When Institutions Fail: HIV/AIDS in the 1980s

Tom  Nicholas; Christian  Godwin

Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2020

When Institutions Fail: HIV/AIDS in the 1980s

by Tom Nicholas and Christian Godwin

Abstract

During the early 1980s, young gay men in urban centers such as San Francisco and New York City began contracting a mysterious illness that would come to be known as HIV/AIDS. A diagnosis meant almost certain death, with a less than 1% survival rate. Conflicting priorities and agendas within a range of institutions—such as federal and local governments, the medical bureaucracy, incentive structures, and religious convictions—resulted in a failure to mitigate the outbreak. HIV/AIDS infections grew to pandemic proportions leading to one of the largest public health crises in American history.

Keywords: Ethics; Policy; Government and Politics; Health; History; Rights; Media; Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Religion; Social Psychology; Identity; Prejudice and Bias; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Health Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States;

Language: English

Format: Print

24 pages

Educators

Citation:

Nicholas, Tom, and Christian Godwin. "When Institutions Fail: HIV/AIDS in the 1980s." Harvard Business School Case 821-002, October 2020.

In 1993, four years prior to the publication of Clayton Christensen’s highly influential book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, the Business History Review (BHR) published an article by Christensen titled “The Rigid Disk Drive Industry: A History of Commercial and Technological Turbulence.” The BHR piece relates the theory of disruptive innovation to Alfred D. Chandler’s work on large vertically integrated enterprises. It was published during a pivotal era of scholarship on innovation, management practice and industry evolution, much of which used the history of firms, industries and technologies to build theory. I survey the impact and critiques of Christensen’s research agenda highlighting how it illustrates where the boundaries associated with the “lessons of history” should be drawn.

In the fall of 2009, founder and CEO Gab Goncalves has turned PeopleAnswers, Inc. from a fledgling startup to a steadily growing company of nearly 50 employees and $10 million recurring revenue. PeopleAnswers provides people analytics software which its clients use to screen job candidates, matching potential hires to the characteristics of existing top performers. After seven years of growth, the firm is still being run by its founding team, and Goncalves worries whether the business can continue to scale. The case takes place at a moment when Goncalves is about to interview a seasoned sales executive from SAP (a major enterprise software company) to be VP of Sales, and explores strategic human resource management problems for a growing firm. Goncalves has to confront three questions: (i) Does he need to hire? (ii) What should he be looking for? (iii) How can he convince a good candidate to take the job? All three questions may hinge on the firm's broader strategy. A companion (B) case reveals what happened next, and revisits the questions of the case a few years later, at a new crossroads.

Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2020 (Revised June 2020)

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (A)

Alberto Cavallo and Christian Godwin

In April 2020, the world struggled to contain the exponential escalation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Dozens of countries had imposed restrictions on travel, work, and social gatherings. A large share of the global population was under lockdowns and unprecedented supply and demand disruptions crippled the economy. In response, central banks announced massive lending programs to avoid a financial meltdown, and governments were launching unprecedented fiscal packages designed to contain the collapse. In a matter of weeks, the pandemic turned into one of the worst global economic crises since the Great Depression. As governments struggled to make policy decisions, uncertainty and tensions were rising. How to balance the public health and economic concerns? What would be the economic and political consequences of the policy response? Was this the end of globalization, or the beginning of a new era of international cooperation? The only certainty was that some of the hardest choices still lay ahead.

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Finance; Central Banking; Financial Markets; International Finance; Globalization; Government and Politics; Health Pandemics; Decision Making; Macroeconomics; Employment; Crisis Management; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Air Transportation Industry; Banking Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Employment Industry; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Public Administration Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Shipping Industry; Tourism Industry; Travel Industry; Asia; China; Europe; Latin America; Africa; United States;

Citation:

Cavallo, Alberto, and Christian Godwin. "The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (A)." Harvard Business School Case 720-031, May 2020. (Revised June 2020.) View Details

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When Institutions Fail: HIV/AIDS in the 1980s

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