Interestingly, Wal-Mart demonstrated organizational agility in its preparation and management of the Hurricane Katrina crisis. Before Katrina hit land,
Wal-Mart marshaled its extensive distribution network and stocked its stores
with the frequent supplies that are normally purchased during a natural disaster
and was able to serve gulf coast areas better than other companies or public
institutions (NewsMax.com, 2006). Its efficiency, in contrast to government
agencies that did not react until days after the hurricane, was the result of a
CEO who used his previous logistics experience to manage stores during
Hurricane Katrina and was able to assemble a cross-functional emergency operations center designed to quickly bring together people from different groups in
Wal-Mart to make decisions and set priorities for tasks