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Running head: TARGET CORPORATION COMPANY 1

TARGET CORPORATION COMPANY 11

Target Corporation

Tiffine C. Bourland

12/03/16 Interview Narrative

An Interview is always a vital part of any project to investigate and gather information pertaining a concerned area. It is one of the best methods of data collection that is cheap and effective. There are a lot of advantages in conducting an interview with a correspondent. First, the interview process is fast and effective since the feedback is given in real time. Also, it is very efficient since the interviewee can inquire for clarification if the statement was ambiguous or unclear. The process of interview involves face to face interaction. Hence the parties can easily read non-verbal languages of each other which can tell more about their responses and interaction. Therefore, this paper is going to cover the interview process that was conducted with the operations officer of the Target Corporation Company which is in the United States of America.

Organizations always have several departments that carry out different activities for the company. Therefore, it can be very hard to gather information from each single personnel pertain the entire organization. Thus, I decide to choose the operation manager, Harris Jones, since this is one of the most sensitive parts of the organization that sustains its existence; which was eventually successful. We came into agreement with Harris after explaining to him my intent of carrying out the interview and how I was to treat his responses confidential. The following are the questions that the operations manager responded to in the interview.

What are your duties?

This is the first question that Harris, the operation manager, responded to. Operation manager has a wide role, but specific duties will vary depending on the type of the company. The work includes monitoring and analysing the current systems of production or provision to evaluate its effectiveness and working strategies. The main work here is to gather information that mainly strengthens operations in the company, starting from raw materials to final product. Besides, there is routine management which includes all activities that are carried out daily. This includes reading and writing reports and analysing statistics.

Are there challenges in this department?

“Yes, there are challenges that I face in different occasions. Since this is a company with different branches, I must work hard and ensure that all the operations activities are well handled and give results that fulfil the organization objectives. Planning and controlling changes are one of the challenges. This is one of the parts that need a lot of time to manage, but due to a lot of pressure in the market for competitors, I have to ensure that I beat the deadlines and execute quality 7service.” Harris concluded by saying that operations management is always affected by new technologies. Therefore, he must keep an eye on the trend in technology to ensure that competitors don’t outdo the company in any way.

What are the major strengths of the organization?

“To begin with, Target Corporation is one of America’s retailer organization that is recognized in the United States,” Harris said. “Therefore, the fact that the organization is widely known makes it easier for the organization to sell its product across United States. Secondly, the organization offers a variety of products which gives it the ability to penetrate different market segments starting from children to adults, men to women, young to the old, and different classes of citizens basing on their income. Besides, the company has a wide range of supplies, which enables the company to purchase materials and supplies at lower prices, hence selling the products at a relatively lower price which is a competitive advantage. Lastly, Target Corporation Company has a strong brand. This acts as a very strong marketing tool that promotes sales of company’s products. Consequently, this reduces the cost of advertisement of company’s products and services.”

What are the major weaknesses of the company?

“Although we are strong and firm in the market, we still have weaknesses in our organization” Harris replied. “There are a lot of things that hinder the growth of the organization. As you may be aware, Target Corporation Company offer products such as electronics, household’s essentials, furnishing products, and much more.” He continued. “However, there are new trends that keep on emerging, which demands changes in our products. This is one of the instances that need a lot of funds in redesigning and restructuring the organization systems and processes. Besides, some of the products that might be in stock might become redundant, hence resulting in losses to the company. This is the major weakness that most of our branches encounter in different states. However, our research teams are facilitated appropriately to ensure that they carry out enough research to reduce trend shocks.” Harris concluded.

How does the company manage the partnership with other companies?

“Well, the partnership is one of our main source of competitive advantage,” Harris said. He reflected on the competitive advantage elaborating that they act as an outsourced entity. Target Corporate Company attain its products from suppliers who specialize in their production. Therefore, this reduces the company’s cost of production. The only task that the company has is packing task. Harris elaborated that their relationship with the suppliers and partners are based intensively on information. Information is the key element that strengthens their bond regarding feedback, sales trend, demand on the market, and customer needs. Target Corporation is a retailing company hence it has a personal contact with the customers, which enables them to collect primary data concerning the products. “The only way to keep in touch with the stakeholders is by updating them on the latest news in the market with the aim of improving mutual organization’s performance.”

How does the company treat their customers?

“Business principles say that the customer is the king in any business.” Harris, the operations manager, began. There are a lot of ways in which Target Corporation Company consider in treating their customers. One of the ways is offering them quality products. Thus, the company ensures that every attribute and feature that the company’s product has, meets customer’s needs. A fair price is another aspect of customer consideration. The company offers its products at lower prices which are affordable to customers of all financial brackets. Besides, the company distributes the products to the points where the customers are densely located, hence saving them from incurring transportation costs and saving time. Also, the company brands its products for loyal customers to get what they need from the company, by easily differentiating company’s product from other brands of the same product.

What are the main supporting components of the company?

Per Harris, J, the main supporting components of the business are systems and processes that use the latest technology. The packaging of the products is one of the jobs that highly demand technology intervention. If done manual, it will take longer and most possibly become costly in catering for human labour. Besides, record keeping and communication cannot be effective if done manual. Therefore, accounting systems and communication system platforms are some of the components that keep company’s operation at ease and competitive.

Organization Analysis

The organization

Target Corporation is one of the biggest retailing companies in the United States. The company offers a different type of products to its customers. Some of these products include household products, home decors, food, pet supplies, electronics, and much more. Target cooperation collaborates with different suppliers who specialize in their production. The main task of the supplier is to produce the products; then Target Corporation does the packaging and branding per the organization requirements. Branding makes the product to be identified with the organization and win its customers who embrace the company’s product (Target Corporation, 2016).

Organization’s Industry

The company is driven by the need to provide quality services and products to its customers. The industry constitutes big companies that produce similar products such as electronics, apparels, furnishing, and food such as Walmart. It sets higher standards by making the company a place where customers can get all the products they need. Target Company has a total market share of approximately 6%. Walmart has the largest market in the industry (Target Corporation, 2016).

Products and services

The company has a wide range of products that customers can choose. Some of the products that the company offer include fashion products, electronics, home furnishing, and pet supplies. The company has perpetually won great market share due to its quality customer care and delivery services.

Customer Profile

Target Corporation serves customers who are willing to purchase goods at a discount price. It appeals to all kind of customers regardless of their age or gender. The company has products that appeal to kids and adults. For instance, kids’ products such soccer apparels can be found as well as groceries. Besides, young professionals can also find products that satisfy their needs (Dickson, 2013).

Competitors

Target Corporation competes with big companies such as Walmart, which is one of the largest companies in the United States. Walmart offers a wide range of products and service that are relatively like Targets. It has several branches in U.S as well as outside the United States. This is the main reason why Walmart has prospered globally and continues to be the leading company in the industry.

Mission statement

We fulfil the needs and fuel the potential of our guests. That means making Target your preferred shopping centre in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation, and exceptional experiences. The company consistently fulfils customers’ expectation through lower prices and brand promise (Target Corporation, 2016).

History of Target Corporation

Target Corporation started operating in the year 1902. Gorge D. Dayton was the sole owner by then as well as the president of Dayton Dry Goods Company. The company was renamed in the year 1911 to Dayton Company. The name reflected the broad range of goods stocked by the company. The company entered discount retailing in the year 1961 after a progress of success. The first Target store was opened in 1961, while the first target store was opened in 1966 outside Minnesota. At the end of the financial year 2015, the company recorded a revenue of $ 72,618 million. The headquarters is in Minnesota and employs approximately 347,000 employees in all its branches. It made a net profit of $2,449 million at the end of January 2015 (Target Corporation SWOT Analysis., 2016).

Structuring and Organization Design

Target Corporation has structures and design that contributes to its success. The company has a short process of receiving, processing and dispatching its products. The company obtains its products from suppliers, after which they pack and brand name to obtain the aspect of differentiation. After the products are well packed and branded, they are supplied to different organizational stores in different parts of United States where they are distributed to the end customer for consumption.

The company also has its facilities located within United Stated. This one major element of its structures. The fact that most of its operations and branches are only located within U.S.A makes the company free from issues that are involved in transportation costs and other challenges in the international market. Target Corporation operates in 38 main distribution centres. The distribution centres then ship the products directly to organizational stores in the United States (Target Corporation, 2016). There are 1,792 organizational stores which the company operates. This clearly elaborates that it has totally covered the parts of the United States (Wahba, 2016).

Target Corporation also utilizes technology in most of its operations just to improve products and services. The company once was faced data breach, an experience that poses the company into risk such as hacking. Therefore, the company uses high-security systems that protect all critical functions that support the entire organization. Some of the areas that intensively rely on technology include inventory control, accounting systems, security control, and information storage. There is also the integration of JIT systems which optimizes the flow of materials and products from the supplier. Just in Time systems ensures that all the materials and products that are needed in the organization are availed at the right time, in the right quantity, with the right quality, and at the right place.

The main aim of this system design is to ensure that there is no shortage of the products nor interruption of production. Besides, the system ensures that it appropriately responds to the market demand. Thus, Target Corporation has continued serving its customers at their best level which continues to grow their market share in the United States (Danese, 2012). Supply chain management system is another system design that the company extensively integrates into its operation.

Supply chain management deals with product immediately its produced by the producers up to the point where the consumer consumes the products. Some of the functions of supply chain management that is used by Target Corporation include warehousing, supplies, work in progress, production, packaging, and distribution (Ganeshan, 2000). The main objective of the supply chain management ensures that the materials are obtained at the lowest price, at the right quantity and quality, are supplied with less lead time, and are delivered at the needed time. Consequently, this reduces a lot of costs in logistics and material loss, hence giving the company a competitive advantage.

References

Target, (2016). About Target Corporation: Target. Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/about/

Wahba, P. (2016). Target Lays Out Multi-Billion Dollar E-Commerce Plan: Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2016/03/02/target-ecommerce-2/

Cox, A. (2001). Power, value and supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 4(4), 167-175

Ganeshan, R., & Harrison, T. P. (2000). Introduction to Supply Chain Management. Supply Chain Management An International Journal, 47(July), 3-4. Retrieved from http://mason.wm.edu/faculty/ganeshan_r/documents/intro_supply_chain.pdf

Jüttner, U., Christopher, M., & Baker, S. (2007). Demand chain management-integrating marketing and supply chain management. Industrial Marketing Management, 36(3), 377-392.

Danese, P., Romano, P., & Bortolotti, T. (2012). JIT production, JIT supply and performance: investigating the moderating effects. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 112(3), 441-465.

Dickson, P. R. (2013). The adoption of customer service improvement practices. Marketing Letters, 26(1).