Conestoga College COMM 1234 Textbook Inventory Report

This report, addressed to the Dean of the Communications Department at Conestoga College, investigates a textbook inventory issue concerning the "Writing Effectively" textbook (COMM 1234). The investigation involved interviews with the bookstore manager, an instructor, and an administrative assistant, revealing discrepancies related to the transition from the 3rd to the 4th edition of the textbook. The report highlights issues with inventory management, the short timeframe for returns, and the potential impact on student learning due to content differences between editions. Findings show an inventory of 190 books, with 150 new and 40 used copies of the 3rd edition, while the projected student registration for the next semester is 252 students. The report recommends course redesign to accommodate the differences between the two versions and ensures the department can effectively manage the books before the semester begins. The next steps involve efficient distribution of the 4th edition in subsequent semesters to bridge the gap between the editions.

Running head: MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion and Analysis of investigation.........................................................................................2
Findings........................................................................................................................................2
Explanation..................................................................................................................................3
Requirements..............................................................................................................................3
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................4
Next Steps........................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................5

2MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Introduction
The report is addressed to the dean of the communications department of Conestoga
College Kelly Book. Some issues had come to her notice concerning the availability of books for
one of the courses for communication. The study can help towards effectively organizing the
books and study materials that will be much essential for the corresponding communication
studies. Interviews of people involved in the inventory management for books are taken. The
reasons for the discrepancies are explained and moving forward the essential requirement are
provided.
Discussion and Analysis of investigation
Findings
Dear madam we took the interviews of Dave Black, Matt Hogan and Hector Mead. They
are the bookstore manager, instructor and administrative assistant respectively.
According to Dave Black the major issue was in regards to a text book called Writing
Effectively. The text book was ordered from Oxblood publishing just like the normal process.
Normally the college returns the older edition of the books to the publishers and the publishers
send new books to replace the new ones in a given timeframe. The 3rd edition of Writing
Effectively is to be obsolete soon as the 4th edition of the book has been already published.
Another problem is that the book is already registered as a required book for the upcoming
semester. However, the notice is very short and the college most probably won’t be able to
return the books in time. Selling the 3rd edition books before the semester is an option but
there is a risk of some books not being sold. Moreover, the publishers will not take back used
copies of the 3rd edition. The books need to be effectively managed out before the semester
and it is a very short time period.
Hector Mead is the administrative assistant and he pointed out that a lot of students
have been pre-registered to enter the course in the next year. Thus Comm 1234 can have many
students that need to be supplied with books. He pointed out that the focus was more towards
the reduction of the 3rd edition books that could be charged to the department.

3MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Upon interviewing Matt Hoan it became clear that there were some essential changes
made in the 4th edition of the effective writing skills book such that it no longer much identical
to the previous book. The differences in page numbers can hamper the learning of the students
and the 3rd and 4th edition of the same book cannot be utilized at the same time. This might
require the course itself to be re-designed but that is also not possible according to Mr. Hoan
before the next semester.
Explanation
The most important problem that we have understood from the interviews and the
relevant information is in regards to the inventory management for the previous version of the
book. The three interviewees gave valuable insights into the matter. This helped to understand
that reducing the number of books for which the department can be charged has to be a much
important focus at this time. This is mostly because the department might not be able to use
the remaining books effectively due to the significant variations of the 3rd and 4th versions of the
books. Another significant thing that can be done at the time is to change the course design in
order to incorporate the differences of the two versions of the books. It is important to
consider all options as the timeframes are very short. Inventory management is the key if the
issue is to be resolved before the semester. The fact that the 3rd edition is to be still used for the
semester studies have made it impossible to do anything with the book before the semester.
The projected student registration for the next semester is good but uncertain. Hence, the less
timeframe offered by the oxblood publishers have resulted in a lot of issues concerning the
inventory management and sales of the previous books.
Requirements
The projected registration of students in next year is 252 students. 157 are currently
registered which means that this can be taken as a relatively confirmed figure. The current
inventory is 190. Among this 150 are new books of the 3rd edition and 40 are used books of the
same edition. In this case I believe that a possible solution will be to change the design of the
course for the next semester. For example- the 3rd edition of the book can be used for a certain
amount of time and can cover most of the students that will be registered. The requirement of

4MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
books can be no less than 200 for the next semester. Since the pre-registered and the currently
registered students already make up 217 students.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that there is an immediate need to develop a new design for
the course. This will need to be done by paying more attention towards the essential
differences of the book editions.
Next Steps
The next steps will involve the effective gathering and distribution of the 4th edition
books among the students in the subsequent semesters. This will help to reduce the gap
between the two versions of the book and effectively tackle the issue.

5MAIL TO DEAN OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Bibliography
Dave Black. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1owOdEi2_PM&feature=youtu.be
Hector Mead. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=X7y70wsSul4&feature=youtu.be
Matthew Hoan. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=wqRMW4oIcrM&feature=youtu.be