Ethical Effects Of American Red Cross

With donations pouring in at an astonishing rate, it is hard to keep track of every dollar that comes into the organization. That is where technology becomes a huge factor, and of course technology can sometimes cause more problems than we plan for. The American Red Cross was in dire need of updating their equipment and software in order to effectively handle their operations. One of the public uproars stemmed from the fact that the American Red Cross was going to use some of the money from the 9-11 donations to update operations. It prompted a U.S. congressional hearing in November 2001. Of course, this is highly unethical as these funds that were donated were to be directed towards those affected by the disaster. Another factor is the lack

of control of their money supply. Although there are internal control methods at the top on the local levels there is a severe lack of control. This is evident in the amount of funds that have been embezzled from the operation. It two people are capable of embezzling over one million dollars just imaging what else is going on behind the scenes with donor money. In addition the lack of control of technology allows this embezzlement to be done on the front lines. If a computer that is used to transfer need related funds gets into the wrong hands it is simple for one volunteer to take money and run.