The creation and implementation of efficient management strategies are challenging issues for multi-business corporations. The effective corporate strategy takes into consideration multiple evaluations of the environment, the situation on the market, costs, and budgets, as well as the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and knowledge. The value-based management successfully helps in addressing such issues as “the allocation of resources between businesses, the creation of synergy through linkages amongst the businesses, and the choices faced when creating a corporate portfolio.”
The foundation of General Mills’ corporate strategy lies in the value of “diversity and inclusion” and is customer-centered and oriented to the development of its employees. The company sticks to ethical policies and openly endorses high moral qualities, transparency, environmental sustainability, safety, and equality. The strategy based on the values of diversity and inclusion implies the consideration of the differences among the multiple age and gender groups and the distinct features of the various regions. General Mills’ strategic values are the means that provide cohesion for the number of brands and products and create the company’s positive image that attracts millions of customers.
General Mills’ strategic choices demonstrate that it more likely follows the major Porter’s generic strategies of differentiation. The characteristics of differentiation are the wide and unique product range offered by the company that and the creation of the company’s own market. The unique features of General Mills and its elaborated design and carefully selected range of products make it clear that the company sticks to the major principles of the differentiation strategy implementation.