Target s Corporate and Social Responsibility

Outcomes
Efforts: Cultural Awareness and Civil Engagement Activities
Civil Engagement
Target Corporation believes that sharing their experience and resources with policy makers will give rise to better decisions for communities and businesses. The civic activities of Target can be categorized into public policy, issue advocacy, and political engagement.
1. Public Policy
The company believes that participating in legislative and public-policy activity is a significant and essential constituent of being a differentiated, multinational retail business. Target works in tandem with voted officials of both political parties to aid in shaping positive public policy solutions that are beneficial to its business operations, team members, clientele, as well as the consumers they serve. The corporation is dedicated to ensuring the alignment of public-policy activities and business interests, capitalizing on a decision-making process to support continuing amenability with their alignment goal, and sustaining transparency to all stakeholders. Notably, in the 2012 fiscal year, Target Corporation unveiled Citizens@Target, which is the corporation’s action center for members of the team and clientele. The company also provides an unbiased platform for civic engagement that accentuates issues influencing Target’s business and offers resources for team members and members of the community to participate (Target Corporation, 2019).
2. Issue Advocacy
By being a major retailing company and also employing approximately 350,000 team members, Target Corporation plays a positive role in notifying policymakers regarding numerous legislative issues. The company advocates at all levels of government, with trade companies and policy-based establishments, to guarantee that the effect legislative and regulatory issues have on the business operations; the industry in its entirety, communities and members of the team is comprehended. In the 2017 fiscal year, Target Corporation’s direct advocacy lays emphasis on three aspects including new store expansion, employee scheduling as well as trade, which are perceived as the company’s fundamental priorities. This is owing to their influence in the retail industry, and furthermore, the direct and substantial effect to the business (Target Corporation, 2019).
In regard to new store expansion, one of the key strong suits at Target takes into account their flexibility in retail store design. In recent times, the company initiated small format stores in situation where a conventional Target store would not fit, for instance, urban markets and proximate to college and university grounds throughout the nation. These stores range in terms of size and variety, and enable Target to generate a more locally pertinent experience for consumers. Secondly, as for employee scheduling, Target’s retail stores attract a diverse and gifted group of team members, partly owing to the reason that the company offers flexible scheduling policies. Notably, hourly team members, ascertain the number of hours they are available to work, and Target forms timetables and programs around their availability in line with business needs. Lastly, in regard to trade, Target provided backing for U.S trade policy to diminish import duty charges and alleviate barriers for the free flow of goods and services across borders. Imperatively, trade agreements help in the reduction of high import taxation, which can get as high as 30 percent, which is beneficial to the corporation in passing value to its consumers (Target Corporation, 2019).
3. Political Engagement

Target Corporation may provide financial assistance and backing to political aspirants, political parties, or ballot initiatives through two distinctive channels including TargetCitizens PAC, which is financed via the voluntary contributions of the company’s qualified team members and secondly through the use of overall corporate funds where sanctioned by law. To begin with, TargetCitizens PAC is financed via charitable donations by eligible team members and contributes in a bipartite way to federal contenders and organizations. TargetCitizens PAC takes into consideration different aspects when making decisions to offer contribution including overall alignment with their business goals and objectives, magnitude of the company’s presence in the contender’s state, pertinent legislative committee undertakings, political balance and the interests of the company’s stakeholders (Target Corporation, 2019). Secondly, the utilization of general corporate finances for political contributions is allowed if Target ascertains that it would be a suitable means of progressing issues that are significant to the business operations. The leadership of Target appraises and commends any use of general corporate finances for campaigning activities.
Cultural Awareness
In regard to cultural awareness, Target fosters a culture of inclusivity, where every member of the team, in each role at every level, has a feeling that they can bring their entire self to work on a daily basis. The inference of this is that instills the power of linkage and networking, to one another, to the communities the company serves and to the planet. This is perceptible through Future at Heart. Imperatively, Future at Heart has extensive implications for the business operations. This encompasses the manner in which the company designs and develops its products and brands, where to position new retail stores and the manner in which Target partners with local communities. It also encompasses how Target designs work for its team members to ensure that it is rewarding and delighted and the manner in which consumers experience the company’s products and services at every turn when they visit a retail store (Target Corporation, 2009).
Alignment: Alignment to the Corporate Mission, Vision, and Values
The mission of Target Corporation is make the company the preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, incessant innovation, and exceptional guest experiences to their consumers by constantly fulfilling their “Expect More. Pay Less” brand assurance (Jurevicius, 2013). To begin with, the company ensures that its retail stores are situated closer to the communities in which they serve. For instance, in recent times, progressively more retail stores have been set next to college campuses. By making an investment in residential places and workplaces, Target Corporation is able to generate more sustainable communities for forthcoming generations of consumers and members of the team. Furthermore, in its purpose of enhancing the community, Target’s presence and investment is able to cultivate and increase economic vitality. Furthermore, the company examines the communities that are new, more so in traditional undeserved regions, and considering the different roles of the business and what philanthropic backing can help (Target Corporation, 2019).
Impact: Improvement in Corporate Exposure and Profits
With the civic engagement and cultural awareness activities of the Target Corporation being in alignment with their vision, mission and values are beneficial to the entity as they generate a competitive advance, improve the level of exposure and also generate an increase in profit margins. Imperatively, by making an investment into civic engagement and cultural awareness activities, Target will be able to better understand its consumers. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the company does not experience immediate returns, but the impact is rather experience in the longstanding period. The civic engagement activities undertaken by the company can significantly benefit Target Corporation. For instance, in regard to new store expansion in issues advocacy, this enables the company to have engagement with elected officials on matters significant to the business operation. More specifically, a fitting instance is that in 2017, Target worked in tandem with community leaders and voted officials proactively to facilitate the business expansion and tackle different societal problems varying from flow of traffic to alcohol sales. Similarly, these activities are beneficial to the corporation in that Target has positive conversations where they can share prospective influences of scheduling legislation on the business operation, the members of the team and also clientele (Target Corporation, 2019).
Target Corporation’s engagement in charity and benevolent work together with scholarship programs will improve the living standards of the communities served by the organization. As a result, this will generate a strong and pivotal connection between the corporation and community and in this manner give rise to increased consumer base (Susheel, 2018). Furthermore, the alignment will be beneficial to the company in terms of improving its sustainability. By having a significant customer base, Target Corporation will have the ability to increase the shareholders’ value. By incessantly conducting civic engagement, the corporation will have the ability to advertise and promote itself within the community. As a major retailer, the continued interaction with the community they serve, this will guarantee that the general public continues to be aware of their presence and also increase the likelihood of shopping there (Susheel, 2018).
Best Potential Outcome of Target’s Corporate Social Responsibilities and the Extrinsic and Intrinsic Rewards
Intrinsic rewards can be delineated as insubstantial or psychological rewards such as appreciation, anticipation for better positioning and accommodative outlook at par for employees regardless of their status. On the other hand, extrinsic rewards can be delineated as substantial rewards, which are external to the job or task undertaken by the employee for instance bonuses, salary, incentives, job promotions and others (Khan et al., 2014). Research indicates that consumers are more willing and incline to purchase products from institutions that participate and support practices that improve the wellbeing of the society. Interestingly, in the contemporary, progressively more consumers are distrustful of irresponsible corporations that participate in unethical business practices. Any CSR activities undertaken by a firm ought not to be perceived as a liability on the finances of the entity but rather be deemed an investment plan (Baden, Harwood, and Woodward, 2009). One of the most ideal outcomes of Target’s CSR practices are that the civic engagement and cultural awareness activities will be beneficial for the business in improving its level of customer retention in addition to obtaining new business affiliations and deals in various markets. Secondly, there is the prospective outcome that the company will be able to enhance and advance relationships in regard to suppliers, distributors, networks as well as consumers.
Furthermore, the company will become progressively more attractive and appealing to talented and proficient employees in the job market. In addition, the civic engagement activities undertaken by Target Corporation will enhance the company’s position and reputation. Corporations consider that building a solid and proper reputation is imperative for gaining legitimacy with regard to CSR actions and social values. Firms with high public profiles in the marketplace are more worried about building good social reputation with the aid of the involvement of the community in CSR activities. Implementation of CSR gives leads to an upsurge of a firm’s credibility, which in tandem with reputation provides a kind of insurance, referred to as reputational capital, in the event of less than optimal ethical conduct. When CSR activities are conveyed and understood, it can operate as a form of safeguard that generated reputational capital. In the case of any ill-fated actions that are in violation of the corporate reputation, accumulated reputational capital aids in the protection of the firm and makes it conceivable to detach the issue from the rest of the firm (Lii and Lee, 2012).



References
Baden, D. A., Harwood, I. A., & Woodward, D. G. (2009). The effect of buyer pressure on suppliers in SMEs to demonstrate CSR practices: an added incentive or counter productive?. European Management Journal, 27(6), 429-441.
Jurevicius, O. (2013). Mission statement of Target. Strategic Management Insight.
Khan, A., Latif, F., Jalal, W., Anjum, R., & Rizwan, M. (2014). The Impact of Rewards & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Employee Motivation. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 4(3), 70.
Lii, Y. S., & Lee, M. (2012). Doing right leads to doing well: When the type of CSR and reputation interact to affect consumer evaluations of the firm. Journal of business ethics, 105(1), 69-81.
Susheel, C. (2018). Handbook of Research on Civic Engagement and Social Change in Contemporary Society. New Delhi: IGI Global.
Target Corporation. (2009). Future At Heart. Retrieved from: https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/Future-at-Heart
Target Corporation. (2019). Issue Advocacy. Retrieved from: https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/civic-activity/issues-advocacy
Target Corporation. (2019). Political Engagement. Retrieved from: https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/civic-activity/political-engagement
Target Corporation. (2019). Public Policy. Retrieved from: https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/civic-activity/public-policy