Swot Analysis of "General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data" written by William J. Bruns Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Comparable Mills facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Data, Financial analysis, Financial management, Government and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Comparable Mills, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Comparable Mills operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Comparable Mills
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Comparable Mills
Strengths General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Comparable Mills in General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Comparable Mills is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Comparable Mills is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Comparable Mills in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Comparable Mills are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Comparable Mills has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Comparable Mills to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Comparable Mills to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Comparable Mills to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Comparable Mills has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Comparable Mills in the sector have low bargaining power. General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Comparable Mills to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Comparable Mills
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Comparable Mills does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Comparable Mills has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Comparable Mills has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Strong track record of project management
– Comparable Mills is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Comparable Mills has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data are -
Need for greater diversity
– Comparable Mills has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Comparable Mills has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Comparable Mills products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Comparable Mills needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data, is just above the industry average. Comparable Mills needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data HBR case study mentions - Comparable Mills takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Comparable Mills has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Comparable Mills has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Comparable Mills even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Comparable Mills is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Comparable Mills has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data, in the dynamic environment Comparable Mills has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Comparable Mills has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Comparable Mills needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Comparable Mills can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Comparable Mills operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Comparable Mills in the consumer business. Now Comparable Mills can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Comparable Mills can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Finance & Accounting segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Comparable Mills to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Comparable Mills to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Comparable Mills can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Comparable Mills can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Comparable Mills to increase its market reach. Comparable Mills will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Comparable Mills has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Comparable Mills to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Comparable Mills can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Comparable Mills can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Comparable Mills can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Comparable Mills can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data are -
Regulatory challenges
– Comparable Mills needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Comparable Mills needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Comparable Mills can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Comparable Mills can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Comparable Mills high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Comparable Mills will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Comparable Mills has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Comparable Mills needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data, Comparable Mills may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Comparable Mills.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing wage structure of Comparable Mills
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Comparable Mills.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Comparable Mills can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Comparable Mills business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Comparable Mills in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of General Mills, Inc.: Appendix of Comparable Company Data is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Comparable Mills needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.