Risk Assessment and Contingency Plans Research Paper

There are several risks that such company as Target can be exposed. First of all, it is possible to speak about the changes in labor legislation. The government of the United States or Canada can introduce new laws requiring Target and other large retailers to raise minimum wages for the employees.

This change can strongly affect the financial performance of this organization. Currently, the company faces various lawsuits related to their alleged failure to compensate their employees properly and offer them adequate medical insurance (EOWLD¹ unpaged). Thus, it is possible that these legal conflicts can eventually give rise to new laws. Canadian citizens do not receive healthcare coverage directly from the employer, it is provided by the government (Greenberg, 63).

However, the cost of the coverage is reflected in the taxes that private companies pay. Therefore, rapid increase in these health coverage costs can result in extra expense for Target. The company has to be ready for these changes in legislations; otherwise they can lose their positions in the market.

Secondly, this management of this company should remember that economic recession forces people in Canada to choose less expensive products, and as a result, retailing companies have to lower the prices and enter price competition.

This competition will be very difficult for Target, especially if we consider its rivalry competition with Wall-Mart (Rowley, 175). Finally, one should also take into account that some Canadian customers may give preference to local retailers rather than foreign ones. Therefore, by opening new stores in Canada Target may not achieve the expected profits.

The contingency plan can include several important steps. For example, the company should develop new compensation plan which reflect the possible changes in labor laws in Canada. Admittedly, this change can affect the profitability of this corporation at the beginning but without it they will not be able to operate in this country.

The second important step is to expand the range of their products. Currently, this company offers high quality products to middle-income people (Rowley, 175). They should also sell the merchandise that will affordable to people of lower income. Additionally, this corporation should establish close partnership with a variety of Canadian suppliers in order to make their supply chain more cost-effective.

Finally, this organization has to make sure that it is viewed by Canadian customers as a responsible corporate citizen. In part, Target can do it by retaining the employees of Zellers Inc, the retailing company that they acquired. Overall, these strategies can avert possible risks or at least minimize their impacts.

Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard

At this point, it is necessary for us to illustrate the future goals of Target Corporation by means of this strategy map. They are closely connected to the company’s intention to open new stores in Canada. They are as follows:

Financial Perspective

1. To increase the profitability of the Canadian department stores acquired by Target by 10 percent at the end of 2012.
2. To increase the sales volumes of these stores by 5 percent at the end of 2012
3. To reduce the operational expenses by 5 percent at the end of 2012.

Measurement

Overall, the management of this company should take measurements on a quarterly basis. They need to focus on three criteria sales rates, net income, and operational expenses of those Canadian stores that merged with the company. Such approach will enable them to track their progress.

Customer Perspective

1. To make sure that the company is viewed by Canadian customers as company that values corporate social responsibility.
2. To develop methods of attracting new customers, for example, by improving the quality of services.

Measurement

The company can adopt several research methods to evaluate and measure Canadian clients’ perceptions. For example, they can conduct online surveys prompting the customers to assess Target in terms of their prices or service quality. The results of these customer surveys will be the milestones showing where these customers have a favorable opinion about the company.

Internal perspective

1. To reduce the stock out rate to a minimum.
2. To establish more close alliances with a variety of Canadian supplier.

Measurement

The management can evaluate this aspect of performance by counting the number of stork-out within a month. These measurements must be taken each month, and they will serve as the key milestones for the management. The second objective can be measured by the number of business partners that Target has in Canada.

Learning Perspective and growth

1. To make sure that the best practices are quickly dissimilated and adopted across the company.
2. To improve the skills of every employee by offering training programs to the personnel.

Measurement

The management can evaluate learning and growth in Canadian stores by measuring the amount of time it takes different department stores to assimilate the best practices of the Company. These measurements must be taken each month, and they will serve as the key milestones for the management. Furthermore, the management should conduct assessment of employee’s performance every month.

The first aspect that has been identified in the strategy map is financial perspective. At this point, the main objective is to reduce the operations costs and increase sales by five percent in Canadian stores. This goal can be achieved by offering products to people of various incomes. Secondly, the management can achieve this goal by optimizing the supply chain.

The second aspect, which can be equally important to Target Corporation is the customer perspective. As it has been said, the company must demonstrate that they really act as a responsible corporate citizen that will benefit Canadian customers. They can attain this objective in several ways.

First, the management must eliminate labor law violations in the workplace. Such controversial incidents can really damage the reputation of this organization and prevent it from expanding in the United States or Canada. Secondly, they can do it by retaining the employees of former companies such as Zellers Inc.

Thirdly, one should not overlook internal process perspective. The main objectives are to minimize stock out rates and establish partnerships with Canadian suppliers. The stock out time can be minimized by using more accurate demand-forecasting methods. Finally, the management should foster learning and growth in the organization. This perspective is probably also vital for the success of Target Corporation. The key task is to make sure that ideas and best practices are quickly disseminated across the company.

They need to work on the improvement of worker’s skills. This is why they should offer training programs to the members of the staff. Finally, the company needs to offer stimulus to well-performing and talented employees. For example, they can give monthly awards the best employees. Later, the management should track their performance on a monthly basis. This assessment will show whether these bonuses and training programs contribute to better performance.

These are the strategies that Target should pursue in order to achieve success in Canada.

Works Cited

Greenberg, Warren. The Health Care Marketplace. London: Beard Books, 2002. Print.

Rowley, Laura. On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-Eye. NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Print.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. “Ricardo Vazquez v. Target Corporation”. 2009. Web.

Footnotes

¹ the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.