. Leading to the opioid crisis which has claimed more than 400,000 lives the company
has faced many legal actions with about $572 million claimed by the Oklahoma government. It
has also affected the public image of company leading to a decrease in trust of stakeholders in
the decisions of company. It is therefore important that ethical decisions are made in company
which can help in achieving customer satisfaction along with increasing profits of company
(Johnson, Finlayson, and Woodruff, 2017).
It is important that the company find alternatives so that it can improve its image in
market and regain trust of its stakeholders like finding alternatives of opioid which can be used
in painkillers along with improving its marketing campaigns so that true facts can be made
available to customers. The company can also take help of research trails so as to prove the
accuracy of drugs being used by customers so that they can be provided with medicines which
can help in improving the ailments of patients rather than deteriorating their conditions. Also the