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Target Corporation - What Makes Them Great

Length: 1425 words (4.1 double-spaced pages)

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Nearly everyone is at least somewhat familiar with Target stores; the famous
Grammar checking at the
bullseye logo is identifiable all across the United States. With the motto
speed of light!
"Expect More, Pay Less", the company suggests that customers can expect
more of everything, at more reasonable prices.1 Target's commitment to the
consumer, as well as it's employment consideration and management style
led Fortune Magazine to name it as one of the Most Admired Companies in
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2005.
The Target Corporation prides itself on their department store roots with a
constant obligation to great prices and stylish originality. The main focus of
every Target store is the customer, whom the corporation refers to as a
"guest", making them feel more personal. Each guest can expect to walk into
a clean, organized, and easy to navigate store with "high quality, stylishly
designed items plus all the essentials for his or her life".1 The company also
has a significant focus on design. The company employs a "design for all"
strategy that says great design is for everyone to enjoy, everyday. The
product designers know how to create products you will "love to live with and
low prices you can't live without".1 The commitment to design has become a
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 key technique of attracting and keeping their shoppers coming back.
Founded in 1962 by George Dayton of the Dayton Corporation, the first store
was opened in Roseville, Minnesota, and served as the prototype for all Target
stores opened since then and changed how consumers thought about
discount shopping.1 Each store was designed with the customer in mind; the
founders of Target realized that the appeal of clean, organized, and well-
designed stores would set them apart from all others in the industry. In every
store, related departments are conveniently placed next to each other. In 2000
the company was renamed the Target Corporation and now has over 1300
stores in 47 states, including more than 140 SuperTarget stores, as well as a
consumer-friendly website. Many stores now have a pharmacy and Club
Wedd and Target Baby gift registries. SuperTarget stores even have a
separate side devoted to groceries. The corporation also offers the Target Visa
Credit Card and the Target REDcard, which is a credit card that can only be
used in Target stores or through the website.
The Target Corporation is also very involved in the communities where they
are located. Each store is committed to making the communities where they
are located better places to live; approximately 5% of all pretax profits go
back to the community. They encourage their employees to volunteer and
donate to charities. In 2005, Target employees and retirees volunteered over
315,000 hours to more than 7,000 community projects.2 The company has
created programs like Take Charge for Education, which donates 1% of each
REDcard purchase to the school of the cardholders' choice. Through the
program, over $183 million has been raised for schools since 1997. The
company has also teamed up with the Tiger Woods Foundation and created
Start Something, which encourages children in the communities to build
individual character as they identify and achieve their goals. They also offer
scholarships, field trip grants, and programs designed to encourage individual
reading and involvement in the arts. In all, the corporation gives back over $2
million a week to the communities they serve for education, the arts, and the

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 social services; including the American Red Cross, United Way, Salvation
Army, and domestic violence and child abuse hotlines. As Newsweek states,
"helping the needy is as important to its corporate character as its class-
meets-mass marketing philosophy".2 The company also prides itself in
promoting reuse and recycling programs for the environment. Stores are now
being built with energy-efficient lighting and equipment, and some new stores
are being built as "green stores" designed to help lessen the impact on the
eco-system and the environment where they are located.1
Target Corporation has many important human resource policies, from the
corporation's hiring practices and diversity efforts, to benefits offered to its
employees. The organization operates under a theory that maintains that "true
excellence can be best achieved by focusing on areas of established strength
and enhancing them, rather than concentrating only on repairing areas of
weakness."3 The company offers job opportunities in every division; the retail
stores, distribution centers, and corporate offices. Possible career
opportunities in the retail stores include assets protection management,
which works to implement programs designed to maximize safety,
effectiveness, and efficiency; store leadership, which includes those who work
to create a "fast-paced, energetic environment that delivers a consistent
experience for both team members and guests"; and human resources, which
works to support the mission of staffing, development, retention, and brand
management. Corporate career opportunities include strategy; which works to
consider guests' comments and suggestions and propose business strategies
that will improve the business, and supply chain and logistics; which works to
provide what the customer wants, when they want it, and at the lowest
possible cost.1 The Target website has an entire section devoted to careers,
and even a special section where college students and recent graduates can
learn about what the organization has to offer in terms of employment.
The Target Corporation is devoted to promoting diversity in their organization.
This commitment is a fundamental way that the corporation stocks their

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 shelves, selects merchandise, designs their stores, and how they welcome
their guests. According to Target, diversity is individuality that incorporates
many different traits, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, education and
life experiences, and physical ability.1 The corporation has specific recruiting
efforts that help them to hire a team characterized by diversity. These
recruitment efforts include seeking out those with disabilities through the
agencies that serve them, recruiting from Historically Black Colleges and
Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions, and also attending minority job
fairs. Target's use of teams allows many individuals with different perspectives
and experiences to work together as a whole.1 Benefits are also offered for
Target Corporation employees. These include health insurance, retirement
and savings contributions, and also competitive pay, a package known as
"myTotalCompensation". While they do offer health insurance to their team
members, one must keep in mind the recent reports that Target has changed
the healthcare plan to increase the amount that employees must contribute to
their coverage.4
Organizational culture is an important aspect of the Target Corporation. David
DeCenzo and Stephen Robbins in the textbook, Fundamentals of
Management, there are ten characteristics of organizational culture; including
group emphasis, a people focus, risk tolerance, and unit integration.5 After
analyzing the information from the Target website, it is apparent that they do
have some aspect of each characteristic. The Target Corporation prides itself
in having an organizational culture where everyone is valued and rewarded for
their efforts, determination, motivation, and hard-work.1 Target also utilizes a
differentiation strategy, unlike the low-cost strategy that is used by Wal-
Mart.3 They strive to put their guests at the top and work to please them in
every aspect, from faster checkouts to making their stores fit the communities
they are in.6
It is apparent that Target is committed to providing their guests with the best
possible experience when dealing with the organization. All of these factors

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 are examples of why Target was listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired
Companies in 2005.

Diversity:

Works Cited
1 Target. 2006. 28 September 2006. http://www.target.com/.
2 "The giving Back Awards: 15 People Who Make America Great; With this
issue, we launch our "giving back awards" in recognition of people who,
through bravery or generosity, genius or passion, devote themselves to
helping others. From hundreds of nominations, these folks were chosen for
imaginative approaches to difficult problems. We hope they remind you of
someone--maybe yourself.(Cover story)." Newsweek (July 3, 2006): 55.
InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale.
3 "Target takes the art of differentiation to new heights.(THE COMPANY)."
MMR 22.16 (Oct 3, 2005): 12(1). InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale.
4 Merrefield, David. "TARGET'S OFF-TARGET AND RISKY WORKER-
BENEFIT CHANGES(health benefits for employee increased)." Supermarket
News (May 29, 2006): 12. InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale.
5 Robbins, Stephen P., and DeCenzo, David A.. Fundamentals of
Management. 5th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005.
6 "Target puts guests at forefront." MMR 22.18 (Nov 14, 2005): 2(1). InfoTrac
OneFile. Thomson Gale.

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