TEACHING NOTE

Abstract

Dr. Michael Thomas, the Director of the Vascular Center for Men in a Milwaukee suburb, used the Internet to solicit phone calls for prescriptions to the new male impotence pill, Viagra™.  Details about the drug and the events that occurred on one day in particular, April 20, 1998, are provided.  Students are asked to discuss Dr. Thomas’ advertising practices from two points of view:  that of a consumer and that of a physician.  Students are then asked to discuss what actions, if any, would be appropriate for the manufacturer of the drug and the state medical examining board to take.

This critical incident would be appropriate for Principles of Marketing, Principles of Advertising, and Business Ethics/Legal Environment courses.  It could also be used in the discussion of ethics in Personal Selling, Mass Communications and, perhaps, MIS courses.

Teaching Objectives

The teaching objectives of this critical incident are:

1. To provide students with the opportunity to grapple with the gray areas of legal/illegal and ethical/unethical business practices.

2. To expose the students to the ethical challenges of the Internet that businesses are dealing with.