Paper Topic: Target’s Corporate Responsibility

On the ïrporate responsibility3ection of their website, Target touts that they have “a legacy of giving and service They even put out an annual report> https://corporate.target.com/sustainability-ESG/go… specifying their current social goals and the progress they’ve made toward those goals.  Let’s focus on one of those goals:

Community giving: Donating 5% of profits

Target has a history of donating money to the community: “For over 70 years, we have given 5% of our profits to communities”. These charitable donations have focused on different themes over the years. For example, in 2009 Target set a goal of giving $1 billion for education by the end of 2015. In their 2015 annual report, they proudly announced exceeding that goal, having “provided $498 million in classroom resources; $218 million in reading programs; $125 million in higher education, scholarships and international grants; $104 million in education programs; and $93 million in arts in schools and hunger.” More recentlu, “In 2021, Target and the Target Foundation committed to investing $100 million through 2025 to help fuel economic prosperity in Black communities across the country. We, do it by supporting local, Black-led organizations to ensure that resources are specifically designed for the communities they serve.“

Ethical question: Should Target have this community giving policy? That is, is this one of Target’s moral responsibilities as a company? Why or why not?

Answer this ethical question by writing up answers to the following questions:

Define the two theories of how companies should be run: Milton Friedmanàstockholder theory, R. Edward Freemanàstakeholder theory.

Explain what these two theories would say about Target’s goal of corporate charity.

State and defend your position on the ethical status of Target’s goal of corporate charity. Defend your position by making ethical arguments in favor of your position and against the alternative position.