American Red Cross Ethics

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross (ARC) in 1881. She led the organization through its first relief missions during the Spanish-American War in 1898; they were both domestic and international. (Thorne p.72)

There are seven fundamental bylaws to which all Red Cross Societies must conform: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. (Thorne p. 72)

Today the American Red Cross consists of roughly half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees. For many years the ARC has had a fifty-member, all-volunteer board of governors. The president of the United States is the honorary chair of the Red Cross and appoints eight governors, including the chair of the board. The chair nominates and the

REFERENCE:

Debbie M. Thorne (2010). Business and Society: A Strategic Approach to Social Responsibility and Ethics.

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross (ARC) in 1881. She led the organization through its first relief missions during the Spanish-American War in 1898; they were both domestic and international. (Thorne p.72)

There are seven fundamental bylaws to which all Red Cross Societies must conform: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. (Thorne p. 72)

Today the American Red Cross consists of roughly half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees. For many years the ARC has had a fifty-member, all-volunteer board of governors. The president of the United States is the honorary chair of the Red Cross and appoints eight governors, including the chair of the board. The chair nominates and the board elects the president of the ARC. The president is responsible for carrying into effect the policies and programs of the ARC. (Thorne

President Bernadine Healy (1999-2001) was forced to resign following mismanagement of the response to the September 11 attacks. President and chief executive officer Marsha J. Evans (2002-2005) was ousted after the ARC botched handling of Hurricane Katrina. Mark W. Everson was president and CEO for a very short time from May 29 until November 27, 2007 when he was forced to resign after an inappropriate sexual relationship with a subordinate came to light. (Thorne p. 72)

Some like Paul C. Light, a professor in Public Service at New York University, blamed an oversized board of directors that seem to think more like a hiring and firing agency than seeing its role as building a strong Red Cross. (Thorne p.74)

In 2006 after the scandals pertaining to the ARC of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina and the problems at local chapters, Senator Charles E. Grassley filed legislation to overhaul the organization for the ARC to become more transparent. The legislation also sought to reduce the board by more than half by 2012. The president’s role also changed; instead of appointing the chair and eight board members the new legislation the board now nominates chair for approval and appointment by the president. Also an independent ombudsman position was created to report annually to Congress and also assist whistle-blowers. (Thorne