Case Scenario:
The company is a mining conglomerate that operates in 45 countries. Founded in 1917, the company originated in South Africa and is now headquartered in London. The company is the largest producer of gold in the world. With a South African workforce of more than 105,000 permanent employees, the firm is one of the largest in the region. Heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the company was one of the first companies to establish a proactive, comprehensive strategy to combat the raging effects of the disease on its workforce and production systems. Along with many other multinational enterprises (MNEs), the company also joined the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS, an organization that focuses on alleviating the effects of AIDS throughout the world and protecting the rights of infected workers. In response to the failure of its AIDS prevention policy, the company announced in 2002 that it would be providing free antiretroviral therapy to HIV-infected employees at its South African operation. Previously, the company had developed AIDS prevention education and awareness training to employees because the disease was so widespread among its workforce and was having financial consequence for the company. The company now spends an estimated $4,000 per year per employee on the drug treatments, and it estimates that it will cost the company $1 billion or more over 10 years. There are many challenges facing the company, such as getting the drug manufacturer to provide lower costs, employee compliance with the program, and criticism from various constituencies that the company is not doing enough to help solve the problem. Given these problems, some have suggested that the company would be better off stopping the program rather than pouring more resources into it.
Answer the following questions in your paper:
- What are the pros and cons of the company's adoption of an aggressive strategy in combating HIV/AIDS among its South African workforce?
- What recommendations would you give the company concerning its HIV/AIDS policy?