How should a for-profit corporation balance its business needs with the needs of its customers?

Intellectual property (IP) is a significant asset for most companies. Patented products and processes often enable the company’s very existence. IP must be managed and protected in line with the fundamentals and mission of a company’s business and with the requirements of IP law.

Review Business Ethics Flashpoint 8.1: Creator/Consumer Balance (located at the bottom of the ebook section on intellectual property, on page 183). This section of the text portrays negative actions by pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, but there have also been positive examples during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies set aside competitive interests to provide testing, equipment, and research in a more collaborative manner.

In your discussion thread, respond to these questions posed in Flashpoint 8.1:

• How should a for-profit corporation balance its business needs with the needs of its customers?
• Lives depend on products created by some companies. Do these companies have a greater responsibility to work towards benefitting the consumer more than themselves?
• Look at the issue from a Biblical worldview. How would you respond if you were running such a company?

Your thread must explain how you achieve the creator/consumer balance, considering, e.g.,:

• Profit and return on investment for company owners/shareholders
• Continuing existence of the company
• Protecting the intellectual property of the company
• Needs of patients, practitioners, and society
• See the Read: The CEOs of Nearly 200 Companies Just Said Shareholder Value is No Longer Their Main Objective
• Biblical support and guidance for your positions
• Any other legal and ethical concepts you believe may be relevant