Week 2

Response #1

I would say that General Mills falls in Quadrant 1 of the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix (GSSM) which displays a company with a strong competitive advantage with a strong market for growth (Lucidity, n.d.) The only argument I see is the possibility of strong market growth. General Mills is in an industry that shares a high market share with the top four companies sharing roughly 79% of the revenue for 2021 (Hiner, 2021). Anticipated annual growth for the industry will likely increase during COVID shutdowns and after (if ever) due to increases in the population eating at home. Through the next five years according the Hiner (2021), projections of a steady upward trajectory for the cereal industry is expected as consumers are anticipating a slow steady increase to disposable income. According to the GSSM, a company in quadrant 1 should continue market/product development, increase market penetration, improve upstream and downstream activities, and diversify (Lucidity, n.d.). These align with General Mill’s mission to “Nourishing lives to make lives healthier, easier, and richer” where values are aligned with always doing right, innovation with every aspect, constructing great brands, investing in the employees, and consisted superior performance which are driven through the building blocks of performance improvement (GeneralMillsCareers, 2013).

GeneralMillsCareers. (2013, October 25). General mills mission & values. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTVJ5wkrim0

Hiner, J. (2021, April). Cereal production in the U.S. IBIS. Retrieved from https://my-ibisworld-com.ezproxy2019.trident.edu/us/en/industry/31123/about.

Introduction to the grand strategy matrix. Lucidity. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://getlucidity.com/strategy-resources/introduction-to-the-grand-strategy-matrix/

Response #2

Good Afternoon Class,

The grand strategy matrix is another tool to evaluate what type of strategy is best suited for a company to pursue to remain competitive in a market (Mulder, 2019) Using the matrix the verticle access denotes market growth while the horizontal access denotes the competitive position of the company. Some of the data is not easily identifiable and unless researched cannot be determined. Identifying early on where your specific company is will help to identify your strategy for continued success.

Examining General Mills we see that they fall within quadrant 4, and should focus on finding creative solutions with product diversification to focus on securing more market shares. I came to this conclusion by first examining what is considered high or low market growth. According to the Boston Consulting Group BCG matrix, high market growth is considered 10% (Corporate Finance Institute, n.d.). Looking at IBIS world the highest producing market for General Mills is cereal production which is expected to have a 2.2% annual market growth (Hiner, 2021). Diving further the 10-K filing for General Mills in 2021 highlighted only a 1% growth in the company. This signals to me that overall General Mills is in a market with low overall growth. Looking to identify the competitiveness of General Mills I looked at IBISworld and under major competitors, General Mills has 22.4% of the market (Hiner, 2021). These reasons steer me towards General Mills holding a quadrant 4 position in the GSSM. According to the course work, General mills should work on further diversification to continue to offer products and services to meet customer demands and gain market shares.

Corporate Finance Institute. (n.d.). BCG matrix - Overview, four quadrants and diagram. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/boston-consulting-group-bcg-matrix/

Hiner, J. (2021, April). US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 31123 Cereal Production in the US. IBIS World. https://my-ibisworld-com.ezproxy2016.trident.edu/us/en/industry/31123/industry-at-a-glance

Mulder, P. (2019). Grand strategy matrix. toolshero. https://www.toolshero.com/strategy/grand-strategy-matrix/

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