...1 The American Red Cross The American Red Cross culture is based on compassion and care to those in need. Their main principles consist of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, and unity to list a few. The organization does not only help disaster relief efforts as most assume, but also offers services in five other areas: community services that help the needy; communications services and comfort for military members and their family members; the collection, processing and distribution of blood and blood products; educational programs on preparedness, health, and safety; and international relief and development programs. The organization is a nationwide network of more than 650 chapters and 36 blood services regions dedicated to saving lives and helping people prepare for and respond to medical emergencies. They communicate at the local levels; American Red Cross chapters operate volunteer-staffed Disaster Action Teams that respond to disasters in their communities. The organization also uses a database in order to pull specific volunteers for different situations, such as they made need a volunteer for interpretation or accounting assistance. They also have teamed up with Blue Moon Production to help make a video media library for internal use .This keeps the volunteers updated on certain issues going on in the organization. The Red Cross uses commercials and celebrities to reach out externally to the community to give education and help receive donations....
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...American Red Cross Fundamental management problem/possible solutions The fundamental management problem is the lack of organizational culture and communication between the different American Red Cross chapters. The lack of organizational communication has led to several chapters providing overlapping services to adjacent chapters. The Chapter Enrichment Program (CEP) was then developed and implemented to correct the many reoccurring problems within the chapters. Though the CEP brought together professional teams of the American Red Cross together to discuss problems, underlying issues would still be present and not pointed out in the chapter reports. For example program officers such as Ann Munroe would noticed issues in her chapter that would not be included into the final report. Ann Munroe decided not to comment on the obvious issues in the chapter because she thought it was inappropriate because her main focus was on health and safety services of the chapter, not the chapter as a whole. The culture of the company is to do what you are strictly hired to do, which leads to many problems not being brought to attention or not being covered thoroughly. Munroe clearly noticed dilemmas within the chapter, but failed to include them into the report, which is where said dilemmas should be includes. These dilemmas were clearly problematic if it was easily noticed by a program officer not readily involved in that section of the operation. These problems consisted of whether a chapter...
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...shareholder loyalty and can contribute to success that supports even broader social causes and concerns. • Customer satisfaction – one of the most important factor in a successful business strategy; a company must continue to develop, alter, and adapt products to keep pace with customers’ changing desires and preferences and it must seek to develop long-term relationships with customers and stakeholders • Profits – must have adequate financial performance in order to nurture and develop an ethical culture. Because of the actions of the American Red Cross following 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, their benefits of business effects were damaged. Employee commitment wavered because of the actions of the organization. Because of the lack of monitoring some employees or volunteers were doing unethical and fraudulent things. This misconduct severally damaged the reputation of the American Red Cross. Investor loyalty was diminished because the American Red Cross was not following their own bylaws and was mismanaging funds donated to the organization. Customer satisfaction was low because of the actions of...
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...The American Red Cross is a non-profit organization that was created to assist people in time of need regardless nationality, race religious beliefs, class or political opinions. This national society has a long rich history and is one of the most identifiable humanitarian organizations in the nation. The mission of the American Red Cross is to alleviate and prevent human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace among all peoples. The programs are founded on principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality. The American Red Cross was created in 1881 and is part of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is one of more than 145 national societies that make up the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The ICRC paved the way for the American Red Cross when Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, authored A Memory of Solferino in 1862, in which he described what he had seen on an Italian battlefield in 1859 – over 40,000 troops either killed or wounded, left unattended. In 1863, his memoir encouraged others to create the ICRC, which adopted the iconic red cross on a white background, the reverse of the Swiss flag. Shortly thereafter during the U.S. Civil War, Clara Barton, a former school teacher and government worker from Massachusetts, entered the battlefields...
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...In naming some of the problems the American Red Cross has encountered with handling donation money, the first would be the mishandling of the more than $543 million in pledges that was donated during and after the September 11th attacks. There was a fund that was setup and structured just to help the victims of September 11th, this fund was called the “Liberty Fund”. Unfortunately, only one-third of the funds had been released to actual September 11th efforts (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015). Instead it was said that the American Red Cross used more than half the money to prepare for future catastrophes. Many felt that this money should have been used for the millions of people that needed the help during September 11th time. An outrage prompted a U.S. hearing in November 2001,...
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...The American Red Cross is one of the best examples of organizations that cater to humanitarian response in a multifaceted scale. Founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, the organization began with attending to the needs of injured American soldiers, and has since evolved to blood banking, disaster relief, health services, and emergency response in both local and international settings (American Red Cross, 2014). The ARC lives by the core values of the 5C’s: compassion, collaboration, creativity, credibility, and commitment, both within its members and to the communities it serves. The organization has proven itself to be dedicated in improving the lives of the men, women, and children who have faced man-made and natural disasters, not only in terms of emergency relief, but also in recovery and development (Hamner, 2008). Because of its longevity as an organization and its continued efforts to protect the welfare of persons in need, the ARC has become a paradigm for other humanitarian agencies that intend to expand their reach. At the same time, however, the organization is not immune to risks that challenge its espoused values. As an organization that responds to both local and international emergencies, communication has become an essential tool not only in maintaining the core values of the American Red Cross, but also in improving its performance particularly in terms of inter-agency coordination. Coordination has become one of the biggest challenges present in every humanitarian...
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...If I was in charge of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and had the responsibility of deciding where to spend a billion dollars, I would fund American Red Cross, Fafsa, and Charity: Water. To begin with, American Red Cross is an organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education in the United States. They respond to 70,000 natural disasters each year no matter how big or small it is. When natural disasters happen, they provide food, shelter, and health services so communities can return back to normal. American Red Cross also support military families prepare, deal with, and respond to the challenges of military service. American Red Cross saves numerous lives a year. They are the largest supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products because 40 million people donate blood a year. They are also the nation’s largest provider of safety and health courses such as First Aid. In addition, American Red Cross has about 13 million volunteers volunteering in 187 countries helping communities from natural disasters, war, and build safer communities. All life is precious and is worth saving. Not only does Red Cross help others, it teaches others to help other people. Since it is the largest organization in the nation, without it many people would not...
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...The American Red Cross (ARC) is an organization that was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton and established itself as the most well-known emergency relief organization devoted to the care of war victims, disaster victims, and the suffering worldwide. Unfortunately, the ARC has been plagued with a high executive turnover, slow response to disastrous events, and mismanagement of donation funds. These problems now have the ARC facing another problem, fixing their credibility for the future. The Red Cross is built to aide in disaster relief, but to receive a phone call asking “Where is the Red Cross?” from the Pentagon to activate the specialized teams in response to 9/11 left scars on the ARC's permanent record that are hard to overcome (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell pg 330). On top that, four years later criticism over the massive failures of communication in Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita created additional wounds to the ARC’s reputation. Each instance further degraded the ARC’s ethical reputation to American’s as the non-profit organization to turn to in a disaster. To overcome these faults the ARC has made changes, but too many changes at the top is the ultimate reason for the ARC’s failures. Any member working for the ARC in a management position from local presidents to top executives and state delegates are supposed to be ruled under universal humanitarian principles which involve the highest standards in ethics and values. Sadly, since the resignation of Elizabeth...
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...The American Red Cross Outline – Starbucks Meeting 11/19/2012 * Remember, we are telling a story, timeline style * Text Ad gimmick * Print donation cards * 1/3 vs. 2/3 breakdown Matt’s # and my # * Start with a history and background facts of the ARC * Clara Barton Founded ARC in 1881, inspired by work of the IRC while on trip to Europe during Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Brought model back to US and led org through first dom and int relief missions, assisting US military during Spanish-American War in 1898. * Chartered by US govt, receiving first federal charter in 1900. * Member of International Federal of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, ARC joins more than 175 other national societies in bringing aid to victims of disasters throughout the world. * The ARC provides community services, support for military members and their families, blood donation services, health and safety education, and international relief programs. * 500k volunteers, 35k employees, board of governors oversees the org and its management * Board comprised of 12-20 members, including a chair, who is appointed and approved by the President of the US * Board appoints the president and CEO to manage the business activities of the ARC * More than 700 local chapters across the country, all receive funding from national Red Cross. Representatives of local chapters...
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...AMERICAN RED CROSS AND THE KATRINA EMERGENCY 3 The American Red Cross has people, systems, and plans in place to respond to disasters. They are considered the go-to agency in cases of emergencies and crisis when people are in need, with much success. The American Red Cross response to Hurricane Katrina surpassed any disaster response before it and nothing in the last ten years has reached its magnitude. “The Red Cross: Provided more than 3.8 million overnight stays in shelters across 31 states and Washington, D.C. – seven times higher than any other disaster up to that point. Served nearly 68 million meals and snacks, four times more than what the Red Cross had ever provided during past relief efforts. For the first time, served a million meals in a single day. Provided emergency financial assistance to 1.4 million families – nearly 20 times more than any response prior to Katrina” (The American Red Cross, 2017). These numbers show how effective their planning can be, nevertheless with the magnitude of...
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...American Red Cross: A Community Organization The American Red Cross’s responsibility and involvement to the community involves care, compassion, assistance, and a plethora of other services. The American Red Cross has been providing disaster relief for well over 100 years and is well known as a humanitarian organization. The American Red Cross provides services in five key areas: blood drives, safety training (like CPR and First Aid), and community help for the poor, support services for military families, and various humanitarian programs (American Red Cross, 2013A). There are factors that influence social responsibility strategies of the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross must act ethically with sensitivity to the community and strive for positive effective contribution. The American Red Cross (2013) governing body is the Board of Governors. The Board has the necessary overseeing power to manage business affairs of the organization and maintains sequences of governing documents. The governing documents go through a review process to ensure safeguards are in place so that the needs of American Red Cross are met and reflect present-day industry best practices. There is a commitment with the Board of Governors to hold every member of the American Red Cross to the highest standards in reference to conduct and ethics. In addition, within the American Red Cross are corporate policies and regulations, which require compliance by employees and volunteers (American Red Cross...
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...The American national red cross is part of the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies (Jones, 2013). I worked as an intern for six months helping both in the office and in the field. It is a humanitarian organization which volunteers to help during cases of emergency and disasters as well as education services inside the United States of America. For a long period of time, the organization focused on the above mentioned functions, however, there have been developments offering a window where the organization help in community services, communication and support to military members and they families, collection, processing and distribution of blood all over the country especially in medical facilities as well as creation...
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...The mission statement simply states, that the American Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement. It was created to provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The American Red Cross is a non profit organization founded in 1881 by Clara Barton to aid victims of fires, floods, and hurricanes. This charity, though they are congressionally chartered, does not receive federal funding. The main source of financial support is provided from the donations of many philanthropic organizations, people and corporations. Ninety-one cents from every dollar donated goes to humanitarian services and programs. Branches are located across the U.S. and internationally that provide relief to people suffering from the aftermath of disasters and war. Its human resources come predominately from volunteers willing to travel to disasters and offer assistance and to aid families searching for information on loved ones missing in time of disaster and abroad. “Today, in addition to domestic disaster relief, the American Red Cross offers compassionate services in five other areas: community services that help the needy; support and comfort for military members and their families; the collection, processing and distribution of lifesaving blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and...
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...The American Red Cross was founded on May 21, 1881 by Clara Barton. There is an American Red Cross in every country because it is the largest humanitarian network in the world. It has developed and became a great global network to help people in need from disasters, health, and blood connection. The American Red Cross mission statement is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. The volunteers on their workday may help people :affected by disasters, support members of the military and their families, blood collection, health, training, and international relief and development. There are many ways how a person can volunteer. A person can volunteer...
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...Contributing to a Noble Cause Since 1881, The American Red Cross (ARC) has been trying to lessen the effects that major disasters have on people all over the world. The mission statement of the organization states, "The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors" (redcross.org). The impact that donors and volunteers have on the ARC is substantial, and without those volunteers the ARC would not be able to help half as many people as they currently do because they would not have the resources to do so. The compassion that volunteers and donors have is what makes the ARC as successful as it is. Benefactors assist the ARC by donating personal...
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