At the time of Hurricane Katrina, the ARC launched a disaster response program in an effort to save lives. The response and revenue expenditure on the project turned out to be the largest in history. The devastating Hurricane Katrina extended to the Gulf Coast at the time it occurred. The storm proved very disastrous for the occupants of the Gulf Coast. The accident claimed the lives of approximately 1,800 people from the region and displaced approximately 200,000 people from their homes (Haskett et. al., 2008). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In addition to the loss of life, the storm led to the destruction of products and supplies worth approximately US$81 billion. The hurricane destroyed property for approximately 350,000 residences (Haskett et. al., 2008). Katrina relief efforts involved the evacuation of all residents of the metropolitan area. Survivors were also scattered across several states. The initiative involved more than 245,000 Red Cross disaster workers in assisting numerous people with the provision of money, shelter and food to support them emotionally and meet their basic needs. This article analyzes the agency's response to the needs of New Orleans. Based on the fact that ARC is based on the systems thinking approach, its failures are attributed to the team's inability to adhere to systems thinking. Systems thinking involves assessing people's vulnerability to natural disasters and devising solutions. It involves integrating a structured method to examine factors that increase people's susceptibility to disasters and identifying possible entry points to control those factors (Haskett et. al., 2008). Furthermore, systems thinking involves accepting all possible uncertainties and complexities with the understanding that all disasters are non-linear and that attempts to solve problems occur with some level of uncertainty. According to the organization, all national residents have access to life-saving services and can find support whenever they need it. This implies that the Red Cross team should be at the disaster site early enough to save lives. However, in the case of New Orleans, the ARC team was delayed by three days (Haskett et. al., 2008). Considering the disastrous consequences of the accident, a large segment of the population suffered from the serious problem of not having access to sufficient housing facilities. The issue was further compromised after the storms. The lack of access to adequate housing has increased due to the slow response of the Red Cross to resolve the problem. The actions taken by the respective authorities in New Orleans have worsened the situation of local residents. Examination of the region 10 years after the destruction of Katrina indicates a failure in the ARC initiative (Haskett et. al., 2008). It is clear that most victims still do not have access to housing facilities as they are registered as internally displaced persons. . The recovery process from the accident involved the destruction of the public's homes with the unavailability of commitment to rebuild the destroyed rental rooms. People from the homes had to be relocated by the Red Cross in consideration of their policies and mission. Furthermore, the Red Cross failed to offer affordable housing to displaced people. They also failed to provide financing to homeowners to help them build new structures in a timely manner. Circumstances have created an environment of displacementpublic. The housing problem greatly affects the residents of New Orleans. The destruction of structures and the inability to rebuild or repair buildings posed a threat. There were also fewer affordable homes for residents. After Katrina's unsatisfactory performance of the ARC, the cost of low-income public housing apartments increased by 40% (Haskett et. al., 2008). This led to the eviction of residents who initially resided in the neighborhood. The Red Cross has a principle of humanity which states the desire to assist people without discrimination. The policy aimed to prevent and alleviate all forms of human suffering in all circumstances. The purpose of the principle is to support the protection of life, preserve health and embrace respect for all human beings. It also promotes mutual understanding, cooperation and friendship. However, the ARC response to Hurricane Katrina was poorly planned (Haskett et. al., 2008). The process relied on managers who had no industry experience. Most of them often failed to meet the needs of the victims. There was a discrepancy between the supplies the victims needed and the services provided by the Red Cross. In particular, there was no plan in place to assist leaders in identifying the type of supplies to distribute. Additionally, the decision to skip the recordkeeping process created wiggle room for things to go astray. The most obvious problem that was noted was the inability to meet the basic needs of potential beneficiaries. Criminal misconduct was also evident among volunteer managers. This happened in the disaster zone. Normally, ARC officials and representatives should be benevolent and willing to help. Willingness to help is one of the fundamental attributes that will give an individual the desire to listen to what the victims of a disastrous event have to say or request. It will also determine whether the listener will go on to act in accordance with the victim's expectations. The only possible way through which a misalignment between the expectations of beneficiaries and service providers can occur is through arrogance and irresponsibility. Such behaviors are contrary to the organization's expectations. They may never achieve the mission and goals of the Red Cross. The Red Cross has failed on a number of aspects in their systemic approach to situations. The organization operates under a policy of raising awareness among residents so that they can recognize the various ways of dealing with disasters. They also operate with the certainty that all those affected by the disaster are able to receive shelter, care and hope. This was not the case for the New Orleans victims. The Red Cross arrived there three days after the hurricane hit. While relief was provided in other hurricane-affected areas, nothing happened in New Orleans (Haskett et. al., 2008). This shows failure and ineptitude on the part of the organization. An organization like the Red Cross operating in its capacity should have sent its representatives early enough to put people in a state of readiness before the incident occurred. If a disaster had occurred, preparations to ensure the protection of human lives would have already been installed. In particular, the ARC has failed in service delivery, especially regarding delays in arriving in New Orleans. Among its fundamental principles is universality which shows the representation of equality in status and responsibilities as well as duties to help each other. According to this principle, the organization would havehad to provide similar services in all areas affected by the disaster in the shortest possible time. Making use of a region three days later was illegal under the principle of universality. According to systems thinking, the American Red Cross has a team of individuals who have been trained to use lifesaving skills in as many ways as possible. This implies that all its members who interact with disaster victims should have exceptional networking skills to relate well. They also appreciate the needs of citizens and, therefore, are ready to act on customer requests. However, in some cases the victims of the disaster have requested meals prepared by the Red Cross team. In response, the team gave them bananas. In another case, volunteers were patrolling the neighborhood, apparently trying to find some people to help. Some people asked for juice and water (Haskett et. al., 2008). The Red Cross volunteer, however, only had bleach on his hands. All possible efforts to correct the problem were rejected. More experienced teams who were supposed to handle the provision of supply services to other people were given the responsibility of distributing humanitarian aid. However, it was possible to entrust the distribution work to Red Cross volunteers as it requires less experience. Listening and attending to the needs of disaster victims would be addressed by experienced people. One of the reports recorded the presence of volunteer rescue coordinators on their first mission. It was impractical to send inexperienced people on a sensitive operation. The region is prone to severe and life-threatening events that require highly experienced people to deal with them. Some vehicles were lost in the salvage process. The main reason for this is that the person in charge of around 100 vehicles was not capable of managing them (Haskett et. al., 2008). He could not accurately tell the people driving the various vehicles. In its vision statement, the goal is to ensure that people affected by disaster can receive hope, care and shelter. Hope can only be received if the people interacting have a healthy relationship with each other. It's difficult to encourage another person if you foster a hostile environment with your target customers. Care is measured by considering the form and level of interaction between them. Any form of harassment and failure to listen to the requests of others does not demonstrate caring. From the issues stated above, it is clear that there was less control over deliveries. This has paved the way for numerous illegalities which in turn have encouraged bad behavior in handling tasks. It was easy for any expert in the field of logistics to recognize most of the mistakes made by managers during service provision. The fact that some people missed most of their supplies indicates that there was a problem with the organization's supply chain. In the event of an emergency, plans should always be in place to ensure there is consistency in the supply of the most essential items. Good planning processes in cases involving emergencies prioritize vital supplies and ensure that none of the victims go without them when they need them. Making use of needs in advance guarantees a shortening of the supply chain. This improves the supply of basic necessities such as water and food. The Red Cross should consider adopting a comprehensive supply chain management system that manages the entire supply purchasing process through to the final delivery process. It should eliminate the simple logistical operation to avoid.