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  • Essay / The American Red Cross' Role in Handling Hurricane Katrina

    At the time of Hurricane Katrina, the ARC launched a disaster response program to try to save lives. The response and revenue spent on the project turned out to be the largest in history. The devastating Hurricane Katrina extended to the Gulf Coast as it struck. The storm proved very disastrous for the occupants of the Gulf Coast. The incident claimed the lives of approximately 1,800 people in the region and caused the displacement of approximately 200,000 people from their homes (Haskett et al., 2008). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In addition to the loss of life, the storm resulted in the destruction of products and supplies worth approximately US$81 billion. The hurricane destroyed approximately 350,000 properties (Haskett et al., 2008). Katrina relief resulted in the evacuation of all residents of the metropolitan area. The survivors were also scattered across different states. The initiative mobilized more than 245,000 Red Cross first responders to help many people by providing them with money, shelter and food to support them emotionally and meet their basic needs. This article analyzes the agency's response to the needs of New Orleans. Based on the fact that ARC relies on a systems thinking approach, its failures are attributed to the team's inability to adhere to systems thinking. Systems thinking involves assessing people's vulnerability to natural disasters and implementing solutions. This involves incorporating a structured way of examining factors that increase people's vulnerability to disasters and identifying possible entry points to control these factors (Haskett et. al., 2008). Additionally, systems thinking involves accepting all possible uncertainties and subtleties, understanding that not all disasters are linear and that attempts to resolve problems occur with a certain level of uncertainty. According to the organization, all domestic residents have access to life-saving equipment and can find support whenever they need it. This implies that the Red Cross team is supposed to arrive at the scene of the disaster early enough to save lives. However, in the case of New Orleans, the ARC team delayed its intervention by three days (Haskett et al., 2008). Given the disastrous consequences of the incident, a large part of the population suffered a serious problem of lack of access to sufficient housing. The issue was further compromised after the storms. The lack of access to suitable housing has been exacerbated by the slow response of the Red Cross to resolve the problem. The measures taken by the respective authorities in New Orleans have worsened the situation for local residents. Review of the region 10 years after Katrina's destruction indicates a failure in the ARC initiative (Haskett et. al., 2008). It is clear that most victims still do not have access to housing because they are registered as internally displaced persons. . The reconstruction process after the incident resulted in the destruction of public houses and the unavailability of commitment to rebuild the destroyed premises. The residents of the houses were to be relocated by the Red Cross taking into account their policies and mission statement. Additionally, the Red Cross failed to provide affordable housing for displaced people. They also failed to providefunds to property owners to help them build new structures in a timely manner. Circumstances created an environment of public travel. The housing problem strongly affects the residents of New Orleans. The destruction of structures and the inability to rebuild or repair buildings posed a threat. There was also less affordable housing for residents. After Katrina in the unsatisfactoryThanks to the performance of the ARC, the cost of low-income public housing increased by 40% (Haskett et. al., 2008). This led to the eviction of residents who initially resided in the neighborhood. The Red Cross had a principle of humanity which affirms the desire to help people without discrimination. The policy aimed to prevent and alleviate all forms of human suffering in all circumstances. The aim of this principle is to guarantee the protection of life, to preserve health and to respect all human beings. It also promotes mutual understanding, cooperation and friendship. However, the ARC's response to Hurricane Katrina was poorly planned (Haskett et al., 2008). The process relied on managers lacking experience in the field. Most of them often failed to meet the needs of the victims. There was a mismatch between the supplies victims needed and the services provided by the Red Cross. Notably, no plan had been prepared to help leaders identify the type of supplies to distribute. Additionally, the decision to skip the record-keeping process created room for things to deteriorate. The most obvious problem that was noted was the failure to meet the basic needs of potential beneficiaries. Criminal behavior was also evident among volunteer managers. This happened in the disaster area. Normally, ARC officials and representatives are expected to be caring and willing to help. The willingness to help is one of the main attributes that will give an individual the need to listen to what the victims of a disastrous event have to say or ask. This will also determine whether the listener will act in accordance with the victim's expectations. The only possible way to create a gap between the expectations of beneficiaries and those of service providers is through arrogance and irresponsibility. Such behaviors are contrary to organizational expectations. They may never achieve the mission and goals of the Red Cross. The Red Cross has failed in a number of aspects in its systemic approach to situations. The organization operates under a policy to raise awareness among residents so that they can recognize different ways of coping with disasters. They also operate with the confidence that everyone involved in the disaster is capable of receiving shelter, care and hope. This was not the case for the New Orleans victims. The Red Cross arrived on site three days after the hurricane hit. While relief was offered in other hurricane-struck areas, nothing was happening in New Orleans (Haskett et al., 2008). This speaks to failure and ineptitude on the part of the organization. An organization such as the Red Cross, acting in its capacity, was supposed to send its representatives early enough to put people in a state of preparedness before the incident occurred. If a disaster were to strike, preparations to ensure the protection of lives would have already been put in place. Notably, the ARC failed to provide services, particularly regarding the delay in arriving in New Orleans. Among its fundamental principles isuniversality which shows the representation of equality in status and responsibilities as well as in duties of mutual assistance. According to this principle, the organization was supposed to provide similar services in all disaster areas as soon as possible. Going to a region three days later was illegal according to the principle of universality. Using systems thinking, the American Red Cross has a team of people who have been trained and employ the skills necessary to save lives in any way possible. This implies that all its members interacting with disaster victims must have exceptional networking skills to build good relationships. They also appreciate the needs of citizens and therefore respond quickly to customer requests. However, in some cases, victims of the disaster requested meals prepared by the Red Cross team. In response, the team gave them bananas. In another case, volunteers were patrolling the neighborhood, apparently trying to find people to help. Some people asked for juice and water (Haskett et. al., 2008). On the other side, the Red Cross volunteer only had bleach on his hands. All possible efforts to correct the problem were rebuffed. More experienced teams, expected to provide supply services to others, were tasked with distributing relief supplies. However, it was possible to entrust the distribution work to Red Cross volunteers because it requires less experience. Listening to and caring for the needs of the victims of the disaster would have been entrusted to experienced people. One of the reports mentions the presence of volunteer relief coordinators who were on their first mission. It was not practical to send inexperienced people on a sensitive operation. The region is prone to serious, even fatal, events that require highly experienced people to deal with them. Some vehicles were lost during the rescue process. The main reason for this is that the person responsible for around 100 vehicles was unable to manage them (Haskett et. al., 2008). He could not identify the specific people who were driving the different vehicles. In its vision statement, the goal is to ensure that those affected can receive hope, care and shelter. Hope can only be received if the people interacting maintain healthy relationships with each other. It's difficult to encourage another person if you foster a hostile environment with target customers. Care is measured taking into account the form and level of interaction between them. Any form of harassment and refusal to listen to other people's requests does not show care. It is clear from the problems discussed above that deliveries were less controlled. This paved the way for numerous illegalities which in turn encouraged attempts at misconduct in the execution of tasks. It was easy for any expert in the field of logistics to recognize most of the mistakes made by managers during the provision of services. The fact that some people were missing most of the supplies that were appropriate for them indicates that there was a problem with the organization's supply. chain. In the event of an emergency, plans should always be in place to ensure consistent supply of the most essential items. Good emergency planning processes prioritize vital supplies and ensure that no one goes without them when they need them. Satisfy.