Case Study

Running Head: General Mills SWOT Analysis 1

General Mills SWOT Analysis 2

Though the general mill's corporation has many competitors, it has been able to surmount competitions that are brought about by the following competitors. They are ConAgra, Kellogg and Kraft Heinz in food production. The following is the SWOT analysis of the company (Ward, & Zsolnay, 2017).

Strengths

• The company is involved in leadership development

• The company ensures it gives its customers goods at the right price and they should be of good value

• The company provides that its pricing is done in a volatile manner

• The company sells oats hulls so that homesteads can get electricity facilities

• The company is at the top of reducing the carbon footprint

• In manufacturing its products, the company insists on inventions and innovations

• The corporation engages in energy conservation by using biomass-powered electric plants

• The management ensures that it maintains reliable and well-known brands

• The corporation ensures that ConAgra, Kraft, and McCormick do not beat it in earnings

• The corporation does operate in a complete virtually down turning sector as it deals with consumer’s goods. This means that no matter the occasion people usually have to eat

• The company upholds its owners by ensuring that it pays then dividends and other offerings with no interruptions and with no reductions.

Weaknesses

• It encounters the problem of existing high costs of food processing costs

• The company focuses on franchising outside of the United States that within its borders

• The company grapples with a high debt

• There are issues in updating and record keeping of the cash flows

Opportunities

• The company is making the other companies (Competitors?) start operating under bio-mass-powered factories

• There is a potential presence of these companies’ products (What do you mean by this statement?)

• The company is growing in a healthy conscious manner

• There is increased savory of the general mill's snacks (Products)

• There is increased food service in the agricultural sector

• There are ever-increasing needs of cereals (Repeat statement)

• The company is enjoying a higher penetration rate, and the existing retail customers are few in the USA.

• It encounters the hurdle of growing very fast (White, Trejo-Pech, & Noguera, 2017)

Threats

• There are increases in the commodity prices

• There is the existence of private label growth

• There is the Kellogg’s corporation

• Kraft Heinz

• The existence of ConAgra foods

• There are many lawsuits against general mills products

• The government has increased its agricultural cuts

• There are many competitors

• Pepsi company is enjoying higher earnings (How did Pepsi get involved?)

• There is general erosion in the market

SWOT Diagrammatic Representation- Use the diagram that was in the attachment

Alternative (A)

Focusing on advertisements

The General Mills boosts on its sales by focusing on advertisements as a strategy (Fernandes, 2016). As they have iconic brands which can even be identified by the kids, they can use it to reach much more clientele.

Pros

• High coverage

• Creating lasting memories of their products

• Customer communication

• Cost-cutting programs

• Giving a feeling of hope and optimism

Cons

• Rising of the costs

• Tied up on the prices of cereals

• Concentration on only expansion in disregard to other areas.

Alternative (B)

Focus on emerging markets: due to the influence of the western cultures the company can focus on the new markets while it retains the existing ones. This is because the world is grappling to increase its processed foods. This is going to bring on board many customers

Pros

• Increasing international tough

• Creating a brand equity

• Increasing innovations and inventions

• Steady cash flows

• Giving its customers hope and optimism

Cons

• Increasing its products prices

• Brand compromise

• Tied up regional pricing.

• Expanding very fast

Recommendation

General Mills should focus on advertisement and also focus its attention on the emerging new markets. How should it focus on advertisement and emerging markets? What will this look like?

· Need more depth and grow upon what is being offered as a solution. A lot of basic English errors.

Implementation

General Mills should ensure that it launches an advertisement kitty so that it can cover well its costs and thus will be able to also focus on the emerging new markets. This will make the company have felt outside its precincts and will add innovation in operating in new environments

· Need more depth and grow upon what is being offered as a solution. A lot of basic English errors.

Control

It is salient that the company monitors the implementation of its new strategies ad it forgets the market share that it commands as the ensuing competitors can take it (Dierberger, McIntosh, & Johnson, 2016).

· Need more depth and grow upon what is being offered as a solution. A lot of basic English errors.

References

Dierberger, G., McIntosh, M., & Johnson, N. (2016). Java Plus Coffee: A Case Study in Economic Sustainability in a Non-Profit Organization. American Journal of Management, 16(4), 65.

Fernandes, M. M. A. (2016). Mergers & acquisitions: acquisition of Boulder Brands by Hain Celestial Group(Doctoral dissertation).

Ward, J. L., & Zsolnay, C. A. (2017). Keddeg Company (A): Succession to the Next Generation of Small Business. Kellogg School of Management Cases, 1-8.

White, S., Trejo-Pech, C., & Noguera, M. (2017). ConAgra Foods: valuing a potential recipe for success. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 1-14.