EFFECTS OF HIV/AIDS IN A BUSINESS ORGANIZATION: THE CASE OF SELECTED RETAIL BUSINESSES IN BOTSWANA

Businesses are important to the society that they serve. They provide goods and services to society as well as create employment. AS businesses provide these services to society they are in turn affected adversely by diseases through infection of employees. This study was carried out to find out the effects of HIV/AIDS on retail businesses in Botswana. A sample of nineteen (19) respondents was drawn from retail stores owned by Spar Botswana. The key research questions were: 1. How does HIV/AIDS affect the running of a business? 2. How do business firms deal with the effects of HIV/AIDS? 3. Do business organizations have workplace policies on HIV/AIDS that seek to minimize its effects? The key objectives were: 1. How the running of a business is affected by HIV/AIDS. 2. How business firms deal with the effects of HIV/AIDS. 3. If business organizations have workplace policies on HIV/AIDS that seek to minimize its effects. The study used the qualitative research method. The data collection techniques or tools used were the questionnaire and structured interviews. One of the key findings was that HIV/AIDS affects worker productivity in many ways, the key ones being that it lowers productivity and hence profitability. Another important finding was that some business organizations have policies that guide or govern workers to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the workplaces. Spar Botswana retail businesses have such policies for the benefit of both the workers and the employees. The study came up with several; recommendations to make businesses to cope with the HIV/AIDS situation at the workplaces. Two of these recommendations are 1. Businesses formulate and implement policies that encourage workers to test for HIV/AIDS on regular basis. 2. Businesses should host testing days where workers get immediate consultation when they find out if they are infected.