In 2001, Business Ethics magazine listed Target Corporation one of the 100 corporate citizens of 2001. Target Corporation provides employment close to 300,000 people with an employee growth rate of 9%. The retail giant has grown to over 1,400 stores spread over 47 states. The success of Target Corporation is a result from the key planning of the company, (www.target.com, 2005). Part of Target's initiatives and plans include impacting employees, stakeholders, and the community as a whole. Target states on their website, "As the company evolves, we will continue to add and refine social policies to reflect the scope of our business." Being a socially responsible company is a big issue for many businesses. Social responsibility might sway the financial performance of the company either positively or negatively. The manager of a company has to be able to make an ethical decision in order to be socially responsible, (Donaldson, 1982).
Ethics help manage values associated with quality management, strategic planning, and diversity management to ensure that organizational behaviors are aligned with those values set, (Donaldson, 1982). Ethical thinking is essential to strategic planning for any business. …
