Question 7.11 free essay sample

a. The risk that Spring Water face is residual risk. Residual risk is the risk that remains after management implemented internal control or taken some response to inherent risk. In this case, Spring Water Spa Company already applying internal control activities in their daily operation so that to reduce inherent risk that may bring harm to their company. b. In the sales/cash receipts system of Spring Water, there were 3 different levels of authorized people doing their respective independent job of processing their company daily sales. They have the main control strength of segregation of duties among the employees from different positions:- -The sales person mainly focus on the recording of initial order by customer, then print the sales receipt from cash register that shows the total, any discounts, sales tax and grand total. After that collect payment from customer either by check or credit sales, gives the receipt to customer and then deliver the item to customer. We will write a custom essay sample on Question 7.11 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Besides, he also handles sales return by issue return slip when necessary. The assistant manager main job is to provide a daily reconciled report for the manager’s review by using the totals in the cash register tapes, cash in the cash register, total of consecutively numbered sales invoices and the return slip. The manager review cash sales, credit sales, and credit sales. Besides, he also prepares the daily bank deposit and physically makes the deposit at the bank and files the validated bank deposit. At the end of month, the manager performs bank reconciliation. At last, the cash register tapes, sales invoices, return slips, and reconciled report are mailed daily to corporate headquarter to be processed with files form other store and weekly Sales and Commission Activity Report is returned to each store manger for review.. c. In the sixth component of the COSO ERM framework deals with control activities, the control activities in the Spring Water Spa Company falls on :- i . Proper authorization of transaction and activities ii. Segregation of duties segregation of accounting duties iii. Design and use of documents and records iv. Independent checks on performance reconciliation of two independently maintained sets of records d. Problem avoided or risk mitigated by the control identified in question b:- only sales person is authorized to touch the cash register to take order from customer so if there is any fraud committed at the cash register, the sales person will be liable and thus, he will take good care of the accuracy of every each transaction that being recorded by him. after payment has been made by customer, then only the receipt will be given to the customer and to be directed to the warehouse to obtain the item purchase or shipment of delivery is made. This means that after payment is settled by customer, the sales person will come out with a receipt as evidence that payment has been made and the items shall be taken out to customer. This will avoid the risk of items delivered out of store without any evident of payment and bring to abnormal stock lost. assistant manager job of preparing reconciled report again reviewing of those sales transaction records that made by sales person and therefore any discrepancy or abnormal figure found will be detected by the assistant manager. after manager review the report, reconciliation will be done to ensure the accuracy of the data and after that the reconciled report and other records are mailed daily to corporate headquarters to be processed. This level of activities reduce the risk that manager to commit fraud. e. Spring Water can improve its system of control by create a well designed computer information network for their cash/ receipts cycle so that to reduce the human error risk, redu ce work redundancy and to make sure the process of the cash/ receipts cycle will be carried out more effectively and efficiently.

Colleges With the Lowest SAT Scores, Ranked

Colleges With the Lowest SAT Scores, Ranked SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Applying to college is a nerve-wracking process, but have no fear, if you want to go to college even with a low SAT score, there is most likely a school for you! In this article, I'll list the colleges with the lowest 25th percentile SAT scores for their admitted students. The 25th percentile SAT score means that 25% of admitted students to that university scored at or below that number; the 75th percentile SAT score means that 75% of admitted students scored at or below that score (25% scored higher).I'll also explainwhy their low SAT criterion doesn’t necessarily mean the university is bad. Schools Listed in Ascending Order of 25th/75th Percentile with Admission Rate I compiled this comprehensive list through online research. I chose to list it in ascending order by 25th percentile score (rather than the 75th percentile score) so that you could see the lowest scores allowed for admission to these universities. These scores are from data for the current version of the SAT, which is out of 1600. School Name 25th Percentile SAT Score 75th Percentile SAT Score Admission Rate Wiley College 600 1020 40% Jarvis Christian 720 890 54% Shaw University 730 900 60% Rust College 740 870 16% Livingstone College 750 930 72% Central State University 760 900 39% Edward Waters College 760 920 23% Voorhees 770 (average) 50% Paine College 770 950 44% Huston-Tillotson University 770 960 46% Chowan University 780 940 62% CUNY-Medgar Evers 780 960 91% Pine Manor College 780 970 69% Cheyney University of Pennsylvania 780 1020 85% Virginia Union 800 920 83% Bethune-Cookman 800 960 54% Gallaudet University 800 990 62% College of St Elizabeth 800 1000 63% Trinity Baptist College 800 1090 Unknown Texas Southern University 810 980 51% Kentucky State University 810 1000 38% Wesley College 810 1030 63% Clark Atlanta University 820 1010 52% Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College 820 1030 45% Sul Ross State University 830 1010 80% Paul Quinn College 830 1020 89% Alabama State University 840 1030 48% SUNY Cobleskill 840 1070 89% Calumet College of St Joseph 850 00 35% Virginia State University 850 1020 77% University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 860 1070 46% Post University 860 10 47% Trinity College of Florida 870 1050 74% Northern State University 870 80 83% Texas AM - Kingsville 910 10 82% Kentucky Christian University 910 40 48% Albertus Magnus 950 1050 67% North Park University 1020 1220 52% Marietta College 1030 1270 72% University of Louisiana at Monroe 1030 1310 94% Why Do These Colleges Have Low SAT Scores for Admits? Is It a Bad Thing? There are many reasons these schools may have lower SAT score requirements.Many of the schools on this list are specialty schools,such as religious or art schools. These specialty schools often prioritize other admission criteria, such as artistic talent or religious faith, over the SAT. For example, Trinity College Florida says, "We seek applications from students who are personally committed to Jesus Christ and express a desire to study in a Christian college environment. Prospective students should show potential for academic success and evidence of outstanding Christian character." In a particularly unique example, Gallaudet University prioritizes the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students, although select hearing students who know ASL may be admitted. You may notice that a lot of these schools have a large gap between the 25th to 75th percentile (some nearly as wide as 400 points).Students with scores near the 25th percentile may be admitted for special reasons such as being the child of a significant donor, a legacy, an athlete, or an exceptional talent (such as a world-class pianist). Another possible explanation for the wide range of scores isthat since most of these schools have such high admissions rate, they need to accept a wider range of students to fill up their classes. Some of these schools take almost every student who applies and, thus, have wider ranges of scores. It's not necessarily a bad thing that these schools have lower SAT requirements.It may simply mean that the school is prioritizing other admissions criteria or that the school is opening their school to a wider range of students. A lot of other colleges, including prestigious schools like Bryn Mawr, Wake Forest, and George Washington University, are no longer requiring the SAT for admission.This decision doesn't mean that these aren't excellent colleges; they just no longer think the SAT is the best criteria for admission to their university. However, some of the schools on the list above are not veryacademically rigorous. If you're looking for an intellectually challenging school, you may want to look elsewhere. Even worse, there are schools out there that simply exist to make money, and innocent students end up stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. While for-profit schools are usually the worst offenders, some non-profits also have lower education quality and leave students with few job prospects after graduation. Be wary and do your research when considering where to apply to college. When selecting colleges to apply to, you should instead consider whether the college is your best fit, asking questions such as: Does it have the major you want to pursue? Have students in your major ended up with careers in their chosen field? Is it in a big or small town? What is the student body size? What percentage of students are working or attending graduate school after graduation? How many are unemployed? To figure out what schoolis right for you, check out our guide to choosing a college. What’s Next? Trying to raise your SAT score? Check outour ultimate study guide. Not sure where you want to go to college? Check out our guide to finding your target school. Thinking about getting a job while in high school? Check out our guide to the 8 best jobs for teensand learn how to find yours! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Dora Seigel About the Author As an SAT/ACT tutor, Dora has guided many students to test prep success. She loves watching students succeed and is committed to helping you get there. Dora received a full-tuition merit based scholarship to University of Southern California. She graduated magna cum laude and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. She is also passionate about acting, writing, and photography. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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Increasing use of Public Libraries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Increasing use of Public Libraries - Essay Example Because of this reason, the role of private libraries in providing information to the public has been limited under the increased power of private institutions and organizations that could provide to the public advanced facilities in terms of research. Through the years, the leaders of public libraries managed to improve the facilities and the resources available to the public, a fact that led to the decrease of distance between the public libraries and the libraries of private institutions. The recent financial crisis favored the increase in use of public libraries, a trend that has been reported in a series of surveys conducted across USA. The current performance of public libraries is presented in this paper; reference is made to the empirical studies developed in the particular field. It is proved that the increase in the use of public libraries is continuous and the prospects for future growth are significant. 2. Public Libraries use – trends and challenges In order to ev aluate the level of use of public libraries it would be necessary to refer to relevant data, as published by governmental and non-governmental organizations. Emphasis will be given on the trends of use of public libraries in USA; however, figures related to the use of public libraries in other countries, for example, Canada and UK, are also presented in this study aiming to verify the findings regarding the use of public libraries across USA. One of the most common sources for evaluating the level of use of public libraries is the Public Library Data Service survey, which is developed annually; the above survey shows the annual changes in the use of public libraries in USA. Also, through the findings of the specific survey the factors that support the use of public libraries are revealed. The most recent survey of such kind, in terms of the availability of its findings is the one developed in 2009 – where data from 852 libraries are presented. The survey is based on ‘da ta provided by public libraries in USA and Canada’ (Varvel 2010). The findings of such surveys (referring to the years from 2003 up to 2009) are presented and analyzed in the study of Varvel (2010) where emphasis is given on the following issues: a) the number of visits of libraries that serve a small population, i.e. under 5,000 people, has been increased at 2.7 times, while the libraries serving from 5,000 to 49,999 people has achieved an increase in the number of their visitors at a level of 1.75 times; libraries serving large populations had the lowest performance – in terms of the increase of the number of their visitors (Varvel 2010). This means that for the period 2003 up to 2009, the libraries serving small populations had the highest rate of performance – regarding the increase of the number of their visitors; b) libraries serving less than 5,000 people also managed to reach the highest level of in-library use of material; again, the libraries serving h igh population presented the lowest percentage of in-library use of material (Varvel 2010); c) in 2009, the percentage of public libraries using a website has been reduced reaching the 92.43% - compared to the 98.17% of 2008; it is expected that the decrease of the number of libraries using website will affect their performance since most people prefer to access the libraries online and retrieve the information required. On the other

Formal legal brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Formal legal brief - Essay Example Their demand was that the statute should be declared unconstitutional as it makes impossible to exercise the liberty interest protected under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Both the District Court and then the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expressed the view that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution encompasses a due process liberty interest in controlling the time and manner of one’s death, and that the Washington statute is unconstitutional when it applies to terminally ill competent adults who want to hasten their deaths. Whether the Washington state statute which holds that a person who assists in hastening the death of terminally ill people is unconstitutional as it violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? The Washing state statute which holds that a person who knowingly causes or aids another person to attempt suicide is guilty of felony of promoting suicide attempt is not unconstitutional as it does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause. The first point is that the due process clause does not protect the right to commit suicide and hence the same does not allow the right to assist in committing suicide. Secondly, from the legal traditions of the nation and its history, it is evident that the due process clause does not consider the right to assistance in committing suicide as a fundamental liberty interest. First of all, a patient who is suffering from such a terminal illness with extreme pain has no legal barriers to getting such medications which will even cause unconsciousness and hasten death if the main purpose is to help reduce pain. In such a situation, it is unnecessary to answer the question whether a mentally competent person with great suffering and pain has a constitutionally cognizable interest to control his or her own death. Secondly, the liberty as protected under the due process clause does not include

Comparing Two Dance Movements Essay Example for Free

Comparing Two Dance Movements Essay The two musicals that I will be comparing are Oklahoma and the West Side Story. Their dance movements, by comparing them both, I would say that they are both in different worlds, as West side story is based in the city and Oklahoma in the countryside so there are many differences however there are also many features of both the musicals that are similar. The dance scene in West Side Story is based in a gym with two different gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. These two sides are trying to out dance each other (mambo style), but the main part is when Maria and Tony meet each other. This is an important part of the musical as we now learn that from their first meeting that they are both attracted towards each other and the audience is expectant for more of this love story, however in Oklahoma we do not see Curly or Laurey as the dancing is the main part and the rivalry between the cowboys and the farmers is the main focus. This is the only thing we actually learn from the dance scene as it is the only time in the musical were the rivalry between the two lifestyles are shown in depth. In both of the musicals there is mentor that helps to calm the tough tension and attempt to have coalition between the two sides. The composer changes the music to establish the difference of this character with the other characters. In Oklahoma when the mentor appears the clear ‘umcha’ is not there anymore and not many brass instruments are being used, and there isn’t as many instruments used which could show the composer trying to show the authority of this character, but towards the end of his phrases are burst of brass instruments playing which gives a sarcastic tone, maybe showing how the people thought of advice. In West side story the composer has a different approach to the mentor. He uses a lot of brass instruments to give a silly approach to the activity organized by the mentor. It is like a fanfare which is catchy and is in simple time 4/4. The composer portrays him like this because as he tries to solve the conflict between the two sides, the mentor acts like a kindergarten teacher trying to stop children fighting. In terms of the lyrics or singing, Oklahoma is the musical that has the most singing and underscoring, this is probably because adding lyrics would help to convey the ar guments between cowboy and the farmer,  also the mentor sings as well to try and bring coalition. In west side story there isn’t much underscoring or singing, except the occasional shouting of words when they are dancing, this would be to show the support of their ‘team’ when dancing against their rivals. The musical styles with both of the dance movements are completely different, this is probably due to the different areas that they live in and the composer would use the dance music that would be related to the culture or the style of music where they would have come from. In west side story the dance style is mambo, and mambo is originally from Cuba and came over to America, so the dance doesn’t really go with the culture of the Brazilians or the Americans but however because it became popular in night clubs, resort hotels in the heart of New York and Miami, so by using this style of dance and music the composer wants to convey an ‘night out’, although in Oklahoma, the music is very much to do with their culture and style as it is countr y side music which the composer portrays very well. The main instrumental types he uses is the strings and the brass instruments. The strings are using a technique called the fiddling which is playing a series of notes very quickly and under this is the brass playing the ‘umcha’ part. The music is in simple time of 4/4 and is a catchy tune as nothing complicated is uses, just simple chord progressions which are all characteristics of folk/countryside music. The banjo is also used which is an instrument that you would use for country music as well. In West Side Story Bernstein makes the mambo piece quite busy and lively by including polyrhythms and many brass instruments and percussion instruments, this shows Bernstein trying to relate to the fast beats of the mambo but maybe of the business of the city. The part of the percussion is composed to be played very fast and is very complicated, this also helps to create a ‘lively city’ feeling. Towards the end of when the Sharks have just finished their dance section in preparation for the Jets dance section Bernstein by adding the percussio n that would play music that coincides with the Jets. For example, percussion is used and it plays in major second which is what the composer usually uses for the Jets so as well as showing them visually you can also know musically that it is the Jets, this also happens at the start of the gym scene when there is just the Jets dancing, and there is a music theme from the opening Jet song which was the . To distinguish both of them, the music for the Sharks the string instruments are used more  often and they style is more South American. The rhythm is still fast however there are not a lot of layers and the third beat is emphasized in some cases on the suspension note (falling to the resolution) this helps to create a salsa like feel in comparison with the Jets music with many syncopated rhythms and the instruments that they use are brass and percussion mainly and this gives a harsh type edge, which again might be to promote their modernisms. The difference is also set in Oklahoma between the farmers and cowboys. When it is the farmers section, it is mainly the violins fiddling as the ‘bass’, with the brass playing the main melody of ‘the farmer and the cowboy and also there is the ‘umcha’ again which gives it that country feel, however in comparison the cowboy’s music has a more syncopated rhythm and this time the brass are playing a clear bass. The composer has been almost adventurous in how he composed the music for the cowboys (towards the end, when the two dance separately) as the tune from the song is not played and sound like a separate tune. I would also say that the farmer’s music is more conjunct as the violin’s fiddling isn’t jumping around too much but in the cowboys section the brass melody jumps occasionally. Towards the end of the dance scene in west side story, this is when Maria meets Tony the music changes completely, with no connection to Jets or the Sharks music (however he still does have the augmented fourth just before they sing), and this shows how the composer wants the audience to feel both of their chemistry as though it is in a completely different world and he does this by completely reducing the pace, no more fast rhythms and it is striped of many instruments, leaving just a few percussion and the woodwind. When looking at the two musicals, you can see how both of the the composers use characters to move the story along, and both composers differentiate the opposing sides by altering the music however altogether, in my opinion, these two dance scenes are completely different because each composer has his approach to what he thinks the music should sound like in accordance to the story of the dance and the surroundings which it is based in.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Essay -- essays research papers

Gabriel Gà ¡rcia Mà ¡rquez Gabriel Josà © Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez was born on March 6, 1928 in Aracataca, a town in Northern Colombia, where he was raised by his maternal grandparents in a house filled with countless aunts and the rumors of ghosts. But in order to get a better grasp on Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez's life, it helps to understand something first about both the history of Colombia and the unusual background of his family. Colombia Colombia won its independence from Spain in 1810, technically making it one of Latin America's oldest democracies, but the sad fact is that this "democracy" has rarely known peace and justice. In the beginning, there was of course Spain and the Indians, happily hating each other as the Spaniards tore the land up in quest for gold, El Dorado, religious converts, and political power. The English, too, played their part, with Drake attacking Riohachi in 1568 and the countless colonial squabbles of the next few centuries. Declaring itself independent from Spain when Napoleon ousted the Spanish King in 1810, the new country experienced a brief period of freedom and then was quickly reconquered in 1815 by the unpleasant and bloody campaigns of General Murillo. So much did their internal bickering allow their fledgling country to fall to the sword of Murillo, the period is immortalized in Colombia's history with the colorful name of la Patria Boba, or "The Booby Fatherland." Round two, however, fell to the Colombians, when Simà ³n Bolà ­var reliberated the country in 1820 and became its very first president. In 1849, the country was sufficiently advanced enough to con cretize their squabbling in the form of two political parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, who exist to this day. These two parties form the political framework for much of Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez's fiction, and understanding their true natures is both a key to his writing and, unfortunately, an important insight to Latin American politics in general. Although initially forming around the nucleus of two distinct and different ideologies, long years of bloody conflict have served to significantly erode the distinctions between the parties. The Conservatives and the Liberals are more like warring factions or clans than any parties with firmly established and radically different ideologies. Both tend to be repressive, both are corrupt, and bot... ... and in the same year he wrote Viva Sandino, a screenplay about the Sandanistas and the Nicaraguan Revolution. Politics, however, would be far from his mind for his next work of fiction, which would be a love story. Turning again to his rich past for inspiration and material, he reworked his parent's strange courtship into the form of a decade-spanning narrative. The story would be about two frustrated lovers and the long tome between their second courtship, and in 1986 Love in the Time of Cholera was unveiled to the anxious world. It was highly received, and there was no question that Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez had become a writer with universal appeal. By now one of the most famous writers in the world, he eased into a lifestyle of writing, teaching, and political activism. With residences in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Paris, Barcelona, and Barranquilla, he finished the decade by publishing The General in his Labyrinth in 1990, and two years later Strange Pilgrims was born. In 1994 he published his most recent work of fiction, Love and Other Demons. Today, Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez lives with Mercedes in Mexico City, where he has quit smoking and is in the perpetual state of "writing a novel."

Louis Vuitton Case

Louis Vuitton : New product introductions vs. product availability Introduction Louis Vuitton is a part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Group. Being the core business, Louis Vuitton is the most famous brand not only in the group, but also in the fashion industry. It is well-known for its quality and design. Most of the Louis Vuitton consumers are wealthy people, who expect premium products regardless to the price. Considering this fact, Louis Vuitton may implement a strategy, which ensures availability of the products at any time and provide the clients with the best possible customer service.In the past, Louis Vuitton faced the out-of-stock problem and it has not been solved yet. As a consequence, the company loses not only sales but also reduces its reputation. Managers realized that consumers’ satisfaction is one of the most important aspects for a company in order to continue being successful, gain high profits and reputation. The source of the out-of stock problem in L ouis Vuitton causes some disagreements between the company’s vice president for marketing and sales and the vice president for manufacturing and logistics.The first one states his opinion that the lack of flexibility and responsiveness is the base of the problem, while the second one blames the recent increase in new product introductions and the poor forec asting of demand. We will investigate these different problems and how Louis Vuitton can solve them by aligning the manufacturing process and marketing activities in the most efficient way. Supply Chain Strategy Consumers of luxury products have high expectations regarding the products? quality and design. Furthermore, the consumers want to be provided with a omplete shopping experience, when they purchase a Louis Vuitton handbag for 3 000 Euros or a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes for 1 000 Euros. An essential part of this shopping experience is the product itself. Therefore, Louis Vuitton? s supply chain has to be set up in making demanded products available, wherever and whenever they are demanded by a consumer. Unfortunately, Louis Vuitton is able to have around 98% of all demanded products from classic product lines available at their store . But if consumers request a product of one of Louis Vuitton? fashion lines, which are newly and less frequently introduced product lines, the rate of available products decreases roughly to 80%. Louis Vuitton products are bought due to the quality of the goods. Thanks to online stores, consumers use to easily purchase a desired good on the Internet. On the one hand, it saves consumer’s time; on the other hand, the probability of a potential out-of-stock problem is reduced, because o nce the purchase is realized, the company is able to react in a several ways to deliver the product.It can send the product from a store or from different warehouses, depending on where the consumer is located and where the item is available at that time. Moreover, Louis Vuitt on could improve its capacity strategy. Managers have to decide how to organize manufacturing in the most efficient way that a maximum number of units are produced for a time period. Currently, employees working for Louis Vuitton are divided into groups and each group is able to produce 120 hand bags per day.However, considering the out-of-stock problem, one can assume that it is not the sufficient quantity to meet the demand and a solution has to be found. In order to increase the capacity, Louis Vuitton has to increase the labor force. In that way, Louis Vuitton will be able to increase its manufacturing capacity and potentially solve the out-of-stock problem. Inventory Strategy Louis Vuitton has to decide whether to reduce the inventory in order to avoid additional costs induced by required inventory space in the stores or to increase the availability of demanded products.Undeniably, inventory must be as close to the stores as possible. This implies that if a certain product is o ut-of-stock it can be quickly delivered and satisfies consumer wants. Moreover, inventories should be kept in regional warehouses and that would also help Louis Vuitton to react in the most flexible way t o fluctuations in demand. For instance, if the store in Tokyo is out -of-stock, it would be easier to report about the problem to the nearest warehouse rather than to the main one in France. It will result in shortening the lead time. As a consequence, Louis Vuitton has to be constantly aware of the stock level.This can be achieved by the introduction of a continuous review system, which is used to manage independent demand of inventory and monitors the inventory level of any item constantly to release reorders, when the reorder point is reached. Thus, the company will be able to solve the problem once a higher than expected demand is realized. The most efficient strategy for Louis Vuitton should be larger inventories in the regional warehouses at higher prices. Sourcing Decisions Louis Vuitton is well known for being creative, innovative and looking for the excellence.Since Louis Vuitton was established in 1854, the core competencies of the company have always been des ign and quality, they perfectly correspond to the aim of Louis Vuitton to be one of the market leaders in the fashion industry. On the one hand, the classical collections have not been changed for years, and therefore being a symbol of elegance and prestige. On the other hand, fashion and collections constantly change in order to be modern. Quality is the second core competence the company uses to be one of the best brands in the industry.To provide the customers with the best, Louis Vuitton uses high quality raw materials, which is the first step to a qualified final product. Furthermore, employees involved in the manufacturing process do 80% of their task manually. It is more costly and time consuming, but is highly valued by the consumers. Considering these facts, Louis Vuitton needs to mak e the right sourcing decisions. First, the company should keep the designing and manufacturing activities sourced in, because these activities are the most important regarding Lou is Vuitton? creation of value. Second, I think distribution activities can be sourced out. The company should use firms, such as TNT, DHL, UPS, etc†¦ Louis Vuitton can choose among a variety of distributors in each country and select the most reliable one, which provides good delivery and service for a given price level. Warehouses are another part of the supply chain which can be sourced out. Renting a warehouse implies a smaller investment for Louis Vuitton and enables them to be more flexible.The out-of-stock problem that Louis Vuitton is facing can be solved by placing warehouses in regions with high population. Moreover, according to the fact that the company requires high quality raw materials, but not all of the existing suppliers offer sufficient qua lity; one possible solution is the implemen tation of the single sourcing. This means that Louis Vuitton depends on only one firm for all items needed for producing their leather goods. However, this can be extremely risky, because of the probability of un expected situations such workers’ strike.Another solution may be the multiple sourcing strategy. This implies that Louis Vuitton relies on many suppliers, but the associated risk with this type of strategy is that many firms become familiar with the core competencies of Louis Vuitton and it is possible to use these competencies for their own businesses. Finally, the most suitable sourcing strategy in the case of Louis Vuitton seems to be the dual sourcing strategy. It means that Louis Vuitton uses two suppliers, which serve the needs of the firm proportionally.Both of them are willing to have the leader position on behalf of higher revenues. This situation is advantageous for Louis Vuitton, because it can assure that because of the competition between the suppliers, they will be always supplie d with premium quality raw materials on a particular pric e level. Logistics One of the main aspects of the logistics system is the distribution. Most companies aim at minimizing their distribution costs and Louis Vuitton is not an exception. This is the reason why the company uses the multimodal solution.Therefore, Louis Vuitton combines transpor tation by sea, air and road. The advantage of cargo ships is that they can transfer big quantities on long distances. Moreover, Louis Vuitton operates in different continents and thus it is of great importance to ship in a cost effective way. The water transport provides efficient services at low prices. However, in specific situations such as rush orders, it is more rational to use airfreight. It can increase the costs but it guarantees that the company avoids the out-of-stock problem and satisfies customers? and consumers? wants.The distribution system, on its side, has a great impact on the location of wareho uses. For instance, the main centralized logistics warehouse in Cergy Pontoise is located near Paris, in France. The capital of France facilitates t he headquarters of Louis Vuitton as well as it is a city with high demand in fashion products. These are maybe some of the reasons why Louis Vuitton chose to situate its central distribution center. But, shipping from France to other countries may imply long customer lead time, which is the required time between the customer’s order and the delivery of this product.To shorten it Louis Vuitton could benefit from spot stock warehousing. Shortening the lead time is one of the most important aims of the companies, because of the fact that goods are available in the stores just at the time consumers demand them. One way for Louis Vuitton doing that is to decrease the overproduction of goods with lower demand. The second possible solution is the implementation of more frequent shipments of smaller quantities. This could be more effecti ve in combination with an improved forecasting system.It has the potential to reduce costs by not keeping fewer goods in stock, which are not highly demanded. Moreover, to avoid the out-of-stock problem, Louis Vuitton should interact and understand the preferences of the consumer. Louis Vuitton could do it via tracking the last purchases. In this way the company can recognize if a certain customer is willing to buy goods from the classical or from the modern collections. And Louis Vuitton can progressively improve its forecasting activities in order to know which collections have to be produced and which inventory has to be increased.Conclusion To improve the alignment between manufacturing and marketing, Louis Vuitton has to consider several factors. First, giving the present out-of-stock problem combined with the expected growth rates, the company has to increase their manufacturing capacity, based on the expected growth rate for the overall industry and for the different regions as well. In order to achieve that, they should add more labor force. More groups of workers will lead to increased production and therefore increased inventory in the warehouses.This would result in greater availability of products in retail stores and solve the out-of-stock problem. In addition, larger inventory of product enables Louis Vuitton to be responsive to increasing demand in peak times as well as providing the opportunity to focus on the production of newly introduced products and the satisfactions of its demand. Furthermore, Louis Vuitton should consider decreasing the introduction of new fashion lines in order to avoid disruptions of manufacturing and su pply chain activities caused by changes in the manufacturing process due to newly introduced products.Second, by improving the forecasting tools, Louis Vuitton should be more accurate in estimating the future demand for specific products. Moreover, Louis Vuitton should forecast more often and for shorter time periods. L ouis Vuitton should continue to insource the leather good production and use the dual sourcing strategy for purchasing raw materials. Finally, the group should introduce marketing tools in order to interact more with the consumers and to forecast the demand.