Social Performance The Target Corporation: Description, Stakeholders, and their Roles

The Target Corporation has grown, from a small branch of Dayton Hudson Corporation, to the second largest retailer store in the United States, dealing in soft lines, hard lines, and (mostly) non-perishable groceries. The company has realized numerous achievements, and currently holds the 36th position on the Fortune 500. From a single Minnesota store in 1962, Target corporation has witnessed massive expansion across all states, to a record 1,870 units (82 of these in Canada), and over $70 billion in sales. The company, currently, has Gregg Steinhafel as CEO, and John J. Mulligan as chief financial officer.

Like any other corporation, Target has a wide range of stakeholders: primary, secondary, as well as other key stakeholders. People (groups) that are directly affected by the organization's activities, either positively or negatively, are referred to as primary stakeholders. Secondary stakeholders, on the other hand, are indirectly affected by such actions. An organization's employees, and members of the community within which it operates are some of the more common primary stakeholders. Their family members, for instance, fall under the secondary stakeholders' category. Although stakeholders regarded key or crucial may not necessarily fall in either of the above groups, they do have significant effect on an organization's actions - due to their influence on the masses. The media, and powerful politicians, are examples of key stakeholders.

Stakeholders play a crucial role in the success/failure of any organization, or program. The stakeholders to a program "have the ability to influence program outcomes, both positively and negatively" (Letavec, Rollins, & Altwies, 2008, p.117). It is, therefore, important that organizations ensure that their interests are taken care of (Rabinowitz, 2013). Organizations can best ensure this by embracing a stakeholder participation approach, where stakeholders are given a platform to "both contribute, and take ownership" (Rabinowitz, 2013). This kind of stakeholder involvement has a number of benefits. First, it enables more interaction: organization/stakeholder, and stakeholder / stakeholder. The stakeholder/stakeholder form of interaction is crucial for the success...

It provides the means for the more knowledgeable stakeholders "reaching out to their peers, and explaining the benefits of the program to their particular stakeholder group" (Letavec, Rollins & Altwies, 2008, p.117). Secondly, stakeholders are well-informed about the community's needs, and can give invaluable information regarding product design, and target markets. Additionally, stakeholder involvement is one of the ways through which public confidence is built. The public "will only believe in an open process if it's truly open" (Rabinowitz, 2013).
Developing a Plan for Stakeholder Involvement

It is evident that getting stakeholders to come together is a fundamental step towards realizing organizational goals. The actual plan, however, involves a series of steps: i) identification of stakeholders, and their interests, ii) analysis (mapping), iii) management, and iv) process evaluation

Identification of Stakeholders and their Interests.

Identification of stakeholders is necessary, since, whereas the primary and the key stakeholders can be easily identified, identification of the secondary players may prove a challenge. The most effective methods of identifying stakeholders include brainstorming, obtaining names (categories) from community members and other stakeholders, engaging in inter-organizational consultations, and advertizing. Combining a number of these methods is advisable, for more reliable results (Rabinowitz, 2013). The interest of stakeholders varies, with different organizational goals. The best way to find out these interests is to ask. Stakeholders are often willing to let you know "what their concerns are, and what needs to be done, or to change, to address those concerns" (Rabinowitz, 2013). Once identification is complete, the next task is responding to the concerns raised, in an attempt to maintain stakeholder support.

Analysis (Mapping)

Low interest, High interest, high influence

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Low interest, High interest, low influence

Mapping of stakeholders incorporates those activities that help the organization "assess the relative importance of different stakeholders, and understand the power relations between different groups" (The International Finance…