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Making ethical business decisions in business
The importance of ethics in business
Example of a case study analysis
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Case Study 4
Relevant Facts
Companies like Target are looking for new ways to get customers to shop at their locations. They have learned through market research that there are certain times in a person’s life when they are more open to changing their buying habits. The most significant of these times is when a woman is having her first child since products will be needed for the baby.
By carefully examining purchasing habits of twenty-five products, Target is able to determine the likelihood that a woman is pregnant and when her baby is due. This gives them the first opportunity to market to the expectant mother instead of waiting on birth information that is available through public records like companies used to have to do. They can then carefully time coupons and offers around key dates that items might be needed.
Target does offer a privacy policy that states that information can be provided to other companies outside of the Target family. The question is whether or not Target provides their analysis data on when they believe a woman is pregnant to other companies since this is not clearly stated in their policy. However, Target says that everyone has the option to stop marketing offers directed at them. Beyond that, there is no way to control information that is collected or find out where that information goes.
Key Ethical Issues
Target’s collection and possible sale of private information could go against basic principles of confidentiality since people trust that they are not revealing information that is confidential. One expects that their personal information is protected and not just provided to anyone who is willing to pay for it. At the same time, people expect Target not to be buying influence ...
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...ent analytic methods, but sometimes choose the right thing to do is not the easier thing.
Final Solutions
Overall, I believe that Target needs to take a two-prong approach to the collection and management of personal information. First, they need to draft a clear privacy policy that everyone will understand. If they want to sell information to third-parties, then the people have a right to know who. Then, in that policy, Target needs to have a way to give people control over their private information perhaps through a website. This would give shoppers the opportunity to update and correct the data giving Target the most accurate depiction for marketing purposes. People do not really understand that their privacy is being jeopardized until it is too late. Target could be an ethical leader in this area which probably would increase their profits even more.
Target business is based on big box centers and supercenters, which are not preferred by many shopper who normally like shopping in small convenience store within the neighborhood.
Target has many competitors in the market, and the level of competition is highly intense. Some of its main rivals are Wal-Mart stores, Home Depot and Costco Wholesale Corp. All of them produce similar products as well as offer almost the same services to their consumers. Naturally, the organization would need a strategy that helps it to stand out and to distinguish it from its competitors, thus, Target 's positioning was based on more than just pricing; it combined quality and style. This was the differentiation strategy that have always been applied since the launch of the organization.
As mentioned earlier about the type of customer that shops at the retail store, Kohl’s target market had always been a woman shopping for their family for a discounted price. However, the times have changed and it is not always the mom that does the shopping. There are now several stay-at-home-dads as well as independent Kohl’s customers that like to shop there for the amazing deals. Thus, the marketing methods of Kohl’s have changed dramatically within the past couple of years with their advertisements focused on attracting everyone in the family to the
Target stores, inc.is a sister company of Dayton Hudson Corporation and started in the year 1962 the same year as two other large retail stores Wal-mart and Kmart. Target has always operated with the motto “ Expect More and Pay Less” target is the third in the big three in U.S. falling behind Wal-Mart and Kmart.a major part of target's success comes from its ability to bundle bargain prices with fashionable name brand merchandise with excellent customer service. Dayton’s department store started looking into Target as a discount chain in the year of 1962 when the company saw a rising in public demand for lower priced merchandise in a family friendly and convenient environment. The name target along with the bulls eye logo were selected for the company's visual impact also to show that target aims at offering
Target is an Equal Opportunity Employer and shall not discriminate against any worker based on race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, disability, political affiliation and national origin. Target will adhere to all laws relating to non-discrimination, wages, hours, working conditions, pension and welfare benefits plans, sexual harassment and other terms and conditions of employment. Discrimination is strictly prohibited.
Target is also a company that is built on ethics. With integrity instilled in all of their team members, everyone helps to uphold Target’s great reputation and maintain their morals of honesty and family. Another big part of Target’s company culture is their focus on community service. After working for Target, one is truly able to understand the meaning of giving back. At Target, team members dedicate their volunteer hours to work with schools, nonprofit organizations, charities etc. to make a difference in the world.
After the breach, many Target customers refused to shop at their stores due to losing trust in the company. Target’s security breach was not an isolated incident; numerous other companies have faced similar security breaches such as Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, Sony, and this could even happen on your own personal home computer. As a Target cardholder and loyal customer for many years, I believe the company took appropriate actions to notify customers of the breach. Target informed me by email and sent a letter reassuring my information was not compromised. As a valued Target cardholder, I was given the opportunity to apply for the free credit-monitoring program, which I took full advantage of. As an additional measure, Target provided customers with a new online safety feature to monitor suspicious activity by allowing customers to set alerts through email or text when purchases exceeded a specified amount. Consequently, Target is tightening security and making every effort to gain back trust to retain
In December 2013, Target was attacked by a cyber-attack due to a data breach. Target is a widely known retailer that has millions of consumers flocking every day to the retailer to partake in the stores wonders. The Target Data Breach is now known as the largest data breach/attack surpassing the TJX data breach in 2007. “The second-biggest attack struck TJX Companies, the parent company of TJMaxx and Marshall’s, which said in 2007 that about 45 million credit cards and debit cards had been compromised.” (Timberg, Yang, & Tsukayama, 2013) The data breach occurred to Target was a strong swift kick to the guts to not only the retailer/corporation, but to employees and consumers. The December 2013 data breach, exposed Target in a way that many would not expect to see and happen to any major retailer/corporation.
According to Schafer (2013), Target Corporation desire is to improve Target Brand and be a better version of Target with an incremental products and services. Target Corporation acquisitions counter any threat from other rival online retailers and allow Target Corporation to cross promote between Target and the new entity strengthening its
“Nothing in a grocery store is where it is by accident. Every item on a shelf has been planned” (Paco Underhill). In the articles, “The Science of Shopping” by Malcolm Gladwell and “How Target Knows What You Want Before You Do” by Charles Duhigg, these authors exemplify effective marketing strategies which were composed by Paco Underhill and Andrew Pole. Underhill is an environmental psychologist; additionally he employs the basic idea that one’s surroundings influences ones behavior and invented structuring man-made environments to make them conducive to retail purposes. Pole was a statistician and revolved his entire life around using data to understand
As we move through a typical day, this information is collected in thousands of ways. Charles Duhigg’s article “How Companies Learn Your Secrets” describes the collection, purchase, storage, and use of our personal information by the major retailer, Target. We all should know that we have agreed to the storage and sharing of our personal spending habits. The policies are disclosed in the Privacy Agreement of the stores shopper’s card, which most of us have.
1. The Discount Department Store. Target prefers to be called as the latter instead of just department store. Expect more, pay less. With this tagline, the customers expect to purchase more items and pay the least amount possible. Not like other retail industries like its competitor Kmart and Wal-Mart, Target maintains retail value in terms of product offerings. They are known in their designer’s items in clothes, exclusive beauty products, categorized and functional goods, and seasonal offerings. It also sells the greatest number of gift cards among its rival business.
Target is one of the America’s top retailers, but still has a few things that can be improved upon before it can overtake its top competitor. Although Target may not be the top ranked retailer at the moment, it’s not hard to see why this company has stood the tests of time and continues to thrive today.
Professor David Soberman describes his disappointing experience, “I have gone into Target stores looking for things, and the product line is not where it needs to be. You want certain things, but you can’t find them. You can find them at Wal-Mart. I just took my child down to school at Queen’s, and I was trying to buy things. I got 95 per cent of what I wanted at Wal-Mart. The other five per cent I got at Canadian Tire. I did go into Target, but I couldn’t find what I needed”
One of Target’s goals is to provide more organic foods. Target is aware of how society is shifting their interest towards organic foods and health. Another one of Target’s goals is to reduce water waste by 10 percent in 2015, whih was met in 2014 by 13.1% (Target Corporate). The company is aware of the possible damage that water waste can cause to the environment and is actively working to prevent them. So far, Target has not had much attention surrounding their social responsibility, but there was one incident in December of 2013 where data of at least 70 million customers were leaked (Target Corporate). This breach allowed criminals to access credit card and debit card information. There is an entire FAQ page on the corporate website answering any questions or concerns that customers may have. Target has recently agreed to a $10 Million settlement in the lawsuit that came after the data breach, in which people will have to provide proper documentation showing their losses during the hack (Parks). Despite this compensation, some customers may not be comfortable shopping at Target