After reading the case and watching the material here: Target Canada, write an initial discussion post in which you respond to the decision moment as the VP of Operations. Your post should address the prompt using descriptive analysis only and remain conceptual rather than numerical.
In your initial post:
Identify five descriptive artifacts (variables or views) you would use to make the operational reality visible. For each one, briefly explain: what it is, what problem it would help uncover, how it would support an operational fix. Respond to the broader case questions by explaining: why the “green averages” misled leadership, which descriptive views would have surfaced the problem earliest, what segmentation would matter most (for example: store, category, distribution center, or region), how descriptive analysis could guide a 90-day recovery plan without predictive modeling. Your post should read like a short professional memo and be about the length of one well-developed discussion post, 500 words.
After posting, reply to at least one classmate, 50-100 words. In your response, do more than agree or disagree. Build the discussion by questioning, extending, or refining their ideas. For example, you might suggest a stronger descriptive view, challenge a proposed segmentation, or explain how one of their artifacts could better support decision-making.