Balancing centralized control and local autonomy at the American Red Cross

Red Cross Case Analysis

Environmental Analysis

The American Red Cross operates in an environment that is in some ways crowded with public health agencies and non-governmental organizations, and yet that still struggles to provide all of the necessary health services to its communities. This creates complications in providing the services and establishing the connections that the Red Cross strives for. Internal coordination is strongly called for in light of these environmental complexities and lack of organization and consistency.

The problem in this case is balancing the need for individual chapter control in order to coordinate services and ensure their efficiency and effectiveness while at the same time maintaining creativity and innovation. That is, the Red Cross needs to make sure its services are kept consistent and that they all support the larger goals of the organization in all chapters, but the organization also needs each chapter to be able to respond to specific community needs and demands. Keeping the organization responsive and ensuring that the best processes are discovered and implemented requires ongoing innovation, while meeting organizational goals in a larger sense requires control.

Analysis of Problem

This problem is similar to problems faced in many organizations. It is also one that can be addressed through organizational culture and through the proper organizational structure and hierarchy implementation. This is not an issue of simply inspiring creativity, but of balancing leadership and management responsibilities and tasks. In other words, it isn't a creative problem but simply a structural problem, and the proper structure will be supported by the proper culture (and vice versa).

Recommendations

It is recommended that the first course of action, establishing broad but strict guidelines for charter leaders, will be the most effective solution. This is the approach that can be implemented with the greatest ease, and is also the most likely to have the short- and long-tern effects that are being sought. Structural and cultural changes will ultimately be addressed in this plan, making it comprehensive as well.

Consequences and Contingencies

There will likely be some resistance to change, as there tends to be. In addition, some of the new guidelines might not immediately clear, and the program will require an adjustment period. Establishing temporary centralized control of individual chapters might be necessary as a contingency in some situations, however it is not expected that this will present a major problem.