TARGET Corporation’s Corporate Background

In competition there is motivation in every company to improve and develop their objectives.  For an enterprise to succeed in global competition there is a continuous plan to develop new products with higher quality than its competitors. Kay (1993) analyzes that new product and new business development must be highly effective and efficient, however that alone will not ensure its competitiveness.  It must be supported with a suitable culture throughout the enterprise.  It must have a group of body that supports, encourages, and promote innovation for the company to succeed in the end.

 

The corporate world is very classy and every move they made seems to make an impact on the life of the people. Every aspects of our everyday world have been influenced by modernization, consequences of countless business decisions.  Business activity integrated into our way of life, and culture changes in accordance to the rapid growth of “business culture”.  In other words, people are the main reason why corporations and different business establishments seeks to develop different strategies that will make them stand out among their competitors.  They want to create an impression so that people will patronize their products and eventually lead them to financial success. 

 

The aim of this paper is to discuss the corporate background that Target adopts a business enterprise in order to remain competitive in the retail industry and promote successful growth as a business organization. As such, the company’s history, mission, and core values were presented along with other business considerations that the organization adheres to.

 

History

Business in our society plays a very important part in “shaping the structures of our society” and in “challenging traditional values” (Deeks, 1993). In order to understand the reason why corporations never stop from developing their business ideas and seeking ways to improve their strategic moves for the company to at least dominate the industry, it is important to know how business is being defined. Business is always associated to the word occupation, profession or trade.  It could also be defined as a profit-seeking enterprise or concern.

 

Based on the dated background of Target, the company started as a discount-store and evolved as a successful retail business through the management’s initiation of industrial innovations. The company was founded in Minneapolis by George Dayton in 1902 (Schulz, 2005). From the store name Goodfellows, a series of company names transpired before the company was finally called Target. From being the Dayton Dry Goods Company in 1903 to Dayton Company in 1910, the company was the first fully enclosed two-level shopping unit and opened the first official “target” discount store in Minnesota in 1962. Five years later, the business offered its stocks to the public, merged with J. L. Hudson Company and started its acquisition strategies to expand the enterprise as Dayton Hudson Corporation. The acquired companies included Mervyn’s, Gemco, and Marshall Field’s. By 200, the corporation changed its name to Target and operated under Marshall Field’s, Hudson’s and Dayton’s brand names as single store units. In 2004, upon the recommendations of the results of the selling study conducted by Goldman Sachs Group, Target Corporation sold Marshal Field’s and Mervyn’s stores. Other mergers and acquisitions strategies were considered by the company’s management in the two years that followed. At present, the main headquarter of the corporation is located in Minneapolis near the original Goodfellows store operating its main retail subsidiary, Target Stores, under the banner ‘Target’ along with other subsidiaries of the company namely target Financial Services, target Sourcing Services/Associated Merchandising Corporation, Target Commercial Interiors, Target Brands and target.direct (Target Corporation, 2006).

 

 

Mission

Corporate competitiveness will be achieved by those companies that are successful in formulating, implementing and communicating sound global strategies. For decades, corporate strategy practitioners and academic researchers have drawn widespread attention to the importance of formulating comprehensive, sound, futuristic corporate strategies (Higgins, 1996). Corporate strategic success can be figured out by strategy implementation of the companies’ core objectives in order to achieve the long-term goals and mission of the organization.

 

In the case of Target Corporation, the company’s mission includes the consistent delivery of their “expect More Pay Less” promise to the American consumers and the creation a workplace environment that encourages and enhances the individuality of the staff and employees. The company likewise pursues the attainment of 15% or more average annual earnings per share growth over time by demonstrating effective leadership and corporate governance. Finally, ensuring the general welfare of the public and communities where the business organization operates through financial assistance to education, arts, and social action organizations, volunteerism and environmental efforts (Target, 2005).  

 

 

Core values

The corporate strategy concept pertain to a kind of management practice whereby persons systematically attend to questions of purpose in a corporate setting, to the expectation of obtaining lasting benefits – profits, market power, and personal prestige (Gilbert Jr., 1992). The span of this practice is specified as “the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the distribution of resources necessary for carrying out these goals” (Chandler, 1962, 13).

 

According to the November 2005 Forbes article, Target Corporation consistently ranked as one of the most philanthropic companies in the United States as the highest cash giving organization (2.1%) donating approximately 5% of its pre-tax operating profit while giv9ng $2 million dollars a week to the community it operates in. The Target Visa charity program of the organization has given over $150 million to assist schools across the country (Moyer, 2005).  

 

Target promotes diversity which is reflective in their staff members and store teams keeping in mind the diverse people they serve. Diversity serves as the business organizations’ core corporate value. The company likewise believes in offering retail merchandises to the American consumers at the lowest possible prices. This principle summarizes the general corporate value of the company along with the management’s charitable endeavors to the communities where their stores are situated as well as environmental concerns and support and promotion of the welfare of the public. As the company’s contribution to environmental preservation efforts, the management makes it a point to recycle and minimize the waste of the business. Moreover, the company adheres to national and local partnerships to upgrade the living conditions of the localities it serves encouraging members of the company to help charitable institutions as well as donating and sponsoring outreach programs (Target, 2005).

 

 

References:

 

Chandler Jr., A. (1962). Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of American Industrial Enterprise. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

 

Deeks, J. (1993). Business and the Culture of the Enterprise Society. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

 

Gilbert Jr., Daniel R. (1992). The Twilight of Corporate Strategy: A Comparative Ethical Critique. New York: Oxford US

 

Higgins, R. B. (1996). The Search for Corporate Strategic Credibility: Concepts and Cases in Global Strategy Communications. Wesport, CT.:Quorum Books.

 

Kay, J. A. (1993).  Foundations of Corporate Success: How Business Strategies Add Value. Oxford: Oxford University.

 

Moyer, L. (November 2005). The Most Charitable Companies. Retrieved March 31 2006, from < http://www.forbes.com>

 

Schulz, D. (2005 July). The Nation’s Retail Power Players 2005 – a Special Report Sponsored by Triversity Stores. Retrieved March 30, 2006 from <http://www.stores.org/pdf/05JULYTOP100.pdf>.

 

Target Corporation. (2006) About Us: History. Retrieved March 31, 2006 from <target.com>.