Target Corporation - Assignment Example

Q1. How may people does the organization employ?Target Corporation, the Minneapolis, Minnesota based retailing company employed approximately 3, 55,000 people as on January 29, 2011. In its regulatory filing (under Form 10-K) to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the company has divulged that it’s combined workforce of 3, 55,000, referred to as team members, includes full-time, part-time and seasonal employees. The employment levels peak for the retail chain from Thanksgiving through the December end as sales tend to reach the apex during this time of the year.

Target Corporation employs approximately 4, 00,000 team members during this period. Q2. How many levels are there in the organization hierarchy?The organization hierarchy (corporate level) of Target Corporation has the following levels:1. Board of Directors2. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.3. Executive Vice President. (Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer)4. Senior Vice President. (Business Development)5. Group Vice President6. District Team Leader.The organization hierarchy (store level) of Target Corporation has the following levels: 1.

Store Team Leader (STL).2. Executive Team Leader (ETL).3. Team Leader (TL).4. Specialists.5. Sales Associates. Q3. Is the organization tall or flat? Does the organization experience any of the problems associated with tall hierarchies? Which ones?The organizational hierarchy as described above indicates that Target has a tall management structure. Companies with tall hierarchies tend to take more time in taking decisions. Information flow, be it top-bottom or bottom-top tends to get distorted leading to misinterpretation of the messages sent.

Due to this, the organization runs the risk of taking incorrect decisions as they may be based on incorrect information.Tall hierarchies tend to increase management costs as well. Managers are usually paid more than subordinates; therefore each additional level in the hierarchy would contribute to escalating costs. Last, but not the least, employees have less managerial authority and responsibility which acts as a stumbling block in motivating them. Q4. Do you think your organization does a good or poor job in managing its hierarchy of authority?

Give a reason for your answer?Given the nature and quantum of Target’s business, the company would require lot of staff. The operational work at the 1750 stores spread across the 49 states is essentially being done by the 3, 55, 000 team members. That translates to a little more than 200 employees per store which is far lower than what the biggest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart has. A clear cut hierarchy and limited span of control ensures that supervision is effective and the work done is of the highest quality.

It is not without reason that the company has won numerous awards. Among others, Target has bagged the 10th spot in the list of “Top 100 Employers for the Class of 2011” compiled by the Diversity Employers Magazine. The retaining behemoth has also been ranked 23rd by Forbes Magazine on the list of “America’s Most Reputable Big Companies.” ReferencesTarget, 2011. Web. 05 October, 2011.