Abstract
Almost two years since the first reported confirmed case, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to impact people around the world. While some companies could adopt a work from home strategy to cope, manufacturing companies did not have such a choice. Subject to government regulations and possible closures to curb the spread of COVID-19, manufacturing companies need to find ways to mitigate risks and continue operating. This chapter shares the case study of how a framework (COVID-19PAL) helped a multi-national manufacturing company of 29,000 employees situated in Thailand deal with a high number of infections and continue to operate safely. The COVID-19PAL framework draws from different disciplines (such as epidemiology, physics, mathematical modeling, sociology, and social psychology) and provides necessary information for human resource professionals to be effective in dealing with a pandemic. This chapter thus fills an existing gap in literature, assisting human resource professionals, organization leaders, and employees to understand what the situation meant.
TopIntroduction
More than 18 months since its discovery, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rages on; as of 15 November 2021, there were more than 254 million confirmed cases worldwide, including 5.1 million deaths reported (Worldometer, 2021a). Thailand, like many other countries, continues to deal with the current pandemic. According to Worldometer (2021b), Thailand recorded 2.02 million confirmed cases and 20,079 deaths as of 15 November 2021 with an average of 7,3001 (Dong et al., 2020; Ritchie et al., 2020)2 new confirmed cases reported daily. Thailand recorded its first case on 13 January 2020, and became the first country outside of China to report a confirmed COVID-19 case (World Health Organization, 2020). Since then, there has been three ‘waves’ (Tanomkiat, 2021), each more serious than the previous in terms of number of cases and deaths (as shown in Figure 1). Thailand ranked 116th in a list of 221 countries and territories in terms of the total number of cases and total deaths at the beginning of April 2021. In contrast, Thailand is currently ranked 24th in the same list as of 15 November 2021 (Worldometer, 2021a).
Figure 1. Temporal representation of the number of daily and cumulative confirmed cases in Thailand since the beginning of COVID-19; graph created from data obtained from Worldometer (2021b)
The COVID-19 pandemic affects not just a single region but spreads across international boundaries (Monti et al., 2021). The impact due to mitigating actions by governments to curb the spread of COVID-19 is not insignificant (Nicola et al., 2020). Such actions often add uncertainties to already complex situations. Existing literature suggest that a key element in a crisis management plan includes ways to deal with uncertainties (e.g. Sharma et al., 2020). McKee (2021) summarized critical lessons that enable a successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virakul et al. (in press) emphasized the importance of drawing on past experiences with infectious diseases, motivating and mobilizing the society in adopting preventive measures, and leaders trusting science in making decisions.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Isolate: Preventing an infected person (that is, someone who tested positive for COVID-19) from coming into contact with another and thereby infecting another.
Analytics: A structured process of reviewing data in a logical and detailed manner to derive meaning and understanding that would result in sensemaking.
COVID-19: A short name given to an infectious, respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus 2019 first discovered in Wuhan, China.
Quarantine: Separating a person or group of people suspected to be exposed to COVID-19 or having been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, from others.
Protocol: A set of rules or expected behavior designed to mitigate the risk of transmitting or being infected with COVID-19 in a business or family setting.
Bubble: A condition set up to quarantine a group of actors (such as a family unit, close friends, co-workers, or workgroup) from others to prevent interaction with others, specifically to reduce the possibility of transmission of infectious disease.
Sociogram: A diagram illustrating the existing relationship between different actors in a specific context or setting.
SEAL: A condition set up to isolate an actor or a group of actors to prevent the transmission of infectious disease to others.