Relative Effectiveness of the Company’s Strategic Controls

When it comes to the way in which General Mills implements the strategic controls, the holistic margin management approach should be noted. The approach is linked to the company assessing the existing efficiencies and inefficiencies to understand which strategies should be implemented in order to boost performance and create the overall brand value.

As soon as all efficiencies are identified, the company would work on eliminating inefficient processes that can represent waste in regards to operational activities or increased costs. Holistic margin management is a strategic control that has saved General Mills $1.3 billion and $4 billion in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Therefore, such an approach has a positive influence on supporting the strategic choices of the company.

Apart from holistic margin management, General Mills has also implemented segment growth analysis. This strategic control measure is linked to the analysis of the growth, or its absence, in each area where there is inventory. The approach means assessing all operations beyond the local market. By doing so, it is possible to determine the areas that are growing and those that are not.

The reasons behind slow growth are also identified. In this way, certain products that have not performed to the desired level are revisited. For example, a new marketing strategy may be developed to boost the sales of the product, or it could be eliminated from the range. Such strategic control is effective because it points to the mistakes that have limited the performance of the organization and encourage organizations to be proactive in eliminating them.