This Question Has Two Parts; Be Sure to Answer Both

question 94

Essay

This question has two parts; be sure to answer both.
First, distinguish among a hollow structure, a modular structure, and a virtual structure.
Second, specify whether each of the following companies has a hollow, modular, or virtual structure.
(a) Supreme Vacation Rentals, Inc., purchases every item that goes into its vacation rentals-from the furniture to the appliances and the bed linens-from suppliers all around the world. It then places all of these items into the vacation rentals before listing them for availability on the Internet.
(b) Fan Fiction publishes comic novels. It has only two people on staff who perform the company's core publishing functions: an editor who acquires the books from authors, and a marketer who serves as a publicist. All other functions, such as typesetting, printing, binding, warehousing, and distribution are outsourced to companies that can perform these services less expensively.
(c) Fly High is a small advertising agency. Its owner lives in Chicago, its account executive lives in Houston, its ad designer lives in Los Angeles, and its media buyer lives in Georgia. The four members of the Fly High team use Skype, Google Chats, and e-mail all day long to talk with one another and with their clients and prospective customers.

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Definitions:

Operating Segments

Components of a business for which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the company's chief operating decision-maker in deciding how to allocate resources.

Reportable Segments

Parts of a company that are distinguishable by their operational activities, products, or services, and require separate financial reporting.

Segment Revenues

The income generated from specific divisions or operational units within a company, allowing for the analysis of each segment's contribution to the overall revenue.

Operating Expenses

Costs associated with running a business's core operations excluding the cost of goods sold, such as rent, utilities, and payroll.