Readings

Assignment 3: Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the Workplace and the World
Due Week 7 and worth 250 points

PharmaCARE (We CARE about YOUR health®) is one of the world’s most successful pharmaceutical companies, enjoying a reputation as a caring, ethical and well-run company that produces high-quality products that save millions of lives and enhance the quality of life for millions of others (Note: PharmaCARE is a hypothetical company that you will to compare to a real company as noted in the assignment criteria below). The company offers free and discounted drugs to low-income consumers, has a foundation that sponsors healthcare educational programs and scholarships, and its CEO serves on the PhRMA board. PharmaCARE recently launched a new initiative, We CARE about YOUR world®, pledging its commitment to the environment through recycling, packaging changes and other green initiatives, despite the fact that the company’s lobbying efforts and PAC have successfully defeated environmental laws and regulations, including extension of the Superfund tax, which was created by Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Based in New Jersey, PharmaCARE maintains a large manufacturing facility in the African nation of Colberia, where the company has found several “healers” eager to freely share information about indigenous cures and an abundance of Colberians willing to work for $1.00 a day, harvesting plants by walking five (5) miles into and out of the jungle carrying baskets that, when full, weigh up to fifty (50) pounds. Due to the low standard of living in Colberia, much of the population lives in primitive huts with no electricity or running water. PharmaCARE’s executives, however, live in a luxury compound, complete with a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a golf course. PharmaCARE’s extensive activities in Colberia have destroyed habitat and endangered native species.

In preparation for this assignment, use the Internet or Strayer Library to research companies that have recently experienced negative consequences as a result of the company’s corporate activities. Compare the facts and consequences surrounding the companies you have researched to PharmaCare to support your response(s) to the criteria below.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Describe the key characteristics of a stakeholder and determine all the stakeholders within the PharmaCARE scenario.
2. Analyze the human rights issues presented by PharmaCARE’s treatment of the Colberia’s indigenous population versus that of its executives. Recommend at least three (3) changes PharmaCARE can make to be more ethical going forward.
3. Assess PharmaCARE’s environmental initiative against the backdrop of its anti-environmental lobbying efforts and Colberian activities. Support the position.
4. Decide whether or not PharmaCARE’s actions with respect to the indigenous people of Colberia would be ethical in accordance with each of the following ethical theories:
   1. Utilitarianism
   2. Deontology
   3. Virtue ethics
   4. Ethics of care
   5. Your own moral / ethical compass
5. Compare PharmaCARE’s actions with those of at least one (1) real-world company, whose corporate activities led to ethical, environmental, or workplace safety issues and financial loss. Analyze the similarities and differences between PharmaCARE and the company that you chose.
6. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia is not an acceptable reference and proprietary Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze and evaluate laws that protect against discrimination in the workplace.
• Examine and assess employee rights to health and safety in the workplace.
• Analyze environmental protection laws and assess their impact on organizations.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in law, ethics, and corporate governance.
• Write clearly and concisely about law, ethics, and corporate governance using proper writing mechanics.

Experiment 2. Gas Chromatographic Analysis of Gasolines

 

Introduction

In this experiment, you will analyze samples of gasoline by gas chromatography. From your analysis, you should learn something about the composition of these fuels. Although all gasolines are compounded from the same basic hydrocarbon components, each company blends these components in different proportions in order to obtain a gasoline with properties similar to those of competing brands. 

Sometimes the composition of the gasoline may vary depending on the composition of the crude petroleum from which the gasoline was derived. Frequently, refineries vary the composition of gasoline in response to differences in climate or seasonal changes or environmental concerns. In the winter or in cold climates, the relative proportion of butane and pentane isomers is increased to improve the volatility of the fuel. This increased volatility permits easier starting. In the summer or in the warm climates, the relative proportion of these volatile hydrocarbons is reduced. The decreased volatility reduces the possibility of vapor-lock formation. Occasionally, differences in composition can be detected by examining the gas chromatograms of a particular gasoline over several months. In this experiment, we do not try to detect such small differences. 

There are different octane rating requirements for “regular” and “premium” gasolines. You may be able to observe differences in the composition of these two types of fuels. You should pay particular attention to increases in the proportions of those hydrocarbons that raise octane ratings in the premium fuels. 

In some areas of the country, manufactures are required from November to February to control the amounts of carbon monoxide produced when the gasoline burns. To do this, they add oxygenates, such as ethanol or methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), to the gasoline. You should try to observe the presence of these oxygenates, which may be observed in gasolines produced in carbon monoxide-containment areas. 

The class will analyze samples of regular unleaded, premium unleaded, and super unleaded. If available, the class will analyze oxygenated fuels. If different brands are analyzed, equivalent grades from the different companies should be compared. 

Discount service stations usually buy their gasoline from one of the large petroleum-refining companies. If you analyze gasoline from a discount service station, you may find it interesting to compare that gasoline with an equivalent grade from a major supplier, noting particularly the similarities. 

 

Required Reading

“Technique 15 ‘Gas Chromatography’” Handout

“Essay ‘Petroleum and Fossil Fuels’”

 

Waste Disposal

Dispose of all gasoline samples in the container designated for nonhalogenated wastes. 

 

Procedure

Reference Mixture

First, analyze a standard mixture that includes pentane, hexane (or hexanes), heptane, toluene, and xylenes (a mixture of meta, para, and ortho isomers). Inject a 0.5-μL sample into the gas chromatograph, or use an alternative sample size as indicated by your instructor. Measure the retention time of each component in the reference mixture on your chromatogram (Technique 15, handout). The previously listed compounds elute in the order given (pentane first and xylenes last). Compare your chromatogram to the one posted near the gas chromatograph or the one reproduced in this experiment. 

The special microliter syringes used in the experiment are very delicate and expensive. Pay close attention to all instructions given before attempting to use the syringe, if you do not feel comfortable performing the injection yourself your lab instructor or a lab assistant may aid you. 

 

Oxygenated Fuel Reference Mixture

Oxygenated compounds are added to gasolines in carbon monoxide-containment areas during the months of November through February. Currently, ethanol and methyl tert-butyl ether are in most common use. Your instructor may have available a reference mixture that includes all the previously listed compounds and either ethanol or methyl tert-butyl ether. Again, you need to inject a sample of this mixture and analyze the chromatogram to obtain the retention times for each component in this mixture. 

 

 

 

Gasoline Samples

Inject a sample of a regular unleaded, premium unleaded, super unleaded, or oxygenated gasoline into the gas chromatograph and wait for the gas chromatogram to be recorded. Compare the chromatogram to the reference mixture. Determine the retention times for the major components and identify as many of the components as possible. For comparison, gas chromatograms of a premium unleaded gasoline and the reference mixture are shown below. A list of the major components in gasolines is also shown. Notice that the oxygenate methyl tert-butyl ether appears in the C6 region. Does your oxygenated fuel show this component? See if you can notice a difference between regular and premium unleaded gasolines. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analysis

Be certain to compare very carefully the retention times of the components in each fuel sample with the standards in the reference mixture. Retention times of compounds vary with the conditions under which they are determined. It is best to analyze the reference mixture and each of the gasoline samples in succession to reduce the variations in retention times that may occur over time. Compare the gas chromatograms with those of students who have analyzed gasolines from other dealers. 

 

Report

Your results section should include a copy of the actual gas chromatograms as well as an identification of as many of the components in each chromatogram as possible. Perform a percentage composition analysis for both the reference mixture and your gasoline samples. Use the triangulation method. Present your results neatly and discuss them intellectually in the conclusion of your lab. 

 

 

 

 Add the photos in the attachment in the result sction.