Abstract
Outstanding enterprise for operating well-organized health promotion: a case study of The Unilever Thai Holding Co.Ltd. This study aims to elaborate process and success of an outstanding enterprise for operating well-organized health promotion programs as a case study for other workplaces to develop their health promotion activities. The Unilever Thai Holding Co.Ltd. was selected as a case study for this purpose since it has been well-recognized for the company’s health promotion programs especially its smoking-free policy. Additionally, the study describes the systematic factors and conditions of success including recommends for policy, management, and basic infrastructures that are necessary for all enterprises or their health promotion organizations to setup their own health promotion programs. Qualitative research methodology was used for the study. Most of information gathered from literature review of relevant reports and documents including structured questionnaire a part of program’s participants. The data was analyzed by using organizational analyzed by using organizational analysis that emphasized specially on organizational structure, work system, strategies and personal as well as the Ottwa Charter conceptual framwork for health promotion. The study found that 1. The Unilever Thai Holding Co, Ltd. is a larg-scale enterprise that started its health promotion program from the success of the “Smoking-free Program”. Since, the company has developed other health promotion activities more systematically e.g. acceptation of new comer who is non-smoker, not-fat and health including developed programs to follow-up the workers’ health. 2. The success of the aforementioned was supported by the company’s policy that emphasized on health prevention and promotion rather than curative activities, consisting with the company’s high-level executive has high-level of concern to the medical advisor’s capability as the company practical leader for health. These are important factors and well-guaranteed for success of the company’s health promotion implementation. 3. Implementation of the Unilever’s Smoking-free Program has been enforced successfully by using policy as its supportive factor especially during the period of conflicts between the supportive and negative group of workers. Practical implementation of the program was conducted step by step and allow the workers to learn, participate, adopt to perceive the program. In the other word, the program used the workers’ participation as a strategy to foster the program’s success and use social movement to make change and perception as an important social force. 4. Implementation of any health promotion program can initiate from any activities without framework of health promotion as a whole for example, it can initiate from making awareness of adverse-effect of smoking and then develop to other learning process of other health promotion activities. 5. Building of supportive environment is a crucial factor of success especially the external social movement for smoking-free made good opportunity for change and make less negative pressure to the program as well as get more participation from non-smokers. The company’s internal supportive environment was also important.
