Ethical Issues in Business: Antitrust Laws and Mergers Bristol Myers Squibb faces similar problems represented in the first example because of its attempt to avert generic competition to represent their new anti-depressant and anti-cancer drugs to the market. Along with its major blockbuster, drug Plavix, the company has experienced $ 7 billion revenues (Mody, 2012). In order to prevent decline in sales, the company has introduced the strategy of generic competition through a number of acquisitions. Thus, it has announced the merge of Inhibitex at the beginning of this year and of Amylin Pharmaceuticals (Mody, 2012). These two major acquisitions have introduced benefits for the company and have increased their revenues. The strategies met opposition on the part of the Federal Trade Commission. In particular, the Commission accused Bristol-Myers of a series of anticompetitive activities leading to a decline in generic competition and to a promotion of Bristol’s new drug products. According to the complaints, Bristol’s illegal activities forced consumers to overpay for great amounts of important medications, including drugs that are life saving for cancer patients. From legal viewpoint, the company has violated a number of federal regulations to stymie competition and receive unwarranted patent protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The second example presents the case of merge of American Telephone and Telegraph Company and Baby Bell SBC Communications. The latter purchased AT&T for $ 16 billion. The merger has provided new competitive perspectives for providing telecommunications with AT&T and SBC’s local exchange. Moreover, AT&T has turned into a long-distance phone company (Reardon, 2005). The new synergy of giant companies has provided new circumstances for competition in telephone and Internet industries, as well as the adoption of Internet Protocol and emergence of cell phones. On the one hand, the merger promised to introduce a wider range of innovative products and service to customers, as well as expand the existing market. On the other hand, a revolutionary approach to innovation and technological advancement does not guarantee success of the venture. In addition, the merger of the companies has also created a number of benefits for consumers who strive to receive decent quality at a moderate price. The announcement of merger, therefore, did not influence greatly the client base of both companies. Nevertheless, the separate markets of both companies have provided concerns for the merged industries because of the different goals pursued. A Comparative Analysis A comparative analysis of the businesses’ policies and activities can be carried out in terms of their impact on consumer demand, small business competition, industry development, and for wholesale consumers. To begin with, both companies – Bristol-Myers and SBC communications have experienced dramatic changes in their policies. In particular, both companies resorted to significant acquisitions for expanding their customer base and enhance innovation and product distribution. In addition, both companies sought to introduce new products to take a competitive advantage at the market. However, unlike SBC communications, B