The Hurricane Katrina Catastrophe Research Paper

The Hurricane Katrina Catastrophe - Research Paper Example This paper aims to discuss the statistical facts of the storm and then goes on to analyze it in terms of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery measures. The hurricane Katrina catastrophe remains a somber reminder of the massive destructive force of nature, and the way the American nation confronted its position ‘in the eye of the storm’. â€Å"Hurricane Katrina formed over the southeastern Bahamas on August 23, 2005. The storm moved towards Florida made  landfall  between  Hallandale Beach  and  Aventura  on the morning of August 25. From there it moved on to the Gulf of Mexico, growing from a Category  3 hurricane to a Category  5 hurricane in a matter of mere hours. On Saturday, August 27, the storm reached Category  3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale becoming the third  major hurricane  of the season. It gained strength and reached Category  5 status on the morning of August 28. Katrina made two more landfalls in the region before finally confronting absorption by the frontal boundary on August 31† (Knabb et al., 2005). In particular, Katrina was one of the five horrifying hurricanes of USA that resulted in deaths of approximately 1,836 people (Knabb et al., 2005). In addition, about 700 missing people were not included in the death count. Hundreds of thousands of local residents were left homeless and unemployed. It was the most expensive hurricane in U.S history, with physical damages worth about seventy-five billion dollars. This estimate does not include the damages to the economy caused by a disruption in oil supply and export of commodities as well as disruption to the sugar and tourism industry in the affected states. â€Å"It is estimation that the total economical effect in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion† (Burton & Hicks, 2005). The destruction caused by such a large hurricane is inevitable. It resulted in an impact on a region of approximately 90,000 squ are miles (DHS, 2008). However, the amount of damage caused could have been reduced had there been proper preparations for such a natural disaster. The biggest tragedy occurred in New Orleans due to the failure of the levee system. This resulted in heavy flooding and as much as 80% of the city became submerged under water (DHS, 2008). Experts indicated that this failure was due to design flaws in the system along with inadequate maintenance. The blame for the failure of the levee system was assigned to â€Å"the US Army Corps of Engineers  (USACE), the designers and builders of the levee system† (U.S. House of Representatives, 2006), and a lawsuit was filed against them for failing to pay sufficient attention to public safety. In addition, certain flood gates were not closed, this carelessness resulted in further flooding. Beachfront towns suffered worse property damage where 90% of the residential areas were flooded due to lack of proper preventative methods (DHS, 2008). T he failure of the levee system is responsible for many deaths in the state of Louisiana. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Research Center stated, "I do not think anyone can tell you with confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that is obviously a very, very great concern† (Blanco, 2006). This in effect marks on of the most fundamental planning failures of the government. In the case of a typical hurricane, the plan was for the disaster relief forces to reach the affected areas by land. However, in case the

Strategic Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategic Human Resources - Essay Example It also identifies the role, models along with the methods in which businesses can utilize their human resource teams to effectively achieve their goals. A) Findings And Analysis 1.0 The Key Drivers From The External Business Environment That Re-Shape Organizations And The Way Employees Are Managed There are several drivers from the external environments of businesses that influence changes to the way a business performs its activities and manages its employees. The first external driver to the way a business performs its activities is technology (Pace and Wayne, 2001). The development of technology has led to the inexpensive preparation and distribution of information. The current technology in use across many businesses is low cost, has high speed digital transmission and is utilized in producing vital information in a quick and easy manner. The utilization of this technology in businesses eliminates the temporal limitations, which include the restrictions on time, spaces and costs (Michael, 2007). Another key driver from the external environment that has greatly impacted on the reshaping of organizations and the management of employees is the concept of globalization (Harold, 2003). The concept implies that a business makes use of faster transportation systems, has fast access to information from distant markets. This is because the world market has become common with little barriers to trade. An organization’s customers can purchase any of their products from multiple outlets located in various areas around the world (Katherine, 2002). This implies that the organization will have to relocate its employees as well as recruit other members to their new branches so as to be effective in their endeavors. The concept of globalization will assist an organization to know how their competitors are fairing and enable them to remain competitive in the markets. An organization can also take advantage of the concept by attaining customer feedbacks on their produ cts and instantly work out corrective measures to correct the situation (Harold, 2003). Another major external driver that influences the way organizations reshape and manage their workers is the notion of power concentration on a few market shareholders (Katherine, 2002). These big investors normally hold majority of the stocks in other companies and influence the ways in which businesses are run in their respective markets (Pace and Wayne, 2001). When these organizations are displeased in the existing policies, they could in turn make the market fall into jeopardy (Katherine, 2002). The economic factors that affect an organization refer to the policies that governments use in their capital markets, their nature of reason bequest, and their business cycles along with their socio-fiscal infrastructures. For organizations to become successful and manage their employees effectively, they must scrutinize their market environments for any unforeseen changes (Erica, 2006). This type of s crutiny will greatly help the business or organization in maximizing their profitability while minimizing the costs they incur in the process. The wage rates in different countries differ and this implies that organizations will have to adopt suitable policies to handle the issues with their employees (Katherine, 2002). These policies should enable the organization to retain their labor force while remaining profitable in their activities. The social environment within a country