- Think about the definition of stakeholders—any parties with a stake in the orga-
nization’s actions or performance. Who are the stakeholders in this situation?
How many can you list? On what basis would you rank them in importance?
- What are the potential costs and benefits of such an investment?
- If a safe and effective drug could be developed, the prospect of Merck’s recoup-
ing its investment was almost zero. Could Merck justify such an investment to
shareholders and the financial community? What criteria would be needed to
help them make such a decision?
- If Merck decided not to conduct further research, how would it justify such a
decision to its scientists? How might the decision to develop the drug, or not to
develop the drug, affect employee loyalty?
- How would the media treat a decision to develop the drug? Not to develop the
drug? How might either decision affect Merck’s reputation?
- Think about the decision in terms of the CSR pyramid. Did Merck have an ethi-
cal obligation to proceed with development of the drug? Would it matter if the
drug had only a small chance to cure river blindness? Does it depend on how
close the company was to achieving a cure, or how sure they were that they could
achieve it? Or does this decision become a question of philanthropy only?
- How does Merck’s value system fit into this decision?
- If you were the senior executive of Merck, what would you do?
