READ THE FOLLOWING CASE STUDY AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW

British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been accused by Chinese police of a massive bribery network run with travel agencies that were used to funnel $450 million to doctors, hospitals, and officials since 2007.

An anonymous tipster sent emails and documents to a newspaper, which showed sales staff bribing doctors with speaking fees and lavish gifts like Rolex watches if they prescribed GSKs products. GSK currently spends $82 million a year paying doctors to speak at or attend conferences. GSK is even accused of organizing fake conferences to account for the money.

The investigation against GSK was announced last week and four senior GSK executives are being held for "serious economic crimes" and the head of GSKs operations in China recently left the country. His departure coincided with a number of investigations of the company's offices.

Five months after the Chinese investigation, GSK announced that it will stop paying doctors for promoting its drugs and stop having targets for its marketing staff -- a first for an industry battling scandals over its sales practices, and a challenge for other pharmaceutical companies to follow suit. Britain's biggest drugmaker also said it is addressing conflicts of interest that could put commercial interests ahead of the best outcome for patients.

In the United States, the industry's biggest market by far, many companies have run into conflicts over improper sales tactics and GSK reached a record $3-billion settlement with the U.S. government last year over charges that it provided misleading information on certain drugs. "I think other companies will follow suit, but one of the biggest problems is that the industry persists in regulating itself," he said. "The only way to properly control promotion is strong and enforced regulation by the state."

The decision to stop payments to doctors for speaking about medicines during meetings with other prescribers marks a big shift for a global industry that has always relied heavily on the influence of experts in promoting products.

1. Using two different CSR Approaches, explain how bribery has persisted for so long in the pharmaceuticals industry. Be sure to give examples from the case to illustrate your point.

2. Discuss Global Ethical Considerations that are required in pharmaceutical and medical organizations.

3. What are two important points about the anti-corruption/bribery laws that applies to GSK? Explain why paying bribes is unethical. Be sure to first explain the point and apply GSK case facts to it.

4. Discuss the main principles relevant to corporate governance in the public sector. What approach to corporate governance has been adopted by the GCC. Refer to the different practices in the GCC, MENA region and the rest of the world.