he evolving threat from any health crisis should be a major concern to all those

charged with ensuring their company’s resilience. When Swine Flu first surfaced,
the public interest was akin to the gold medal tally board during the Olympics,
if my country isn’t represented in the top five, who really cares?
Sadly, with planners and medical advocates focusing on an inconsistent and flawe
d measurement tools such as the WHO’s running tally, most will not recognize the t
hreat until it is literally upon them and rife within their communities. Much li
ke the stock exchange, if the S&P 500 is surging, it is no guarantee that you ar
e inclusive of the rally, alternately if it is plunging you could very well be u
naffected. Why should the WHO’s numbers be any different?
When it is widely acknowledged that most governments, certainly within developin
g countries, are not the most dynamic of organizations and the list of failings
by numerous administrations remains long and varied; why have so many placed suc
h absolute trust in their ability to manage this particular crisis?
Are so few people aware of the already over extended healthcare system in even t
he most developed of countries? When people are already waiting lengthy periods
for non-life threatening surgeries and general practitioners are dwindling in nu
mber do they really believe that thousands of people even mildly ill simultaneou
sly will be serviced in a timely manner? Not to mention the issues over any drug
or vaccination that is rushed to market exclusive of any standardized clinical
trials. I agree that the current trial periods may be too long but look at the c
ountries that are mandating or implementing widespread vaccination programs of t
he first round of vaccinations. Concerning? Volunteers?
Even the most progressive multinationals have turned a blind eye to the inequali
ties of everything outside their home country when addressing planning and preve
ntion for a major health crisis like swine flu. Their “home ground” view seems to be
the same assumptions and standards for addressing the issue abroad. Since when
has India had the same labor laws as the US? Since when has Indonesia enjoyed th
e same level of broadband connectivity to enable for employees to telecommute? A
nd who in their right mind would assume that employees in China will stay at hom
e and monitor their own health to ensure they do not contaminate the rest of the
office/factory?
Contractors and consultants in the UK recently declared that they were unlikely
to stay away from the office if sick as they are on an hourly/daily rate which w
ould be reduced should they not turn up for work. So much for that assumption! H
ow many people do you think fill in the health declaration forms accurately when
entering a country with such screening? Even Hong Kong’s current attempts are not
hing more than superficial and mere inconvenience rather than anything of substa
nce or consistency.
Malaysia has acknowledged their citizens are oblivious to Swine Flu and its affe
cts. India is in a growing state of fear over the sudden realization they could
be affected too, and they are helpless to do very much at all. Many employees in
companies within India simply walk off the job to care for family if they think
or confirm an ailment. How much of the world’s back office is situated in India?
What do you think the impact will be from thousands who don’t turn up for work or
significant diminished service capacities within India? South Korea, Taiwan and
China all have major problems. They thought it was a European and Americas probl
em. Their population is ill informed, suspicious of the government, dependent on
them to do something, have very underdeveloped risk management strategies and l
ittle to no budgets for such countermeasures, not to mention the care of extende
d family responsibilities well beyond that of the European and American cultures
. Forget what the conflicting medical opinion is, do you really believe this wil
l not be a problem?
Swine Flu is not a human health issue exclusively. It is not limited to public h
ealth and safety. Like never before, company resilience to this issue will be de
termined by their actions and implementation, not industry standards or piecemea
l government efforts. More concerning is that while these companies will be well
prepared, their vendors, suppliers, consumers, affiliates, distributors, advoca
tes and just about everyone else will not enjoy the benefits of their planning a
nd be at the mercy of dynamically shifting environmental influences. You don’t nee
d an economist to confirm the impacts of the economic downturn, equally any simi
lar announcements by the medical fraternity will come well after the obvious, an
d at present, inevitable impact. On the scale of victim to survivor, where do yo
u fall?