History assignment on: Australian Red Cross
Introduction
Australian Red Cross is a member of the international Red Cross Red Crescent movement and has millions of members and volunteers and has millions of members and volunteers and is operating in 188 countries. The major aim of the movement is to reduce the human suffering.
Vision and Mission
Their vision is “to improve the lives of vulnerable people in Australia and internationally by mobilising the power of humanity”.
Their mission is “to be leading humanitarian organisation in Australia, improving the lives of vulnerable people through programs delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values”.
History of Australian Red Cross
The Australian Branch of British Red Cross was formed when there was an outbreak of First World War. Blood transfusion service was started I Victoria during 1929 and was later on incorporated into the Royal charter in 1941 and later on a special priority was given to the prisoners of the war. The statement ‘The power of humanity’ was endorsed in 2007. There was a revision in the case of the royal charter and the the new rules were approved by the Governor General. Now in 2013 Australian Red Cross is to host the 19th general assembly of the international federation and council of delegates of the international Red Cross crescent movement (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
Principles of Red Cross
The undertaken activities of Red Cross are guided by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Assisting people without discrimination is the born desire of Red Cross. They aim at protecting the life and health of the people for alleviating human suffering. The human values of understanding, friendship and co-operation and peace are followed religious. No discrimination will be entertained by them in the names of nationality, race, religious beliefs class and political opinions. Their priority is with urgent cases of distress. The group prefers to take a neutral stand when it comes to controversies of any kind. They try to maintain their autonomy although they have to adhere to the laws of the land in some places. The services that are offered here are all voluntary in nature and are not born out of the desire of getting a monetary gain. There is high level of unity among the Red Cross carriers in the country. All the societies are equally responsible for the movement.
Aims of Red Cross Australia
The main aim for the existence of Australian Red Cross is to provide relief in the times of crisis, and care when it is highly required especially in times when others tend to turn away. And share responsibilities around the world. Red Cross exists for people who require them irrespective of their identity and the the place they live in. Australian Red Cross manages to help about 10 million people all around the world and tend to care more for the communities in Australia and Asia Pacific. They have millions of volunteers across the globe and a few thousands are in Australia giving Red Cross Australia the potential and capability to reach across the whole world.
The major aims that are set by Red Cross Australia are to reach out to people when they are in natural disaster or personal crisis instantly. They try and reach out for people in remote places and are highly concerned about providing shelter, medicines and food for them. It is critical for Red Cross to reach out to the people who are cut off by flood waters and fire. They also aim to reconnect the families that are suffering in wars and to reach out to them for with food when others fail to. Red Cross aims at being impartial, neutral and independent. There is a lot of conflict and discrimination that is to be taken by people and Red Cross helps them in their fight. They are also responsible for keeping the ‘laws of the war’ and involves in conversation with militants and government alike. They also work in Torrent Strait Islander and Aboriginals and are aimed at bringing in and proposing sustainable solutions. They train people for giving first aid and motivate the next generation to give blood and save lives.
How they Work and Vision 15
Source: (Australian Red Cross, 2012)
To ensure that the Red Cross functions flawlessly, the organisation has embraced 2015 which commits the organisation to reform and deliver the benefits of the reforms as well as strengthen the organisation for the future. Strategy 2015 increases the investment in people who are the prime resources for the Red Cross. This includes members, volunteer’s aid workers and staff. This strategy will ensure that the people there are engaged motivated and have the required skills and capabilities to deliver on the assigned board. It also deepens the engagement with external stake holders, clients, beneficiaries, donors, customers, reporters, businesses and program partners. Seven main priority areas are assigned for the same purpose. They are to strengthen the preparedness in case of emergency to increase the rate of response and recovery, increasing the delivery of international aid, championing in international law. They also plan to address the impact of migration, work on Aboriginals and overcome social exclusion and also tackle entrenched location advantage (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
Governance
The structure at the Australian Red Cross can be divided into three levels. They are the council, the board and the chief executive officer. The responsibilities of the council are very limited and they include receiving the reports and financial statements. They are also responsible for electing the office bearers and many other members on the board. The royal charter and the rules that were newly introduced are to be adhered to and council ensures the rules are followed by selecting Auditors. The council has president at the centre and other 53 voting members. these 54 members includes the president, deputy president, the chair, committee for auditing and risk management, member of the youth, special councillors, and chair of the advisory boards, appointed members and about 32 representatives that are selected from the various states and territories. The council meeting is conducted once in a year. The members who are a part of the council are volunteering to offer their knowledge and service free of the cost to Red Cross (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
The society is governed by the board and all the powers that are not under the charter and are mentioned in the charter and the rules. The board will have 16 people. They are the president, the deputy president, youth member, chair of the adversary meeting and the chairman of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. The national, territorial and state functions are governed by the board. They also meet about eight times a year. The members of the boards are volunteering to offer the time, energy and professional expertise for the Australian Red Cross (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
The day to day management of the affairs in relation to the Australian Red Cross is handled by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Secretary General. All these delegations are managed by CEO through the senior leadership group. The CEO that is appointed is highly accountable to the board and should seek their opinion when it comes to implementing the strategic plans. He is also to adhere to the rules and regulations as is proposed by the board that is established. CEO being a part of Red Cross puts forth various recommendations across to the board in regard with the future decisions that are to be taken by the organisation (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
International Committee of Red Cross
Australian Red Cross is linked to the chain of Red Cross around the world which is known as the international committee of the Red Cross. This was established in 1863. The aim of these institutions is also in to humanitarian services for people who are suffering the aftermath of conflicts and armed violence. They also work towards promoting the laws that are required for protecting the victims of the war. This is an institution that is thriving on the donations that they receive from the national Red Cross and the Red Cross societies. Australian Red Cross was formed in the 19th century (ICRC, 2012)
Supporters of Australian Red Cross
Red Cross not only aims at serving people, they are also ready for being customised to the unique requirements that are put forth by the prospective partners as they understand that each business would have requirements that are unique in nature. This is also a strategy to invite donations and they have proposed various solutions to approve partnerships. Some of them includes the cause related marketing, philanthropic corporate donation and then employee volunteering and donation. These partnerships and donations forms the major assets for the Red Cross. One of the major ways one can invest in a Red Cross project benefitting noble humanitarian cause would be through making a philanthropic donation (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
Red Cross understand objectives and drivers that the individuals want to focus on while a charitable investment is made. Red Cross wants to develop a sustainable meaning full and close ended relationship which will show the effectiveness and importance of the charitable contributory ideas and investment to the key stake holders as well as the community that the donators are involved in. all individuals and organisations who have realised the importance of helping community can feel free to become partners with Red Cross and is used to generate a sustainable and meaningful relationship (Australian Red Cross, 2012).
Criticism
One of the major criticisms of any humanitarian organisation is how efficiently the fund selected are utilised. As with any other organisation the Red Cross too has receive criticism based on utilisation of resources. Experts say that when ever funds are given to a charitable organisation one expect some of the money would be used for overheads like telephones, logistics, personal expenses. But any donor would want a major part of his contribution to reach the people or the community that he is trying to help. At times, millions of dollars raised for terrorist attack of neutral calamity do not reach the intended beneficiary. This has happened in case of the Red Cross on numerous occasions because when an organisation is an s large and complex at times regulatory mechanism should be implemented. One of the examples is a Red Cross scandal after September 11. Most of the contribution raised for the victims was not reaching the victims. This lead to media complaints and a compression outcry which in turn contributed to Red Cross head to resign. The justification was that the contribution had made for the September 11 that it decided to save funds for other tragedies (Stossel, n.d).
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that Red Cross exists for a positive and humanitarian cause and remains one of the largest human services organisation ever. The corruption increases in accordance with the size of the organisation. They are collectively responsible for their actions and there is still scope for improvement where their functions and strategies are concerned.
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