OGL 355 Final Paper

Abidemi Bolatiwa

OGL 355 Final Paper

Arizona State University

OGL 355 Final Paper

The American Red Cross is an organization that prides itself on being at the forefront of many

humanitarian efforts. Almost every American recognizes the white flag with a red cross

emblazoned upon it, and every disaster has received aid from a myriad of volunteers of the red

cross. Founded in 1881 by Clara Barton (American Red Cross, 2019), the red cross works hand

in hand with volunteers and various militaries to provide government-chartered disaster relief all

over the world. Much of the red cross’s strategic direction is derived from its older namesake, the

swiss-inspired global red cross network (ARC, Page 2) and has since developed to provide

various forms of aid worldwide. As a non-profit organization, the American Red Cross employs

a strategic direction that deviates from standard business practices, while constantly employing

new leadership and innovative technologies into its planning.

One of the notable strategies the American Red Cross has implemented is the diversification of

its leadership and volunteer base. Chartered in 1900 by the united states government, the

American Red Cross broke racial and cultural barriers that established relationship between

various minority communities in the U.S at the time. To do this, it onboarded prominent African

American community leaders such as Mary McLeod Bethune founder of Bethune-Cookman

university, and Dr. Jerome Holland, chairman of the American Red Cross board of governors.

This strategy allowed it to tap into a wider pool of volunteers willing to put themselves in harms

way to serve others and these relationships helped the American Red Cross establish a larger

presence than its counterparts at the time. Not only that, the American Red Cross opened itself

up to volunteers beyond the front lines as well, by fundraising through various events and

petitions by men and women of all ages. Their mission to be an inclusive organization capable of

providing a wider range of humanitarian relief was taking shape.

OGL 355 Final Paper

The American Red Cross didn’t just stop its relations at the leadership level. It innovated

these methods further and worked to enmesh itself within the American household. As a non-

profit, it’s primary source of revenues are from fundraisers, charities, and grants. To further

improve on these methods, the American Red Cross created various programs to bolster its

outreach in smaller communities and diversified its services. It began teaching classes on

survival and life-saving skills, initiated a drive to collect blood, and founded a research

laboratory to develop new life-saving technologies as well to conduct future research and

development. While it does rely primarily on donations, the Red Cross took innovative steps to

generate revenue by creating a store that sells survival gear as well as emergency provisions,

training supplies, and educational videos.

This matches well with the strategic context mentioned in the course textbook. According

to Coulter, “Even not-for-profit organizations feel the impact of the changing context because

they, too, need resources such as labor, technology, and funding to operate” (Coulter, 2013). If

we are speaking from the perspective of business environment drivers, the American Red Cross

is driven by a need to revolutionize its method of communication, technological advantage, and

its globalization efforts. By continuously working to be as cost effective as possible through

vertical integration of resources to provide cutting edge service, while establishing its
OGL 355 Final Paper

relationships with local and international entities, the American Red Cross’s strategic oversight

is built for sustainability.

OGL 355 Final Paper

References:

American Red Cross. (n.d.). A Brief History of the American Red Cross[Brochure]. Author.

Retrieved July 4, 2019, from https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/National/history-

full-history.pdf

Coulter, M. K. (2013). Strategic management in action. Boston: Pearson.

Jurevicius, O. (2013, April 13). The Best Explanation of Vertical Integration Ever. Retrieved

from https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/topics/vertical-integration.html