FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES AND MARKETING

Product, costs, position and promotion are the four pp of marketing. The product is a tangible product or service that tends to meet particular consumer requirements (Russell, 2010). Goal is one of the world's leading discount stores. Store offerings include food, clothes and accessory, pet shops, offices, gardening supplies, housing items, housewares, shoes, beauty products and health goods, food, furnishings, athletic goods and toys as well as books (Wilson, 2017). All these goods and services are important for people's everyday lives and thus always have strong market demand. Price is the amount the customer is expected to pay for a product or service (Russell, 2010). Target offers highly discounted products and services. In this case, the company offers “Target Visa Card” that allows the customers to shop on credit (Wilson, 2017). The company also offers discount for online purchases as well as discount on shipping charges during the holiday seasons. Moreover, the company has a packaging pricing policy that allows for a variety of deals such as buy two get on free (Wilson, 2017). The company is ranked the second-largest discount store retailer in the United States (Wilson, 2017). Place includes how the product or service will reach the customer (Russell, 2010). Target has an overarching goal of becoming a one stop shop for customers. The company distributes huge proportion of its merchandise to different stores via a network of distribution centres (Wilson, 2017). Additionally, general merchandise are supplied through the company’s website. Lastly, promotion includes all the marketing communication strategies and techniques such as advertising and sales promotion (Russell, 2010). Target has numerous promotion strategies including special offers and coupons, newspapers and television commercials and flyers. For instance, it is not surprising to come across phrases such as ‘Expect more, Pay less’ signifying highly quality of products at lower prices. The company also circulates flyers to over 50 million households on a weekly basis (Wilson, 2017). Furthermore, the company advertises via the internet and is also actively engaged on the social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube. Other promotional strategies used by the company include “Black Friday” and “10 Days of Deal” promotion (Wilson, 2017). Target’s Human Resources department and their policies Target’s Human Resource Department is responsible for hiring of new employees, learning and development, strategy and operations, and talent acquisition (Wilson, 2017). At Target, all employees are known as team members. The company believes in the diversity and inclusivity of its team members and each team member is treated with great respect. The Human Resource Department has adopted various labor and human rights policies. These policies focus hiring practices, forced and underage labor, migrant labor, discrimination, working hours and time off, and health and safety policy. The policy on hiring practices stipulates that no individual can be hired until approved by human resources (Wilson, 2017). Additionally, there is a zero-tolerance policy for forced labor and underage labor. There is also a policy for migrant labor where all workers including migrant workers have to be provided with wages, benefits and working conditions that are in accordance with local laws (Wilson, 2017). The policy on discrimination calls for respect of cultural and individual differences. In this regard, all workers ought to be treated equally irrespective of race, gender, religion, disability, political opinions, social origin and national origin. With regards to working hours and time off, the company expects an average of 60 working hours per week including overtime (Wilson, 2017). Health and safety is also important and the company emphasizes on the need to have policies to prevent emergencies and measures to improve workers’ awareness on what to do during emergencies (Wilson, 2017). Target's financial plan and the resources they use for successIn terms of financial plans, Target Corporation aims to achieve at least 15% of their average earnings per share overtime ((Wilson, 2017). This can be achieved through effective leadership and good corporate governance. To ensure success, Target mainly uses current and non-current assets to finance its operations (Khaksari, Amira, Teixeira, Vela & Liu, 2010). The current assets include cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, inventory and vendor income receivable. From 2015 through to 2017, the company’s cash and cash equivalents as well as short-term investments increased (Wilson, 2017). The non-current assets include property and equipment and equipment used in the production or supply of goods, rental and administrative purposes. The company’s non-current assets declined from 2015 through to 2017 (Wilson, 2017). ReferencesKhaksari, S., Amira, K., Teixeira, L., Vela, R., & Liu, Z. (2010). Target Corporation: Funding Working Capital. The CASE Journal, 7(1), 19-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/tcj-07-2010-b003Russell, E. (2010). The fundamentals of marketing. Lausanne: AVA Academia.Wilson, R. (2017). Target Corporation: Maintaining Relevance in the 21st Century Gaming Market. Kellogg School Of Management Cases, 1(1), 1-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/case.kellogg.2016.000332