American Red Cross Bureaucracy
Recommendation #429
, #429 Target Agencies/Organizations
Recommendation
ARC must do the following if it is to improve its relationships with and better serve diverse communities: Create authority to minimize bureaucracy.
Background
ARC should designate someone in senior management who would be responsible and accountable for serving diverse populations on a consistent basis – not just during the response phase of a disaster. Ideally, this person would have the necessary authority to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy that seriously delayed assistance to Latino evacuees after Katrina. (19-20)
Due to its rigidity, both in structure and attitude, American Red Cross (ARC) failed to recognize some of the critical needs of the communities they were serving, which stemmed from both a lack of diversity within ARC's staff, board, and volunteer corps and a lack of knowledge and experience with diverse communities, resulting in several of the organization's mistakes during the response phase. (9)
