Running Head: INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING
Integration of Faith and Learning
Roger J. Howard-Robinson
Liberty University – BUSI 690
October 6, 2019
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Integration of Faith and Learning
Ethical Issue: Should company leaders only be concerned about the company’s overall
financial performance? What responsibility do company leaders have for the
consequences that come from the strategies that they introduce?
Target
The Dayton brothers in 1962 had a simple idea to combine fashion with
discounted retail products, this simple idea grew into a revolutionary success when the
first Target retail stores were opened (Target, 2015). The Chairman and CEO of Target
has recalled the advice that was given to him by one of the Dayton brothers, Bruce
Dayton shared to the Chairman and CEO that he did not want to focus strictly on
protecting his legacy as the company’s founder, but wanted to place the focus on the
company’s involvement and commitment to the community in which they operate
(Target, 2015). It can be concluded that those words came from a man that was directed
in life by his ‘moral compass’. The Target Corporation was built on a foundation of the
strong beliefs and principles that the founding Dayton brothers believed in, by including
an organizational focus on the company’s stakeholders, employees, customers, and the
community in which they operate.
The Target Corporation has a respected and revered status in the world of retail
because the organization continues to follow and hold close to the objectives of the
organization’s corporate responsibilities. According to Thompson (2020), it has been
argued that corporate executives should not place their concentration strictly on
increasing the organization’s profits, instead executives should put a focus on the
organization creating value for shareholders, and social value for the community as a
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whole. An organization that choses to focus on profits alone will eventually, these
organizations lose the focus on who and what has kept them in business.
No matter how good the reputation of this company is, Target has had ethical and
social issues that have risen. The most notable ethical issues that the organization faced
was in November and December of 2013 during the peak of the holiday shopping season
when a security breach occurred that affected approximately 40 million of Targets
customers, with an additional 70 million customers being added to this group in the
following weeks, approximately 110 million customers had their financial data and
personal information stolen and compromised (Yang & Jayakumar, 2014).
Companies in the current business environment are utilizing any marketing
strategy that is available to them, and in some instances businesses practices that can be
considered unethical, in-order to remain competitive in a crowded environment in which
consumers have many different companies to select from when shopping for a product or
service. Jayson DeMars in an article for Forbes discussed that there are feelings among
consumers that corporate America has taken on the personality traits of being greedy,
selfish, impersonal, and all-consuming; and the American consumer is becoming more
aware of these business practices and less tolerant of companies that act in this manner
(Demars, 2017). During this major security breach, the Target Corporation acted in
several of the ways that had been described by Demars in his article as being the new
normal traits for corporate America, the company had acted greedily, selfishly, and all-
consuming.
The Target Corporation failed to protect its 110 million of its customer’s personal
and financial data by not correcting issues that had been identified within the
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organization’s point-of-sale system. The organization was “all-consumed” with making
sure that credit card transaction were easier to process in-order to expedite the customers’
shopping experience. The Target Corporation was selfish by not reporting and notifying
customers of the full details of this major security breach in a timely manner. As a result
of the organization making unwise strategic moves during this security breach, their
reputation was marked as not being as “customer-first” as it had been perceived.
In any leadership position or position with authority, the individual that holds this
position will hold values and beliefs that will most likely extend out into the organization
and the operations of the organization. As an individual in a leadership position and
holding a position of authority, integrity and godliness should be key personality traits,
and the values that this leader holds closest should be relied upon when they are making
decision for the organization to ensure that the most ethical decisions are being made. 1
Timothy 6:9 (NKJV) tells us “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and
perdition.” 1 Timothy was the letter that written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy, this
letter was written to explain the responsibilities of a leader and warned Timothy of the
dangers associated with placing the focus of riches in the forefront of godliness. These
teachings by the Apostle Paul to Timothy can and should be applied to corporate
leadership. By adhering to these lessons, it is crucial that organizations be more
concerned about their employees and consumers, and the actions and decisions that have
effects on them and the stakeholders, instead of focusing on the financial gain of the
organization.
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In Luke 12:13-21 it is described that a crowd had gathered to hear Jesus teach and
within this crowd was a young man who requested that Jesus do something and force his
brother to split the inheritance he had received with him, Jesus used this as a chance to
teach the young man and responded. Jesus spoke and told the young man of a rich man
who had an abundant crop stored and no additional room, Jesus described how this rich
man wanted more than what he already had and made the decision to tear down the
storehouses that he already had and construct larger storehouses that could accommodate
the additional crops he desired. Jesus then exclaimed, “You fool! This very night your life
will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.”
Jesus taught that the rich man’s desires were selfish and greedy and that the young man’s
request was selfish and greedy in the same way. The Target Corporation and all
corporations should learn from the lesson that Jesus taught this young man, and instead of
operating their organizations in a manner that is selfish and greedy on fulfilling the needs
of the organization and themselves, and focus on acting in ways that are ethical and
benefiting to the members of the organization including their employees, customers, and
the communities in which they operate.
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References
Demers, Jayson (2017, May 17). 5 Common Unethical Marketing Practices: Are You
Guilty? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/05/17/5-
common-unethical-marketing-practices-are-you-guilty/#79de75552f27
Thompson, A. (2020). Crafting & Executing Strategy Concepts and Readings for
Competitive Advantage (Custom 22nd ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Target. (2015, November 13). History: “CEO Brian Cornell Reflects on Bruce Dayton’s
Life and Legacy of Giving.” Retrieved from
https://corporate.target.com/article/2015/11/remembering-bruce-dayton
Target. (2018, July 6). Corporate Responsibility. “Stakeholder engagement.” Retrieved
from https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/stakeholder-
engagement.
Yang, J. L. and Jayakumar, A. (10, January 2014). Target says up to 70 million more
customers were hit by December data breach. The Washington Post. Retrieved
from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/target-says-70-million-
customers-were-hit-by-dec-data-breach-more-than-first-
reported/2014/01/10/0ada1026-79fe-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html?
noredirect=on&utm_term=.5cdab3697936
