Investigation Report: Textbook Logistics for COMM1234 at Conestoga

This investigation report addresses the textbook logistics issue faced by the Communications Department at Conestoga College concerning the "Writing Effectively" textbook for the COMM1234 course. The report, prepared in response to a directive from Dean Kelly Book, examines the challenges arising from the transition to a new edition of the textbook. Data was gathered through interviews with the Bookstore Manager, Mr. Dave Black, who highlighted the difficulties of managing the old and new editions, the Administrative Assistant, Mr. Hector Mead, who provided enrollment and registration data, and the course instructor, Mr. Matt Hoan, who discussed the implications for students. Based on the gathered information, the report estimates the number of textbooks required for the upcoming semester, considering factors like student enrollment, textbook sharing, and the availability of used books. The report concludes with recommendations for the Dean, including retaining the 3rd edition and reviewing the updated 4th edition to update the course content.

Writing Effectively
LOGISTICS OF THE TEXTBOOK “WRITING EFFECTIVELY” – AN
INVESTIGATION REPORT

LOGISTICS OF THE TEXTBOOK “WRITING EFFECTIVELY” – AN
INVESTIGATION REPORT
Introduction
For every institution to function smoothly, its logistics department must be
unhindered (Christopher, 2016). One such issue was faced by Kelly Book, Dean of
the Communications Department at Conestoga College Institute of Technology and
Advanced Learning. The course plan of the Communication course COM1243
teaches the concept of Effective writing skills uses the third edition of the textbook
“Writing Effectively” by Oxblood Publishers for its forthcoming semester. However,
there was an issue with the logistics of the textbook, owing to upgradation of the
edition. Concerned people in this regard were interviewed, in order to solve the
issue.
The inputs
The Bookstore Manager, Mr. Dave Black, has voiced his concerns stating that
there is a shortage of time to recall the previous edition and replace it with the newer
edition. According to him, the rolling out of the 4th Edition of the book has created a
situation where the bookstore has to sell all the copies of the 3rd edition to the
customers, as outdated books cannot be exchanged. If the books aren’t sold, the
costs have to be borne by the communications department. Mr. Black’s dilemma is
whether to take a chance and keep a few copies of the 3rd edition, or to sell them out
and buy used books, which have no limitations (Megens, 2018).
The Administrative Assistant Mr. Hector Mead has provided the Enrolment
and Registration Report. According to it, there are currently 356 students enrolled in
the ongoing semester. For the next semester, a figure of 202 registrations is
projected, with the total of current and pre-registrants being 182 (Mead, 2018).
However, it would be an estimate, as the numbers are projected upon pre-
registrations and not actual registrations. The numbers are important, in order to
minimize the loss incurred by the outdated books.
The Instructor of COMM1243 Mr. Matt Hoan says that the prescribed textbook
for the course is the 3rd Edition, and even though he has gone through the 4th Edition,
it would take time to set the new syllabus accordingly. According to Mr. Hoan, not all
students enrolling in the course would buy an individual new copy of the books;
many might share, borrow from the college library, or buy used books (Hoan, 2018).
Conclusion
Going by the previous sales and inventory report the book, and taking into
consideration the number of students who are not likely to purchase a new copy, we
can assume that around 150 new copies of the 3rd Edition of Writing Effectively
would be sold the next semester. From the report, a few conclusions can be derived,
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such as to be regularly updated about the stock, to keep track of logistics, and to set
estimates productively.
The Next Steps
This report is addressed to the Dean, the next logical step she would take after
reading this report would be to go by the estimate, and retain the 3rd edition of the
textbook for the semester. She would also procure the 4th edition, and instruct the
course head to start reviewing the updated version to make changes to the course
content for the next semester.
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REFERENCES
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. UK: Pearson.
Hoan, M. (2018, May 5). Logistics of the textbook. (K. Book, Interviewer)
Mead, H. (2018). Enrolment registration. Canada: Department of Communications, .
Megens, R. W. (2018, 5 1). Dave Black. Retrieved 7 25, 2018, from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1owOdEi2_PM&feature=youtu.be
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