AFRICA 31/03/08

AFRICA

Africa is the second-largest continent in land area, after Asia, it has 46 countries including Madagascar, and 53 including all the island groups, as a consecuence of this is the most polyglot continent in the world they can speak: The Afro-Asiatic, The Nilo-Saharan, The Niger-Congo and The Khoisan languages After de conquest the population were poor, A lot of traffic of resources, poor democracies, among other effects in the economy and the way of living.

The economic view of Africa es very similar in all the contienent, Most of Africa's population is rural; Rare and precious minerals including much of the world's diamonds are abundant; extensive oil and gas deposits occur in the north and west of this general line;it has huge potential for hydroelectric power production but only a small percentage of it has been developed. some countries have better economies and are more developed, like Egypt, Nigeria, Argelia.

To have a great negociation with them is necesary to have in mind and know some advises, for example: Handshake(Soft handshakes are common across Africa), Names and Titles(Academic titles add a great deal of luster), Business Attire( Conservative is the keyword),
Dining and Entertaining( Business meetings can be held over lunch or dinner in a good restaurant), Gifts (Gift giving is not the norm in business) , Social Taboos.

MAIN PROBLEMS : Tropical diseases, The slave trade, Corrupt governments, Failed central planning as well as, Common human rights violations, The negative effects Colonialism, Despotism, Analphabetism, tribal and military conflict.

We all know that the population of frica is been suffering of HIV from many years, so i want to know what is te impact of the HIV/AIDS on enterprises and workplaces?

The impact is huge in every aspect of the life, education, health, householders, among other, but in enterprises and workplaces is:

AIDS damages businesses by squeezing productivity, adding costs, diverting productive resources, and depleting skills. Company costs for health-care, funeral benefits and pension fund commitments are likely to rise as the number of people taking early retirement or dying increases. Also, as the impact of the epidemic on households grows more severe, market demand for products and services can fall. The epidemic hits productivity through increased absenteeism. Comparative studies of East African businesses have shown that absenteeism can account for as much as 25-54% of company costs.

A study in several southern African countries has estimated that the combined impact of AIDS-related absenteeism, productivity declines, health-care expenditures, and recruitment and training expenses could cut profits by at least 6-8%.31 Another recent study of a thousand companies in Southern Africa found that 9% had suffered a significant negative impact due to AIDS. In areas that have been hit hardest by the epidemic, it found that up to 40% of companies reported that HIV and AIDS were having a negative effect on profits. Despite this, only 13% of the companies surveyed with fewer than 100 workers had a company policy in place to deal with HIV and AIDS.

Some companies, though, have implemented successful programs to deal with the epidemic. An example is the gold-mining industry in South Africa. The gold mines attract thousands of workers, often from poor and remote regions. Most live in hostels, separated from their families; as a result a thriving sex industry operates around many mines and HIV is common. In recent years, mining companies have been working with a number of organisations to implement prevention programmes for the miners. These have included mass distribution of condoms, medical care and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and awareness campaigns. Some mining companies have started to replace all-male hostels with accommodation for families, in order to reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Sources: http://www.avert.org/aidsimpact.htm