Question Assignment description
Selling Medical Ultrasound Technology in Asia Linda Trevino and Alessandro Gubbini A shocking moral dilemma arose for a younger engineer throughout his first enterprise journey to Asia to work with clients of his firm’s ultrasound imaging know-how. On the lengthy airplane journey, Pat was dutifully studying a journey e-book to be taught extra about Korean and Chinese language cultures when he was shocked to learn the way ultrasound applied sciences had been getting used in these international locations. A know-how that he had at all times thought-about to be a strategy to help folks by diagnosing illness was being generally used to deliberately determine and interrupt pregnancies when the fetus was feminine. As an engineer, Pat had been educated to be enthusiastic about innovation and downside fixing. He was used to desirous about these applied sciences as progressive high-tech options to severe well being issues. He was additionally dedicated to growing higher-quality, extra environment friendly, inexpensive units in order that they could possibly be used extra extensively. It had by no means occurred to him that in some Asian cultures, the place overpopulation mixed with a robust patriarchal tradition led to a choice for sons over daughters, this know-how that he thought-about to be progressive, useful, and supportive of individuals’s well-being is likely to be used to eradicate feminine lives. As ultrasound know-how has superior and turn out to be extra out there, it has been used extra extensively in selections to abort feminine fetuses in favor of sons. After some extra analysis, Pat discovered that this follow has turn out to be fairly frequent in China, which controls inhabitants progress by permitting households to have just one youngster. In India, feminine kids are extra expensive to households as a result of the tradition requires the household to bear the bills of their daughters’ weddings and dowries. By comparability, an ultrasound examination is a small expense even for these poor households. Pat was additional stunned to be taught that utilizing ultrasound know-how to determine fetus gender and abort the fetus based mostly upon gender info is illegal in most of those international locations (for instance, in India docs are forbidden from disclosing the intercourse of fetuses). Nonetheless, the enforcement of such legal guidelines is tough and spotty, particularly in clinics which can be far-off from cities and regulators. The issue is being exacerbated as a result of many ultrasound machines are being bought on the second-hand market, thus making ultrasound extra out there and extra inexpensive to those clinics. The rising use of the know-how to abort feminine fetuses is starting to create a large societal downside as a result of males are outnumbering females, distorting nature’s cautious gender steadiness. There are estimates that greater than 150 million ladies are ‘‘lacking’’ from the world as a results of sex-selective abortions and feminine infanticide. That’s equal to lacking each girl in America! The 2001 Indian census demonstrated a large drop in the variety of younger women relative to boys (927 women for each 1,000 boys in comparison with 945 to 100 a decade earlier), and the issue continues to worsen as the usage of ultrasound know-how will increase. In line with UNICEF, China now has solely 832 women for each 1,000 boys aged zero–four. Seeking to the long run as these kids develop up, some have predicted rising trafficking of ladies for prostitution and violent crime as younger males compete for the smaller variety of out there females. In pondering by what he had discovered, Pat discovered himself contemplating the sufferers, the health-care practitioners, and the health-care trade in addition to his firm, different know-how builders, and the broader cultures concerned. Sufferers profit from entry to life-saving applied sciences that may determine ailments at an early stage in order that they are often handled extra efficiently. However sufferers can be harmed if, as a result of early identification of their youngster’s gender, moms really feel compelled into abortions towards their will. In these cultures, many moms apparently do really feel compelled by cultural or household pressures to abort feminine fetuses. Medical practitioners profit from the power to do quicker and extra correct diagnoses, however they too may be pressured to make use of these programs for unethical functions. The trade and the builders (together with Pat’s firm) definitely revenue from the manufacturing and sale of extra of those merchandise. However the firm and trade danger sullying their reputations if they’re discovered accountable for promoting these programs to unauthorized customers for illegal functions. Think about what the media might make of that story. In line with a prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet (2006), the illegal use of diagnostic ultrasound applied sciences is contributing to an estimated 1 million abortions of feminine fetuses yearly. But, these diagnostic applied sciences nonetheless enormously profit society worldwide in saving and bettering the lives of many thousands and thousands of sufferers. How ought to Pat take into consideration this? Do the advantages to society of the know-how outweigh the harms? Even when they do, does the corporate need to be related to a follow that many individuals discover immoral and that’s unlawful in many international locations? Pat discovered this follow significantly distasteful when taking a look at it from the angle of the females who wouldn’t be born merely due to their gender. Pat questioned, is that this follow honest to them? And aren’t all of us facilitating the follow by wanting the opposite means? What would occur if such gender discrimination had been globally accepted as regular follow? May that ever be the fitting factor to do?’’ What would worldwide well being organizations such because the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medication and Biology (WFUMB), which offers coaching and training to docs worldwide, should say about such practices? Pat questioned what his spouse would assume if she knew that his work concerned this surprising consequence? Would she count on him to do one thing? What’s his particular person accountability right here? What’s his firm’s accountability? As a result of Pat felt so confused by what he had learn, and he didn’t absolutely perceive the authorized or cultural surroundings, he by no means talked about the topic to his Asian shoppers. Nevertheless it remained in the again of his thoughts. When he returned house, he saved desirous about it. There was no formal construction for him to floor the problem inside the firm, so he determined to debate the topic with some trusted colleagues. He questioned whether or not they had been conscious of the problem and what they may give it some thought. Had been they as bothered as he was? It seems that they had been as unaware of those practices as he had been. It additionally appeared extra distant to them as a result of that they had not traveled to Asia as he had, and there was no settlement about what to do. Engineers have a tendency to consider merchandise solely in technical phrases— the potential for technical flaws and risks which may hurt sufferers. They not often encounter the final word finish customers, and so they’re not educated to consider cultural implications. As a Westerner, all of this was significantly onerous for Pat to deal with. He was caught utterly off guard. He requested himself: What do I have to do, if something? I’m scheduled to return to those international locations to Help our shoppers’ use of our know-how, so I received’t have the ability to keep away from the problem for lengthy. It appears nearly ridiculous that I grew to become conscious of this situation by a journey e-book. If it hadn’t been for that e-book, I most likely by no means would have thought in regards to the situation in any respect. My firm had not ready me. It provided no particular coaching on cultural or moral points for workers they ship to work abroad. It appeared like the corporate’s values of offering folks with the chance for earlier diagnoses prevented us from exploring the potential misuse of our product. The corporate and trade concentrate on tips on how to develop applied sciences to determine life-threatening circumstances earlier, higher, and quicker. We like to consider ourselves and our applied sciences as saving lives, not risking them. The corporate’s said worth is to supply health-care options to sufferers worldwide. However, in this case, our know-how was getting used to each save and finish lives. Do our values want to alter? I consider our firm as being good and moral, however we had been clearly unprepared in this case. We had not executed our homework. Even when the corporate needed to do one thing, Pat questioned what they may do. The corporate is an authentic gear producer (OEM), which means that it doesn’t promote on to the tip customers. Subsequently the accountability for placing these applied sciences into the unsuitable fingers is extensively dispersed throughout completely different producers, distributors and native establishments. Pat additionally questioned whether or not and the way the corporate might affect these completely different events to take motion even when it determined it was proper to take action. On high of that, the corporate is in america, and these finish customers are midway internationally. Case Questions Take into account Pat’s issues as described in this case and put together a memorandum that addresses the issues described under.Your memo must be accomplished in narrative kind (you could use headings if you happen to select to take action for organizational functions, however don’t record your responses in bullet kind). Most web page size: 10 pages (double spaced). Determine all the potential moral points you see (if any). Describe and analyze the implications of every situation, together with who or what could also be affected by the corporate’s response. In figuring out points and addressing their implications, your dialogue must be as complete as doable—it is best to contemplate any financial, social, or ecological implications, in addition to the potential impression no less than two cultural variations you’ll be able to determine. Moreover, your Assessment ought to completely determine and talk about no less than two potential programs of motion that the corporate might take with respect to every situation you may have mentioned. Clearly display your reasoning course of—determine and clarify any moral ideas or arguments you might be counting on; don’t merely state unsupported conclusions. In the event you select to use any approaches to moral reasoning that you just discovered about in this course, clearly state what they’re and the way you might be making use of them to this case. Of the doable options you recognized, which might you advocate that the corporate undertake as a decision? Once more, absolutely clarify and justify your suggestions. Lastly, clarify how you’ll implement every answer you may have really helpful.
