Question

Monsanto Company, a large chemical and fibers company, invested $37 million in state-of-the-art systems to improve process control, laboratory automation, and local area network (LAN) communications. The investment was not justified merely on cost savings but was also justified on the basis of qualitative considerations. Monsanto management viewed the investment as a critical element toward achieving its version of the future. What qualitative and quantitative considerations do you believe Monsanto would have considered in its strategic evaluation of these investments

Answer 1

Solution :

The investment which was made by the Monsanto Company had both qualitative as well as quantitative aspects. The quantitative aspect of the investment represents the strategic evaluation which relates to the investment in order to improve the process control and the laboratory automation. While improving the process control helps in controlling the working process of the machines and the human force which reduces the wastage to a large extent, it also increases the efficiency and it reduces the cost per unit.

The laboratory automation increases the efficiency of working and also increases the production. Strengthening the LAN network improves the organizations' communication and also reduces the unnecessary delays in the work saving cost. Improving the local area network provides qualitative improvement and it speeds up the work thus reducing the wastage of time and promotes effective communication.