Corporate South Africa's response to HIV/AIDS: Why so slow?

Abstract

This article addresses the slow response of corporate South Africa to HIV/AIDS. After outlining the impact of HIV/AIDS on the workplace and the corporate reaction, the apparent contradiction between threat and response is explored. Two explanations for the slow response of business are conventionally offered - that government failure to lead a national response to the epidemic confronted business with an insurmountable collective-action problem; and that managers misunderstood the vulnerability of their companies. It is argued that these explanations have validity, but do not fully satisfy. Rather, account must be taken of inescapable tensions that tangibly link internal and external environments in ways that pre-date and exist independently of any strategy seeking to respond to HIV/AIDS. Four such tensions are identified: political, moral, industrial relations, and socio-economic. Socio-economic tensions are illustrated and examined through the contemporary views of managers from a large South African firm. While progress has been made by business in responding to HIV/AIDS, these conflicts remain significant. A critical question is whether companies can resolve wider socio-economic tensions - a necessity if they are to protect workers and their skills. In contrast to unitarist calls for a 'war' on AIDS, offering an appropriate corporate response presents a complex and formidable challenge, but also an opportunity for South African management to establish a new role within the post-apartheid order.