INTRODUCTION The Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest incorporated merchandising company in the world. The Bay remained in business in North America after its incorporation on May 2, 1670 by Royal Charter. The official title of the company is "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading in Hudson's Bay". This title is usually shortened to "Hudson's Bay Company" or simply "the Bay". I was drawn to the Hudson's Bay Company because, first, I often shop in the Bay. Accordingly, I would like to show the pride and respect I have for this successful company and its great history. Second, I have easy access to the information needed to complete this independent study. Finally, since I am not an expert when it comes to company operations, this independent study will allow me to gain a deeper understanding of management and how it affects me. I used a number of resources to create this report. Resources are: Hudson's Bay Company Annual Reports 1996, 1997, 1998, Employee Training Manual, Internet, and Magazines. I have combined these resources to produce a very informative report on the Hudson's Bayu Company. Beyond that, the resources I used gave me the ability to cover many aspects and areas of this company. The topics covered in this report are: company profile, human resources, customer service, organization and community involvement. I have included these types of information to provide you, the reader, with an in-depth interpretation of the Hudson's Bay Company. To understand how Hudson Bay Company (HBC) became the company it is today, a brief history is needed to gain some background knowledge. In the first century of the Bay's existence, he established forts on Hudson Bay and traded furs with the native peoples. In the second century of the Bay, competition from the North West Company was recognized and responded to. This total time period of 200 years contributed to the discovery of Canada. In 1821, the two competitors merged under the name Hudson's Bay. In the twentieth century, HBC began to focus on retail, which today is its main business. Between 1913 and 1968, HBC built department stores in the centers of major cities in Western Canada. As time passed, the Bay moved into eastern Canada and the suburbs of major Canadian cities.