Part 1: Review of the Organization
The American Red Cross - Orange County Chapter, is a humanitarian organization in the U.S that comprises of a team of volunteers. The organization is guided by the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and its Congressional Charter. American Red Cross operates on a strategic plan that guides its efforts and activities for a period. It seeks to address the changing needs for the region’s residents. Additionally, the plan and objectives provides the necessary steps that the organization undertakes to achieve its objectives. Finally, it assists the organization to achieve its mission effectively.
The organization’s plans and objectives are based on five major goals, which seeks to achieve. The first objective of ARC is to improve its financial stability through increased funding for operational purpose. This will enable it have efficient operations in terms of its response efforts and financial capability to handle the emergency. Secondly, the organization aims at maximizing its operational effectiveness over time. It also aims at advancing its response to the programs and services offered to the US population. The other goal of ARC is to ensure that it develops a workforce that has a high performance. Finally, American Red Cross aims at creating more awareness, specifically the Orange County (American Red Cross - Orange County Chapter 5).
The American Red Cross - Orange County also aimed at developing a multi-functional website in the fiscal 2012 – 2013 according to the strategic plan for the period. The aim of the launch and maintenance of the website was targeted towards maximizing and improving on the effectiveness of the organization’s performance. A multi-functional website would go a long way in ensuring that the organization achieves its operational goal through easy access to information on the disasters and assist the victims. Through the need to develop a system that promotes the relationship between the management and departments, American Red Cross - Orange County targets to ensure that it improves its level of efficiency and response to the disasters (American Red Cross - Orange County Chapter 5).
Part B: Organizational Performance Report
According to the organization’s annual report for the year ended 2013, it had an increase in the total operating revenue and gains from $2,847,650 in 2012 to $3,435,941. This is a reflection of the organization’s goal of creating, implementing, and growing of revenue through the workplace for the first three years. Generally, the cost of operations have been at the lowest level as shown in the financial statements. There was a decline in the total operating expenses from $3,380,583 in 2013 to $3,062,232 in 2014. The general costs have been lower for the organization which is an indication of a better financial performance (KPMG 14).
Based on the strategic plan for the fiscal year 2013, the organization had a plan of expanding its health and safety services and program with an aim of growing the number of clients served. It achieved this in the year 2013 when it improved on its responses in the year. For instance, in the FY 2013, it responded to approximately 61,109 crises in the country by distributing more than 7.8 million relief facilities to the affected population. Through the expanded response, American Red Cross increased its visibility in the American communities through the extension of its services to a larger population. The organization also improved in its employee maintenance and retention level as expected from its strategic plan. From the 2013 Annual report, the organization increased in the number of workers, 90% of who were volunteers. Therefore, this is an indication of the organization’s achievement of the goals outlined in its strategic plan (KPMG 14).
The review of American Red Cross is based on the measures such the organization’s strategic goals, the financial performance, gross profit and the KPIs. Strategic goals include the short-term and long-term goals that have been developed by the organization to assist in the achievement of the objectives. Examples of the strategic goals that have been provided by the organization include the need to generate adequate revenue over a period. Additionally, it targets to expand to new markets with an aim of increasing the revenue. Therefore, based on the strategic goals, an analysis of the organization’s performance against the set goals is provided.
The second measure of performance for the organization are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are the factors that determine the performance of the organization in terms of the operations efficiency and the ability to generate revenue. The KPIs for American Red Cross include the changes in the operating income and gains over the strategic planning period. The second measure include the operating expenses. The American Red Cross’ financial performance is measured by its ability to maintain the operating costs at the lowest possible level while generating high revenue and income from donors and government grants. Finally, the operating efficiency of the organization is highlighted as a key performance indicators. The operating efficiency is measured by its response to disasters, region covered, and the assistance offered to the victims of the calamities in the region and beyond. The net assets, at the beginning and the end of the year are also used as a measure of the performance for the year. Net assets for the organization involves the property that owned and held by the organization, both in the short-term and long-term basis.
The analysis methods that are to be used in monitoring the performance of the organization include a strategic analysis, SWOT analysis, and the financial analysis. Strategic analysis involves the evaluation of the organization’s strategic goals against the actual performance over a period. The evaluation entails an overview of the key strategic goals relating to the operating income, gains and expenses over time. In a strategic analysis, the key factors are considered as outlined in the strategic plan against the actual achievement of the set goals. SWOT analysis, on the other hand, involves an analysis of the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the organizations over time. The analysis is based on the available strategic, operating and annual reports published by the organization. Finally, the financial analysis involves the evaluation of the financial performance for The American Red Cross - Orange County based on the financial reports available. It entails a study of the movements in the income, expenses.
American Red Cross has a large number of departments or operational units under which it operates. These units are classified on the services that they offer and functions that each of them provided in the organization. Some of the services that the organization offer include the international services, disasters, health and safety services, armed forces emergency services and biomedical services. Through these services, organizational units can be developed. Based on the functions, American Red Cross can have the finance, human resources and operational units. The two different organizational units within the organization that can be applied in the analysis include that the finance department and the human resource units.
The finance unit in the organization is responsible for the financial operational of the organization such as the collection and use of the financial resources within the firm. Furthermore, the human resource unit in the organization is responsible for the management of the human resources within the organization. The human resources also involves the volunteer workers who are hired by the organization to assist it in the general operational activities of American Red Cross. Volunteers make the largest proportion of the human resources for the organization. According to the strategic plan 2010-2012, American Red Cross targeted to improve its human resources by improving its workforce and ensure there is a rapid response towards the disasters arising in different parts of the world.
The organizational financial reports indicate that there has been a better financial performance in terms of the income and gain earned over a period. The costs of operations are also minimized which is in line with the organizational goals of financial stability. American Red Cross targets at increasing the revenue through specific services that it offers in the region for the first three years. It also addresses the need for the development of new markets so as to increase the giving, grants, and revenue. The organization had a goal of ensuring that it maintains a high level of employee retention. The human resource unit has been able to retain the employee by providing them with conducive working environment that motivates them to work. Although American Red Cross is a volunteer-based humanitarian organization that does not have a well-structured compensation structure for its employees, it has been able to offer proper salaries and allowances to its volunteers, which has assisted in retaining the existing workforce within the organization. As a human resource requirement, American Red Cross seeks to create a sustainable training and development models for all its employees and volunteers. The operational unit has been able to provide training to the employees with an aim of improving its response to the crises and events that arise in different countries. Through the training of employees, it has also been able to retain most of its employees.
Generally, there was a better performance of the selected units in relation to the operational plans and objectives. The units were able to achieve the organizational goals as outlined in the strategic plan for the year 2010 and 2012. This has positively contributed towards the financial and operational performance of the company. According to the strategic plans, American Red Cross sets to achieve the operational goals within the first three years of the planning year. It was able to achieve a good number of goals and objectives over time. Finally, the operational policies and procedures were achieved through the organizational units. Such policies and procedures include the organizational targets that had been presented in the strategic plan for the period (American Red Cross 17).
American Red Cross organizational performance is congruent and consistent with the strategic plans for the organization over the period. The consistency and congruency is manifested in the organizational report and strategic plan for the period. It was able to meet the strategic goals that were presented in the strategic plan as reported in the annual report. Unlike the strategic plan that presents the goals and objectives the annual report presents the historical performance of the organization over the period. According to the 2016 annual report, the organization has an increased response to disasters. In 2013, it respondent to 61,109 disasters in the country. This is consistent with the strategic plan for the organization that targets at expanding its current safety and health services within its structure. Additionally, American Red Cross distributed about 7.8 million of relief items which is congruent and consistent with the organizational goals as presented in the strategic plan.
For the financial year 2013, the organization achieved its goal of ensuring it increases the number of active volunteers’ hours of service. The fiscal years from 2009 and 2011 indicate that the organization had an increasing number of active volunteers. In 2012, it was targeted that the number of volunteers will increase to 1540 which the organization achieved over the period. The strategic plans increases the participation of the volunteers in the organization’s management and leadership roles; thus, improving the financial performance. American Red Cross strengths lie on the ability to generate high income and gains for its operations. The high revenue raised is important in facilitating the operations of the organizations making it have a rapid response towards the calamities that arise in various parts of the country and the rest of the work. Additionally, the large employee base in the organization facilitates its operational and financial performance. This is because the large employee base contributes towards the rapid response towards the disasters that arise in the region. Finally, American Red Cross has the opportunity to access a larger market in the region by expanding its products and services to the other regions.
Conclusion
Based on the review of the strategic goals and objectives for the organizational and the annual report, there is a consistency and congruency in the performance of the organization. American Red Cross achieved a high income and gain as shown in the financial statements. This increased the financial performance of the organization as given by the effective cost management strategies for the period. It developed a new market through the expansion to other regions which facilitated the income and gain generation. Employee retention has been achieved in the organization and it has been able to offer training to the staff which improves the response towards the disasters.
Appendix
American Red Cross Strategic Plan
Works Cited
American Red Cross - Orange County Chapter. “FY 10 -12 Strategic Plan.”
KPMG. “The American National Red Cross Consolidated Financial Statements.” (2013, June 30)
American Red Cross. (2015). 2013 Annual Report.
