Globalisation CSR Business Plan

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Globalization

GlaxoSmithKline

GSK is a British multinational pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company and it is the world's fourth-largest pharmaceutical company measured by sales (after Pfizer, Novartis, and Sanofi) and operates internationally with an enormous product mix. The company has been heavily investing in developing countries such as China. In July 2013, GSK confirmed that some of its senior Chinese executives appeared to have broken the law after police accused it of funnelling up to 3 billion yuan (approx. £323 million) to travel agencies to facilitate bribes to doctors to boost the sale of its medicines (Riley, 2013). In the last three years alone, pharmaceutical companies have been fined more than £13bn by authorities in the U.S. And now the focus is increasingly on the activities of "Big Pharma" in emerging markets (Riley, Business Ethics & CSR - GSK Promises to be Good, 2014).

GSK has produced similar ethical violations in the U.S. market. In 2012 GSK agreed to plead guilty to three criminal counts; two counts of introducing misbranded drugs Paxil and Wellbutrin, and one count of failing to report safety data about the drug Avandia to the Food and Drug Administration (Bohnwagner, 2013). After the conviction the company was forced to pay a settlement of 3.5 billion dollars to support the criminal and civil charges.
The courts had found beyond a responsible doubt that GSK had attempted to influence doctors by bribing the doctors so in turn the doctors would use their medications.

GSK was falsely advertising many of their products by leaving out or adding in false information in the United States market. For example, one of their products, Avandia (diabetes medication) was linked to an increase in heart attacks and congestive heart failure and GSK illegally marketed Avandia by paying doctors, and manipulating medical research to promote the drug (Bohnwagner, 2013). Furthermore, the company target children and teens for marketing of their drug Paxil (antidepressant), although it was not approved for patients under 18 in the U.S. market for this demographic. The pharmaceutical giant is also facing inquiries into similar allegations in Poland and Iraq and if the allegations are proved, GSK may have violated both the UK Bribery Act and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (BBC News, 2014).

The company has a long history of such practices. Sir Andrew Witty is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) whose role is stated as to lead….....

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