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- 21 Feb 2007
- Op-Ed
What a U.N. Partnership with Big Business Could Accomplish
If the world's large corporations really are the greatest drivers of wealth creation, it only seems reasonable that their capabilities and resources can be focused on global poverty, says professor emeritus George C. Lodge. Here's the case for a partnership between business, the United Nations, and NGOs. Key concepts include: More than a trillion dollars has been spent since WWII to alleviate poverty, with marginal success. But the goal of poverty reduction will not be reached unless the world tries something new. Countries most successful in reducing poverty have focused on creating profitable businesses. They provide the jobs, income, and motivation for education and individual development that raise standards of living. Multinational corporations can play a key role by connecting local businesses to world markets, credit, and technology. A nonprofit World Development Corporation could be formed to identify and design profitable projects in poor countries in which teams of multinationals would collaborate with local partners. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Feb 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Do Corporate Social Responsibility Ratings Predict Corporate Social Performance?
Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as consumers, activists, and potential employees. But how well do these ratings predict socially responsible outcomes such as superior environmental performance? Companies can enhance their environmental image in one of two ways: by reducing or minimizing their impact on the environment, or by merely appearing to do so via marketing efforts or "greenwashing." This study evaluates the predictive validity of environmental ratings produced by Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini Research & Analytics (KLD), and tests whether companies that score high on KLD ratings generate superior environmental performance or whether highly rated firms are simply superior marketers of the factors that these rating agencies purport to measure. The data analysis examines all 588 large, publicly-owned companies in the United States that were both regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and whose social performance was rated by KLD at least once during 1991-2003. This paper may be the first to examine the predictive validity of social or environmental ratings. Key concepts include: KLD ratings for environmental "concerns," such as hazardous waste and regulatory problems, have small but statistically significant effects in predicting future emissions and regulatory violations. KLD ratings for environmental "strengths," such as environmentally beneficial products or pollution prevention, do not predict future environmental outcomes. Most, but not all, of the predictive power of KLD ratings is due to the fact that lagged emissions and regulatory violations predict both lagged KLD ratings and future emissions and regulatory violations. KLD expends substantial resources attempting to measure the quality of companies' environmental management systems. The results suggest that this measurement is difficult to do well. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Feb 2007
- Research & Ideas
Business and the Global Poor
Companies have more or less ignored 80 percent of the world's population—the global poor. The new book Business Solutions for the Global Poor, created from research and a conference at Harvard Business School, shows how both business and societal interests can be served at the base of the economic pyramid. A Q&A with co-editor V. Kasturi Rangan. Key concepts include: The goals of poverty reduction and economic profit begin to align to the degree that these ventures empower the poor, either by improving their quality of life, providing them with productivity tools and services, or by creating jobs. The productive capacity of the poor can be leveraged in creating products and services. To succeed in low-income markets, companies must strengthen their bottom-up market intelligence; utilize local leaders and community agents to bring people together; and educate investors that bringing BOP initiatives to scale and sustainability may happen more slowly than the time frames dictated by traditional corporate targets. Companies must strike a delicate balance, keeping in mind both their legal obligations to return profits to their investors as well as their social responsibilities. Companies cannot afford to treat their social license callously. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Dec 2006
- Research & Ideas
Improving Public Health for the Poor
Microfinance may offer a window on new methods for widening access to healthcare for the poor, says Harvard Business School's Michael Chu. He and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health have embarked on a new project to serve this critical sector. Bringing together public healthcare and market forces "could have huge impact," he says. Key concepts include: Poverty is defined by three billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day. Public health as a private good should be complementary to public health as a public good, not in opposition to it. Project Antares wants to take high-impact initiatives and deliver them through commercial means. Part of its measure of success is whether a higher percentage of the population is helped than would be otherwise. Poverty cannot be tamed with a single solution. It needs an arsenal comprising education, healthcare, housing, access to basic services, and access to capital. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Nov 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Male Circumcision and AIDS: The Macroeconomic Impact of a Health Crisis
The AIDS epidemic is a humanitarian disaster that has struck sub-Saharan Africa with particular severity, but its macroeconomic impact is much less certain. Though conflicting theories abound, empirically-based studies on the link between HIV prevalence rates and economic growth have shown no consensus. Given the significant medical evidence that male circumcision can reduce the risk of contracting HIV in Africa, tribal circumcision practices provide an "experimental" setting to test the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the overall economy. Key concepts include: AIDS has not had a measurable impact on key economic variables in Africa such as gross domestic product per capita, savings rates, and fertility. Youth literacy levels may have increased more slowly than they would have in the absence of AIDS, suggesting that HIV may decrease investment in education. The AIDS epidemic may have led to an increase in malnutrition, perhaps supporting the hypothesis that AIDS has contributed to the persistence of poverty in Africa. While the impact of the epidemic on growth has not been as large as the world feared, governments of high-AIDS countries need to establish educational and nutritional outreach. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Oct 2006
- What Do You Think?
How Do We Respond to the “Dependency Ratio” Dilemma?
Without knowing it, we have already heard a great deal about "dependency ratios." We can expect to hear a lot more, both at the level of nations and individual firms. What is the answer to a dilemma that we are going to be confronting more and more frequently? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Aug 2006
- Op-Ed
The Real Wal-Mart Effect
Critics are lining up to take shots at Wal-Mart's treatment of workers and a host of other alleged knocks against society. But the critics miss one big point, says Pankaj Ghemawat: Wal-Mart's overall impact benefits the economy and lower-income consumers. Key concepts include: While Wal-Mart has many problems, the company's overall economic impact is positive both for the overall economy and for low-income consumers. The real Wal-Mart conflict isn't between capital and labor. It is a battle involving consumers and cost-efficient producers against traditional retailers, organized labor, and community activists. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Jul 2006
- Op-Ed
Enron Jury Sent the Right Message
Although the actions of Enron's executives were in many areas neither clearly legal nor illegal, jurors sent an unambiguous message that all executives should heed: Truth telling and ethical discipline are the cornerstone values in corporate governance. Key concepts include: Executives can be convicted in a court of law for a pattern of deception, even when it is not illegal. Firms that focus on exploiting the rules rather than building a sound business often lose their way. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Jul 2006
- Research & Ideas
Competition the Cure for Healthcare
Michael Porter is considered by many the world's foremost authority on competition and strategy. He discusses the need for fundamental reform in the way the United States delivers healthcare. Q&A. Key concepts include: American healthcare is broken structurally, rewarding the wrong actions and punishing the patient. Competition correctly placed in healthcare can reduce cost, improve physician performance, and create better results for patients. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Research & Ideas
Reinventing the Dowdy Savings Bond
Families with low and moderate incomes have difficulty saving money—many can't even open bank accounts. To help these families plan for the future, professor Peter Tufano proposes minor changes to the U.S. savings bonds program. Key concepts include: Encourage savings by offering the option to invest tax refunds in U.S. savings bonds. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Implementing New Practices: An Empirical Study of Organizational Learning in Hospital Intensive Care Units
How do hospital units, as complex service organizations, successfully implement best practices? Practices involve people and knowledge; people must apply knowledge to particular situations, so changing practices requires changing behavior. This study is a starting point for healthcare organizations to improve work practices. The researchers drew from literature on best practice transfer, team learning, and process change and developed four hypotheses to test at highly specialized hospital units that care for premature infants and critically ill newborns. Key concepts include: Organizations must set up project teams to investigate and implement new practices. Project teams are important for creating organizational change. There is a strong positive relationship between "learn-how" and implementation success. "Learn-how" makes new practices work in a specific context, and psychological safety encourages people to participate in this disruptive process. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Deep Links: Business School Students’ Perceptions of the Role of Law and Ethics in Business
The researchers spent more than a year eliciting twelve MBA students' thoughts and feelings about the role of law in starting and running a U.S. business. This research offers new insights into the ongoing debate about how best to educate the business leaders of tomorrow. More than a standalone course in business law or ethics, it would be wise for educators to use an approach that treats the role of law and business in the broader context of societal needs and norms. Key concepts include: Business school curricula that ignore the role law plays in making markets possible may undermine students' appreciation of how law undergirds the capitalist system. Business students need to learn both more ethics and law. Teaching materials should highlight the positive associations or linkages between law, business, and societal welfare. The systems approach to management is one way to link law, business, and ethics to create an integrated mental model. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Mar 2006
- Research & Ideas
Global Poverty Needs a Global Answer
A World Development Corporation could help business, government, and non-governmental organizations collaborate more effectively to ease global poverty, believes George C. Lodge, HBS professor emeritus. He discusses recent developments. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Feb 2006
- Research & Ideas
The Hidden Market for Babies
Surrogates. Fertility clinics. Egg donors. Adoption. It's time to recognize (and perhaps regulate) the huge market being created by reproductive technologies, says HBS professor Debora L. Spar. She discusses her new book, The Baby Business. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Jan 2005
- What Do You Think?
Public Pension Reform: Does Mexico Have the Answer?
Mexico may have found a formula for avoiding most of the misfortunes that could arise when individuals invest their own funds. What's the right way to support an aging workforce? And why is it that a concept—life-long security—that should bring comfort to all of us is so distasteful to address in public? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 15 Nov 2004
- Research & Ideas
Solving the Health Care Conundrum
Executive summary of a presentation on reforming health care made by Professor Michael Porter at a Harvard Business School Publishing Virtual Seminar. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Nov 2003
- Research & Ideas
The Business Case for Diabetes Disease Management
Diabetes is a tough disease to tackle. A case-study discussion led by HBS professor Nancy Beaulieu asked why it is so complex for business and society, and what might be done to curb its incidence. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Nov 2003
- Research & Ideas
The Business of Babies
The demand for babies by infertile couples and other would-be parents is huge—and little discussed. HBS professor Debora L. Spar looks at the market realities. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Sep 2003
- Research & Ideas
How Businesses Can Respond to AIDS
Partnerships among business, government, and advocacy groups are crucial to halting AIDS. A report from an influential conference at Harvard Business School. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
The Business of Global Poverty
Nearly half of the planet's population subsists on $2 a day or less. What role should business play as the world confronts what may be the most explosive socioeconomic challenge of the new century? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.