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Business Conversations Department of Health and Human Services Executive Master's in Leadership Georgetown University Medical Center H1N1 Kenneth Dretchen Lamar Reinsch McDonough School of Business
The 2009 H1N1 (Swine) Flu has been called a young person’s virus. Unlike most other strains of influenza, it is most prevalent, and dangerous, for 25-64 year-olds — the group that makes up the vast majority of the global workforce. H1N1 has caused more deaths in three months than the seasonal flu did in the entire past year. How long will the outbreak continue, and how widespread will it be? Dr. Ken Dretchen, who advises the Department of Health and Human Services, provides his opinion on the likely path and severity of the virus. How should businesses deal with their employees in the event of a mass H1N1 outbreak? Prof. Lamar Reinsch, an expert in crisis management and organizational communication, offers his take on the current situation and offers advice for employers on surviving and thriving during a pandemic.
Bios:
Dr. Kenneth Dretchen is the Chairman, and a Professor, of the Department of Pharmacology at the Georgetown University Medical Center. In addition, he is the Senior Associate Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUMC), as well as the former Interim Chief Operations Officer for GUMC. He is an expert on bioterrorism, nerve gas usage, nerve gas effects, bioterror detection, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), and pharmacological research issues. He was recently a member of the team of experts that designed kits carried by the U.S. Military for use in case of exposure to chemical weapons of mass destruction. He is currently an advisor to the US government on the H1N1 virus.
Dr. Lamar Reinsch is a Professor of Management at the McDonough School of Business and the Director of Georgetown’s Executive Master’s in Leadership degree program. He frequently writes and speaks on issues of leadership, crisis management, and organizational communication. Professor Reinsch is a former President of the Association for Business Communication and a fellow of that organization. He has received a number of awards for research and teaching, including the Alpha Kappa Psi award for a distinguished publication in business communication and the Outstanding Teacher award in the Georgetown Campus Global Executive MBA program. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Business Communication.
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©2009 Georgetown University
Dr. Lamar Reinsch makes a number of excellent points. This is a business problem.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by HoweStreet.com and MSB, JPFinnell. JPFinnell said: H1N1 is not a communications, medical or operations problem, it's a business problem. http://bit.ly/2ERpFU (Georgetown Univ 7/min video) [...]
It’s all about continuity of operations planning. As with any disruption in the regular flow of business due to a natural disaster, attack, or pandemic, being prepared to continue business operations is crucial. This flu may not be the “one” that significantly disrupts business, but it is a reminder of the need to plan and be prepared.
This is great information, which has led me to ask two questions of the Business Conversations online community. I’d love to hear others’ takes on this.
As someone who was involved in continuity of operations planning for the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Avian Flu scare, I’m wondering how many non-government organizations have put in place COOP plans?
There’s also been talk in the news about organizations making it easier for their employees to stay home when they’re sick, even if they are out of sick leave or do not get sick leave. Is anyone seeing this in their organizations?