There is no shortage of 22 year-olds graduating from middle to lower-tier public universities in the United States who will jump at $50,000 per year jobs coming fresh out of college. They're a dime a dozen, actually.
Now, people who have the knowledge and ability to step in and perform the tasks and leadership that takes years to develop in a permanent position? That isn't as easy to replace. Whether corporate leadership recognizes this or not is up for debate.
Target does not have a model for leadership development that will work. Observe successful retailers. Store managers and above either progress through the ranks of company from below over the course of many years or they enter the company with rich experience with other companies. Of course there are exceptions, and some folks have posted about these experiences. Most, however, will not be prepared to lead teams of 100, 200 people and all the other responsibilities, unless all of that is dumbed down and in fact handled by other layers of management, which is inefficient and can largely be solved by instead installing someone with the necessary seasoning and, thus, skills.
