Corporations Can Profitably Fight AIDS, Researchers Say in Harvard Business Review.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2003

A new study in the February issue of Harvard Business Review says that it is cost-effective for businesses to provide HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs for their employees in countries stricken by the epidemic.

"Responses that are good for public health-prevention and treatment--are also good for business," writes a team of researchers from Boston University and the University of California.

The researchers calculated the financial impact of the epidemic on six corporations in South Africa and Botswana and found that the "AIDS tax" --increased medical costs, decreased productivity, and other costs associated with HIV/AIDS in the work force--was as much as 5.9% of the corporations' labor costs.

All six companies in the study would have earned positive returns on their investments--and reduced their AIDS tax by as much as 40.4%--if they had provided antiretroviral drugs at no cost to employees with HIV/AIDS, according to the mathematical model the researchers used.

The authors of "AIDS Is Your Business" are Sydney Rosen, Jonathan Simon, William MacLeod, Matthew Fox, and Donald M. Thea, all of the Boston University School of Public Health's Center for International Health, and Jeffrey R. Vincent of the University of California's Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies in San Diego.

Other highlights from the February issue of Harvard Business Review:

"Why Bad Projects Are So Hard to Kill." Blind faith in new product initiatives can lead to marketplace success--or costly disaster. Isabelle Royer explains why companies need people who can pull the plug on doomed projects.

"I Was Greedy, Too." As we look at the wreckage from the 1990s, can we be sure it won't happen again? HBR senior editor Diane Coutu examines the psychology of greed.

"Negotiating the Sprit of the Deal." A shared understanding of the spirit of the deal is as vital to successful negotiations as agreeing on the letter of the deal, say Ron S. Fortgang, David A. Lax, and James K. Sebenius offer strategies for making sure social and economic contracts are mutually reinforcing.

"The Enemies of Trust." Fending off the enemies of trust--inconsistent messages and standards, tolerating incompetence, ignoring politically charged situations--must be at the top of every executive's agenda, say Robert Galford and Anne Seibold Drapeau.

"Who Needs Budgets?" There's a movement afoot to do away with budgets, and it's picking up steam. Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser explain why some executives blame budgets for preventing companies from becoming more competitive.

"Who's Bringing You Hot Ideas--And How Are You Treating Them?" "Idea practitioners" are more important than ever to enhancing business performance. And as Thomas H. Davenport, Laurence Prusak, and H. James Wilson explain, they require some special care and feeding.

"Clueing in Customers" When a company's offerings are hard to judge, customers look for subtle indicators of quality. Leonard L. Berry and Neeli Bendapudi show how the Mayo Clinic effectively conveys a consistent message to its customers.

"HBR Case Study: A Consultant's Comeupance." In this fictional case, Robert Buday raises the perennial question of when--or even whether--outside consultants are worth having.

For more information on contributors or articles in this issue, contact: Cathy Olofson, 617-783-7616, [e-mail].