Management Across Cultures

Management across Cultures

Research Paper

Quentin Dane

Sarah Berberich

MT3400

8/21/2016

1. Do pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to distribute drugs for free or at low cost in developing countries? What are the main arguments for and against such an approach?

Yes

The high costs of prices in developed countries and other third world countries will cater for research and marketing costs incurred by pharmaceutical companies. The move of having low cost drugs or free drugs will not comprise returns because they will have saved from sales in other developed countries. Firms do give back to communities as a marketing strategy. Pharmaceutical companies will distribute drugs to developing countries majorly found in Africa at low cost or free not on profit grounds but on humanitarian grounds to help solve the roaming epidemic (Bonita de Boer, 2005).

The high cost pricing if left to developing countries, the affected population or the government will not manage thus the drugs will not serve the purpose. As indicated by the classical example of Kenya, AIDs patients wait for death as opposed to medication which they cannot afford due to high prices.  

Developing countries are marred with incidences of low income populations as reflected in a number of issues with many unable to pay for bed charges. Developing countries have strained economies of scale that will not support the AIDS and other top most diseases epidemic making them vulnerable for low cost or free drugs from pharmaceutical companies.  AIDS/HIV epidemic is worrying in the developing countries prompting pharmaceutical companies to act in manufacturing low-generic drugs. To combat developing countries from manufacturing generic against the regulation, pharmaceuticals ought to subsidize their drugs (Anup, 2010).

It’s the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to distribute drugs for free or at low costs in developing countries to avoid strained resistances of the diseases to drugs as a result of irregular dosage. High costs will result to inability to purchase leading to build up resistance to users. Although the cost of manufacturing drugs is implicit of time and resource with some taking up to ten or more years of research, the return will not be matched with roaming crisis of the diseases epidemic. It is treated as an emergence with developed countries sponsoring part of the costs aimed at the good of developing countries (Jennifer, 2003).

The poor have no consumer power thus are faced with death as a possibility. The infected are advised on burial costs rather than drugs because they cannot afford drugs in the first place. It’s clear that developed countries have per capital income potency that cannot be matched with developing countries. The control is probable in developed counties because of the economic potency but in developing countries improbable. World Health Organization agitates for health nations with agreements of understanding aimed at developed countries setting aside resources to support developing countries on matters of health with some diseases treated as emergence (Anup, 2010).