Hurricane Katrina roared into Louisiana and Mississippi Coast August 28, 2005, the public sector, from local law enforcement agencies of the Federal Agency for Emergency Management, feverishly prepared for what is expected to be a devastating blow. At the same time, the private sector has its exhaustive preparations. At its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, retail giant Wal-Mart has launched a comprehensive emergency response, which included stocking stores in the storm area with special goods, placing teams to assess the shops as soon as the hurricane passed, gather representatives all major functional areas of a centralized emergency operations center in order to find the displaced employees, newly opened stores, and help affected communities. After Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic flooding that overwhelmed the government's response, though, Wal-Mart was playing a bigger role than he had expected. Next chaotic week raised important questions about how the public sector can make full use of the strengths and opportunities of the seller, and whether he was ready to take a big role in Wal-Mart and other companies, in response to a national emergency. Case should be useful for those interested in emergency preparedness, interagency cooperation, public-private partnerships, and organizational behavior. Revised in September 2008. HKS Case Number 1876.1 "Hide
by Susan Rosegrant, Dutch Leonard 4 pages. Publication Date: August 28, 2007. Prod. #: HKS210-PDF-ENG
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