Key Facts
Target has been able to devise a way of predicting which clients are pregnant without them knowing. According to the retail firm, knowing this about clients is good because it is during that time that they start forming brand loyalty to specific brands which they maintain throughout most of their child’s young life (Hill, 2012) . This prediction score cannot only make it easy for other marketers to get the clients to know about their products but could also prove valuable to other parties including potential employees.
According to target’s privacy policy, the store tracks everything an individual does on its social network platform, stores and websites. The company is also clear that it will use this information with other companies for marketing purposes (Hill, 2012) . Those it shares information with include business partners, other vendors and organizations. As it turns out, the information is provided to other companies so that they can sell to these pregnant clients (Hill, 2012) . What is more, there are no legal ramifications for the organization since its activities are consistent to its privacy policies.
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Ethical Issues
There are various ethical issues that are present in this case. One of these is the fact that Target collects information from its clients without their consent. Although users of the company’s web site can be notified of their privacy policy that allows the tracking down of their activities (Duhigg, 2012) . Those walking into the store and using their social media sites on the other hand might not have a clue that whatever they are doing is being recorded.
As a result, this is a violation of privacy one could face events that could make them change for the worst (Hill, 2012) . This prediction score also targets a time of the individual’s life when she could not know that she is pregnant. Another ethical issue is that of selling the information to other third-party companies (Duhigg, 2012) . What is more, there are even countries which need that information to decide what opportunities to deny those that are pregnant.
Affected Stakeholders and How They Would View the Situation
The affected stakeholders are the clients of the organization. This is so because it is their information that is being used wrongly. These are the individuals being barraged by advertisements and offers which most of the times are warranted (Hill, 2012) . In the case of lost opportunities, such as jobs due to pregnancy, it is these clients that are affected. Although Target stands to profit from the selling of this information, nobody else profits. It therefore becomes possible to believe that they view Target as having not protected them when they should have.
Alternative Resolutions of the Problem and Their Implications
One alternative solution to the problem is to respect the privacy of their clients and not collect their information. If they have to do so, the client will continue to fully trust the vendor and maybe increase in their loyalty. Target will then have the opportunity to be able to focus on their core competency which is retailing. Although it will miss a fair amount of money from these third-party vendors seeking the information that they generate, they will get to keep their clients and thus significant revenue in the long-run.
Another alternative is to find a system that will allow clients to be able to accept or refuse target from using their information for their own selfish purposes. If the client can be able to have a filter about who can use their information from the firm, then the statistics can be used accordingly. However, at the moment even a person that was research on pregnancy-products can be bombarded by the said advertisements.
Conclusion/Recommendation
The right thing for the organization to in the case would be for Target to resist using the information predictor in their stores at the moment. After that, any information must be clearly and transparently communicated to those who rightfully own it. If these individuals decide to go on and share their information, then it will be in their own accord. They will also still trust the firm.
References
Duhigg, C. ( 2012, FEB 16). How Companies Learn Your Secrets . Retrieved from nytimes.com: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
Hill, K. (2012, FEB 16). Could Target Sell Its 'Pregnancy Prediction Score'? Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/could-target-sell-its-pregnancy-prediction-score/#3ae4044635be
