Drug Companies Monopolies, Profits and Ethics Essay

Drug Companies Monopolies, Profits and Ethics - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that in this present era, consumers are forced to spend a huge amount of money for buying prescribed and brand-name drugs. This is because all big pharmaceutical companies are allowed to charge whatever they want from the consumers. These companies possess the patent rights due to which they can easily stop the competition in the market and can set the price at its highest level. The drug companies’ monopolies refer to the situation where big companies are controlling the sale of the brand-name drugs. These drugs are becoming the most expensive component of the health care expenses. According to the research, Americans are now spending more than $500 billion annually to buy prescription drugs. These monopolies can be categorized as the government made monopolies. Actually, whenever the big pharmaceutical giant makes a new drug, it applies to the government to possess the patent right. And after getting the patent, the company gets th e right to become the sole seller of that drug for a specific time period. The researcher states that this allows companies to charge maximum prices for the patented drug and, as a result, the company can generate immense profit. These higher prices enable companies to recover its R&D cost for that particular product and also allow companies to focus on further research. But due to this monopoly, consumers have to pay a large amount of money for buying that product.... The most common price increase was related to the three types of drugs including anti-infective, cardiovascular and central nervous system drugs (Hoskins, 2012). Patents make monopoly in drug companies Patents are intellectual property rights and this is granted by the government to the company for the purpose of preventing others to copy its new invention. In the drug industry, the patent is given to the brand-name drug companies to stop competitors from selling, making or importing that particular drug. These types of restriction cause monopoly in the drug industry as few companies are controlling the sale of the drugs. This also leads to higher prices due to decreased competition. Pharmaceutical companies can easily take patent right for 20 years based on different aspects of innovative drugs. The World Health Organization program which was based on essential drugs indicated that patented drugs can only be marketed under the proprietor’s brand and this leads to more monopol ies which increase price pressure on the consumers and results in generating higher profits for the drug industries (Elliot et al., ?2002). Drugs are available at lower prices in developing countries Developing countries and underdeveloped economies make similar expensive medicines with generic or alternative sources. The major reason is that the purchasing power of the consumer in these areas is very low and they cannot afford high-priced medicine. The prices of these drugs are much lesser than the original one. Moreover, they can produce the same drug with such ingredients that are not healthy but are cheap. Sometimes, they find out local herbal ingredients to make similar medicines. These medicines give relief to patients for a very short time period (Angell?, 2004). They can also import

Human Resource, Development of Employment Packages Essay

Human Resource, Development of Employment Packages - Essay Example At this level of annual income, he will be able to maintain his cost of living in Texas. This salary will be complemented with a benefit plan comprised of employee assistance program; basic life, long term disability, and personal accident insurance; medical and dental care plans; time-offs; and a retirement plan. He will also be given company sponsored trainings and programs to further his skills and competencies. The incentive plan will make him eligible for year-end bonuses, profit sharing, and salary increases. In this business organization, employees have always been considered as strategic partners who help it achieve all its corporate objectives and goals. In line with the company's goal of motivating its employees to excel in their given positions, it is very important to create a compensation package, incentive plan, and benefits plan which looks at the needs and preference of the human resource. However, the company also needs to balance with its goals of profitability. Higher salary, incentive, and benefits for employees mean allocating a huge portion of the company's revenue to cover its costs. The aforementioned considerations have been the major foundation of the compensation package, incentive plan, and benefit plan drafted for James Richard. ... It should be noted James graduated from an accredited university in the United States and had accepted an entry-level engineering job in a manufacturing firm in San Antonio Texas and stayed there for five years. His interview with us shows his high level of knowledge and skills together with his commitment and responsibility in his previous job. Thus, the company we would like to hire him as we see his great potential and his productivity. The compensation package will be based on the average compensation of electrical engineers in the United States, the difference between the cost of living in San Antonio, Texas and here in Illinois, and the perceived value of James Richard for the company. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2005), electrical engineers have an average hourly rate of $36.57 and an average annual salary of $76, 060. The lowest paid electrical engineers get $22.96 per hour while the highest paid ones get as high as $53.16 per hour. On the other hand, the annual wage ranges from $47,750 to $110,570. It should also be noted that according to the survey, Texas is one of the top five states which pays the highest to its employees. Electrical engineers in Texas are paid $40.47 hourly wage and have an annual mean wage of $84,180. It is assumed that James Richard is earning the average wage which is $84, 180. Furthermore, the cost of living in Chicago, Illinois is 16.5% higher than in San Antonio, Texas (Salary.com 2007). In order to maintain his current cost of living, he will need to find a job which pays $98,091. However, it should be noted that employers in Illinois typically 13.2% more than in Texas which means that if