Target's Organizational Structure

The history of Target began back in 1902 when the founder, George Draper Dayton, began a partnership with The Goodfellow Dry Goods Company. Dayton was a banker and real estate investor who quickly advanced from partner to President of the company, which was then renamed “Dayton Dry Goods Company.” As a man of business, Dayton was very aware that making money was important but also knew that giving back was just as pivotal to making a name for his business. In 1918, he made a statement saying, “Success is making ourselves useful in the world, valuable to society, helping in lifting in the level of humanity, so conducting ourselves that when we go the world will be somewhat better of our having lived the brief span of our lives.” This statement

The company went from being a partnership dry goods warehouse, then transitioned to a family owned department store and finally developed into several discount retail branches which now operate today without envolvement from the family. Even with the changes that Target has been through, they have always had a divisonal structure with the organization. “Divisional structure is a type of organizational structure that groups each organizational function into a division. These divisions can correspond to either products or geographies.” Each divsion has certain projects and tasks that they are held responsible for and it is clearly stated in their job descriptions. The CEO, or President of the company is at the top of the structure, followed by the Vice President and then trickling down to the company Chair Members and Directors. The President, Vice President and Chair Members are all responsible for making decisions that will effect not only stock holders and employees but they are also responsible for the decisions that effect the consumer base. This is the back end of the business that consumers do not see as much as they do the structures in the retail stores. In the branches of Target there are Store Managers, Assistant Managers, Specialists and Team Members that all have specific jobs that they are held accountable to complete successfully or

“Because the divisional structure is based on an extensive delegation of authority, the performance of each division can be measured directly. In addition, managers can be held accountable for the sales and profits of their division. As a result, division managers usually perform better and employee morale is generally higher.” This applies directly to how Target operates their retail stores and a large part of why they set up their structure in a divisional manner. Holding specific people accountable for certain tasks, allows business to be conducted in a more organized fashion. Target had been a family owned company for a large majority of its development and if one were to think about how a household is ran, it is done divisionally. Chores are delegated throughout the household by the parent figures just as a manager delegates task amongst his or her employees, and all to keep everyone well organized so that everyone involved is taken care of properly. Target sets a standard by saying, “Our Team is our greatest asset, so we invest in the growth and development of our team members and leaders, and have fun in all we do. We’re committed to building a team that does the right thing for our communities, our shareholders and, above all, our guests.” They have put focus on how the company is run so that others can benefit from their success. The store managers are