Canadian Red Cross: A Comprehensive Organizational Analysis

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Course Name: Final Project - Research & Analysis Paper – Part II
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Introduction
Canadian Red Cross is an NGO that works for the needy people in various parts of the world.
The Canadian Red Cross was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Canada. The mission of
Red Cross is to provide basic facilities to those in need. Red Cross receives funding from both
private organization and the Government of Canada. Red Cross works on 6 fundamental
principles; Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and
Universality. Canadian Red Cross volunteers themin providing support to the people who are
affected by some disaster (Redcross, 2019).
The report will include a SWOT analysis of Red Cross along with the environmental constraints
and shareholders. Organizational Structure and Design will also be discussed for the company.
Further, motivation strategies will be mentioned which the company for the motivation of the
employees. At the end, controls will be discussed which the firm uses for the evaluation of the
progress.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths of Canadian Red Cross are-
Strong brand equity- Canadian Red Cross is a strong brand in itself. Canadian Red Cross helps
poor people and also the victims of any disaster. This way it can attract more volunteers to join
their group.

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According to (paperdue, 2012) Canadian Red Cross is the largest blood supplier in the US.
This makes the organization to trust more. Canadian Red Cross can use this for promoting
themselves.
Weakness of Canadian Red Cross are-
Negative publicity due to the funds- Government and other international bodies invests in
Canadian Red Cross for helping the poor people and providing the basic facilities. But, there are
rumours that the money is used in the publicity rather than helping people.
To overcome this weakness, Canadian Red Cross should tell the media person about the truth.
Canadian Red Cross should promote honest and transparent working.
Lack of Online Presence- Red Cross does not promote them much on the online portal. New
happenings and events are uploaded but only for a few times. This way people do not feel that
much connected with the organization. Red Cross should work on building more connection with
the people.
Opportunities that Canadian Red Cross are-
Online Presence- As now the world is getting techno savvy, there is a huge scope for the
organization will grow more. Online presence and the activities Red Cross is conducting will
help more people will connect with the organization.
Innovation- Red Cross should include department “innovation” to maintain the competitive
advantage.
Threats are-

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Competition- There are many other charitable trusts that work for the needy and the poor people.
Therefore, plans and strategies should be made by Red Cross in order to maintain the
competition.
Government Policies and Taxation- Due to the changes in the taxation policies, sometimes
government is not able to provide much funds which can hamper the actions.
Environmental Constraints
Canadian Red Cross is a charitable trust in Canada which works for the poor and needy people
and provide them basic facilities which they need. They started this mission in 1896 and now are
operated worldwide.The specific environment includes the customers, suppliers and buyers of
the environment. As Canadian Red Cross is a charitable trust, then there are no buyers and
suppliers. As a result, no analysis can be done using the specific environment.
Canadian Red Cross works on macro environmental factors. Macro environmental factors are
also known as PESTEL analysis. These factors include Political, Social, Environmental,
Economical, Technological and Legal factors. Canadian Red Cross currently is facing macro
environment and global environment(Redcross, 2019). The organization works for the poor and
needy people. All the plans and strategies are made according to the policies and guidelines
made for the charitable trust by the Government. Also, Government funds charitable trusts which
work for the development of the nation. These funds are provided in lumsum amounts.
Therefore, the operation is done smoothly. The money given by the Government is invested in
providing the facilities to the needy people.

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Shareholders
Government is the main shareholder of Canadian Red Cross. Government invest and funds some
amount in Canadian Red Cross. The money invested is then used for the development of the poor
and needy. The needy ones are then provided basic facilities like food, medication and shelter.
Canadian Red Cross thus earns some profits by helping these needy ones. The profit achieved is
then given to the Government as a part of decided shares. This way the Government and
Canadian Red Cross both take advantage from the profit and work for these people.
Organizational Structure and Design
Talking about the organization structure and design, Canadian Red Cross is a charitable trust
founded by George Ryerson.Like any other organizational structure, there is no specific
organizational structure. There are specific departments are divided and the employee are hired
who can operate in that department. The hierarchy here is –
President and CEO- He is the owner of the organization. All the activities, planning and strategy
making is done under his supervision.
Training Department- Canadian Red Cross has a specialized training department. Special
training is given to the staff members and the new employees. The training is about the
management and safety measures to be initiated when managing a disaster.
First Aid Providers- There is a special department in the organization which gives training to the
employees about the first aid.Special training is given on the steps taken in order to provide first
aid to the victim.

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Financial and Accounts Department- Accounts department in the organization handles all the
funds and amounts received.Accounts department is responsible for managing the amounts
which are funded by the Government or any other external body. Human Resource Department-
Human Resource Department is responsible for managing the employees in the organization.The
Human Resource Department hires the employees who have potential skills in managing the
population.
Regional Presidents- Regional Presidents are given the responsibility to handle a particular
region. Canadian Red Cross operates in 12 different locations. Therefore, it is important to
regulate the smooth flow.
Motivating Employees
Every employee of an organization needs motivation, and same goes with the Canadian Red
Cross.The work that Canadian Red Cross seems to be enjoying and amazing, but is actually very
difficult and hard. Managing a certain number of populations who is illiterate and poor is not an
easy task.Very few people are able to do that. Seeing their lifestyle and the condition they are
living in lower the morale of the employees. Therefore, it is very important to encourage and
motivate the employees.
In my opinion, I would prefer McClelland’s theory of motivation. This theory helps in
identifying the dominant motivators. Dominant motivators here represent the people who are
emotionally strong and plans for dealing with the population (Royle and Hall, 2012). Also, the
dominant motivators will then encourage and motivate their team members to stand up and come
in front to help those needy ones. Also, the employees can be motivated if they are given some

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rewards.Whatever work an employee do, should be appreciated by the seniors and
mentors(Royle and Hall, 2012).
Controls to Evaluate Progress
There are some controls which a company exercises to evaluate the progress. There are three
types of control to evaluate the progress; Feedforward, Concurrent and Feedback Controls.
Feedforward controls are those controls where the anticipated problems are prevented before it
actually happens. It means the possible preventive measures are taken that can happen while
evaluating(Ismail and Bukhori, 2017).
Concurrent controls are those controls which are undertaken while the activity is in progress. All
the plans and strategies are made to solve the problem before it would become impossible to
control (Ismail andBukhori, 2017). Feedback control as the name suggests, is performed after the
activity is done. After the performance, feedback is asked by the employees or the team
members. After taking the suggestions and the feedback, the change is implemented(Ismail and
Bukhori, 2017).
Canadian Red Cross here uses the feedback control to evaluate their progress. Once they have
served to the public, reviews are asked from the people about their services. The reactions,
whether positive and negative are there on the official website of Canadian Red Cross.
Recommendations
Canadian Red Cross should use online portal as their promotion. Also, special plans and
strategies should be used for maintaining the competition. Canadian Red Cross should make

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communicate with the media persons and the people. Also, proper training should be given to the
people under training and the employees. Proper training will avoid the possible risks that can
occur during the operations.
References
Redcross, (2019).About Canadian Red Cross.[Online].Redcross.Available at-
https://www.redcross.ca/ [Accessed on 2nd August, 2019].
Royle, M.T., Hall, A.T. (2012). The Relationship Between McClelland’s Theory Of Needs,
Feeling Individually Accountable, And Informal Accountability For Others. International Journal
of Management and Marketing Research 5(1).PP.21-42.
Ismail, M.T., Bukhori, A. (2017). The Role of Feedback and Feed Forward Control System to
Improve Competitive Advantage of SMEs in Indonesia.European Research Studies Journal
1(10). PP. 496-506.
Paperdue, (2019). SWOT Analysis. [Online]. Paperdue. Available at-
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/red-cross-swot-analysis-85096 [Accessed on 2nd August,
2019].