Abstract:The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative designed to help fashion a more humane world by enlisting business to follow ten principles concerning human rights, labor, the environment, and corruption. Although the four-year-old Compact is a relatively successful initiative, having signed up over eleven hundred companies and more than two hundred of the large multinationals, and having begun some important projects on globalization issues, there is a serious problem in that very few of the major U.S. companies have joined. While the premier U.S. companies are interested in meeting the legitimate expectations of society, there is concern centering around accountability issues. The accountability issues are in four major areas: 1. Accountability showing that the globalization of the economy actually helps the poor. 2. Accountability showing the corporate performance matches rhetoric. 3. Accountability that provides legitimacy to a two-tier pricing system and other measures that are designed to assist the poor in developing countries. 4. Accountability in the human rights area; what societal expectations are multinational companies accountable for? The article outlines the problems that the Compact brings to the fore and offers some insight from the ethical literature that may address U.S. company concerns or provide new ways of thinking about the issues. It further argues that the forum provided by the Compact may be the most effective means to gain consensus of the role of business in society.

The moral theory of virtue ethics holds much promise for guiding the behavior of marketers. Although the origins of this theory can be traced back to Aristotle, it has not received as much emphasis as the teleological and deontological theories within marketing. In the ethics of virtue, traits such as compassion, fairness, loyalty, and openness shape a person's and an organization's vision. Several marketing situations confronted by Johnson & Johnson are used to illustrate the theory of virtue.

No abstract

BackgroundRemarkable progress has been made in the fight against neglected tropical diseases, but new challenges have emerged. Innovative diagnostics, better drugs and new insecticides are often identified as the priority; however, access to these new tools may not be sufficient to achieve and sustain disease elimination, if certain challenges and priorities are not considered.Main bodyThe authors summarise key operational challenges, and based on these, identify two major priorities: strengthening the capacity of the primary health care health system in correctly diagnosing and managing neglected tropical diseases; and establishing an effective disease surveillance process.Five steps are proposed as concrete actions to build an effective primary health care service for neglected tropical diseases, and a health management information system capable of accurately reporting these diseases. Community engagement and formalization of community health workers role are proposed as essential components of these steps.Shift of financial support from disease oriented programmes to disease integrated interventions, improved access to international guidelines for primary health care staff, and availability of donated drugs in health care structures are also suggested as key elements of the proposed process.ConclusionThe authors conclude that failure to address these priorities now may lead to further challenges on the long path towards neglected tropical disease elimination and beyond.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi: 10.1186/s40249-017-0361-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No abstract