Tarnopol Learning Services (TLS) Offers Tutoring to High School Students

question 115

Short Answer

Tarnopol Learning Services (TLS) offers tutoring to high school students, college students, and adults returning to school. TLS also bids on government-sponsored contracts. TLS's major product offerings include academic tutoring, standardized test preparation, and admissions consulting. Its operations spread over many geographic regions. Currently, the company is deciding whether it should change from its current approach of organizing by geographical area. A senior manager has predicted that if TLS is not profitable this year and fails to develop any new products, the company will switch to either a functional approach or a product approach.
Which of the following, if true, would most strongly suggest that TLS should change its organizational structure to a product-based approach?
The largest growth area for TLS is governmental contracts, which have buying procedures that are very different from those of other customers.
TLS currently maintains separate accounting departments in each of its regions.
To be effective, TLS managers need to be experts in at least one of the products that TLS sells.
TLS hopes to build sustained relationships with customers, selling the same person academic tutoring, standardized test preparation, and admissions consulting.
Communication between different marketing departments in different regions has been substandard.

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Definitions:

Monopolistically Competitive

In a monopolistically competitive market, many firms sell products that are similar but not identical, allowing for competition based on quality, price, and branding.

Long-Run Equilibrium

A state in economics where all factors of production are fully adjusted to market conditions, leading to a steady state where no incentives exist for further adjustment.

Demand Curve

A graphical representation that displays the relationship between the price of a good or service and the quantity demanded by consumers over a period of time.