GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS 2Communication of Cost ObjectivesCommunication of cost objectives to both internal and external stakeholders is crucial. A cost objective is a function or organizational subdivision for which cost data is accumulated and measured (Boyd et al., 2014). Communication of direct, indirect costs, as well as overheads could be communicated to internal stakeholders such as managers of the various cost centers through organized focus group discussions. The main aim of such internal communication is to identify deviations from the project plan and suggest potential areas for cost saving (Boyd et al., 2014). As such, information that may be considered proprietary would be actual expenditure on direct materials, labor, and production overheads vis--vis the budgeted amounts so as to check whether or not there are significant deviations in the different cost objectives. On the other hand, the information on costs could be communicated externally through publication of cost reports on the…...
mlaReferences
Boyd, K., Epstein, L., Holtzman, M., Kass-Shraibman, F.,…& Wellytok, G. (2014). Accounting All-in-One for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Nash, R. C., Schooner,, S., O’Brien-DeBakey, K., & Edwards, V. (2007). Government Contracts Reference Book. Washington, DC: Washington University Press.
Commercial and Government Contracting
The Differences Between the Formation of Commercial and Government Contracts
When a business moves from the commercial contracting marketplace to the government procurement world it must ensure a clear understanding of the specific rules and regulations to which it will be a party (Manos, 2004; Oyer, 2005). There are inherent risks in working with the government, but businesses that are careful with what they do can mitigate those risks and manage them effectively and efficiently (Barnett, 2003). There are four distinct areas where government and commercial contracting differ, and these are: kickbacks, false statements, false claims, and antitrust issues (Murphy, 2005; McKendrick, 2005). It is important to address all four of these in order to ensure that the differences between the two types of contracting are more easily understood.
In the commercial market, kickbacks are not illegal. For example, a subcontractor can offer to kickback a payment to…...
mlaReferences
Barnett, R.E. (2003). Contracts New York: Aspen Publishers
McKendrick, E. (2005). Contract Law - Text, Cases and Materials London: Oxford University Press
Manos, K.L. (2004). Government Contract Costs & Pricing. New York: Thomson-West
Murphy, J.E. (2005). Guide to Contract Pricing: Cost and Price Analysis for Contractors, Subcontractors, and Government Agencies. New York: Management Concepts.
Small usiness Government Contracting
CEO of Small usiness that Provides Service Expansion by Competing for Navy Contracts at a ase Several Miles Away
The objective of this study is to examine the scenario of a CEO of a small business that provides a service and business expansion through competing for Navy contracts at a base several miles away. This work will: (1) Determine how the federal government encourages small businesses and how passing of " The Historical Underutilized usiness Zone (HUZone) Act, 15 U.S.C. 631 of 1997, increases the chances of landing a government contract; and (2) Determine how SmartPay and similar programs in electronic contracting will assist the small-business owner in obtaining more contracts.. This will involve description of the nature of government contracting including authority, responsibilities, and legal considerations and providing and explanation of the government acquisition process using sealed bidding, negotiations, and alternative contracting methods.
I. HUZone Act, 15 U.S.C.…...
mlaBibliography
Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts (nd) Retrieved from: http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Business%20Opportunities_Transcript.pdf
Government Contracting 101 -- PART 2 (2012) Retrieved from: http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Transcript%20101%20-%20Part%202.pdf
Program & Card Basics (2012) GSA Smartpay. Retrieved from: https://smartpay.gsa.gov/businesses-vendors/card-basics
Understanding How the HUBZone Program Works (2012) HUBZone. Retrieved from: http://www.sba.gov/content/understanding-hubzone-program
Acquisition of Innovative Technology and Weapon Systems
Government contracting plays a critical role in the acquisition of innovative technology for different departments such as the Department of Defense (DoD). Over the past few years, DoD has enhanced its development and acquisition of innovative weapon systems to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency. However, the conventional government contracting process is characterized by challenges resulting in delays and significant costs for taxpayers. This issue has attracted the attention of various researchers and stakeholders such as the U.S. Government Accountability Office. These stakeholders have conducted various studies and researches on the government contracting process and provided recommendations that could help enhance it and improve efficiencies in the operations of government agencies. This paper compares and analyzes two publications conducted on this issue and discusses the significance of procurement law and the applicable government requirements.
Primary Goals of Each Reading
Complicated government procurement programs have generated significant attention…...
mlaReferences
Mlinarchik, C., & Myers, J. (2016). Other transaction authority: Acquiring innovative technology and research by avoiding the regulatory burden of traditional government contracting. Contract Management, 56(10), 68-73.Sullivan, M. J., et al. (2015). Acquisition reform: DOD should streamline Its decision-making process for weapon systems to reduce inefficiencies. (GAO-15-192). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Risk management as it relates to government contracts can often be a complex and convoluted process. This is particularly true as government contracts often have certain stipulations and provisions that are unlike their private sector counterparts. When approaching a high-level negotiation is therefore important to have a strategy that emphasizes risk management and its implications for downside protection. To begin, as with any negotiation, it is important to identify each party’s key interest. By identifying what each party is attempting to achieve, it is much easier to formulate a negotiating strategy. Here, I would first identify the counterparties primary constituencies and formulate a strategy centered around them. In the case of a government contract, the immediate constituency is the community at large. Depending on the contract, a key counterpart stakeholder is the supply chain itself. For example, in a bid to construct military housing on an off-base premise, key counterparty stakeholders…...
The government official has a legal as well as an ethical responsibility to put the interests of the public first, as a public servant. To fail to do so will result in greater cost to the taxpayer, and perhaps even an inferior product. This type of waste takes money away from other, more worthy public projects as well, including aid to the poor.
Government contracting officers have unique responsibilities and special, additional privileges as a result of their duties: "Of all government personnel, only a Contracting Officer has the authority to enter the government into a binding contract. He or she will be the one to sign the final contract agreement, and only a Contracting Officer has the power to change the terms of the contract" (Government contracting personnel: Understanding roles played, 2011, ONVIA). The contracting officer is thus acting on behalf of the entire government, and has unique powers…...
mlaReferences
Business ethics in government contracts. (2011). ONVIA. Retrieved
February 17, 2011 at http://www.onvia.com/b2g-resources/article/business-ethics-in-government-contracts
Government contracting personnel: Understanding roles played. (2011). ONVIA. Retrieved
February 17, 2011 at http://www.onvia.com/b2g-resources/article/government-contracting-personnel
The ability to end or terminate the contract is unilateral. Gabbard expresses the fact that changes must also be unilateral. The terms in settling a dispute must be predetermined before entering contract. The Government contract gives the authoritative party the right to audit the books of the company selling the product or service. In this court case, the government was allowed to appeal the case won by Agredano resulting in a reversal of the former court ruling.
Government Contract Comparison to Uniform Commercial Code/Contract
The U.C.C. Or commercial contract is less formal and authority to enter a contract is assumed by the parties involved (Gabbard, 2011). In a UCC the terms are not detailed or written out in a formal document as required by a government contract. In fact the details are implied (Gabbard, 2011).
Analyzing and Evaluation Example: Carpet Cleaning Contract
For example in a UCC contract with a carpet cleaner, it…...
mlaReferences
Cengage Learning, (2011). Buyer beware applies to vehicle bought by the government.
June 12, 2010 from http://www.swlearning.com/blaw/cases/sales/0410_sales_01.html
Gabbard, E.G. (2011). Relationship of far and ucc in subcontracting. Retrieved June
10, 2011 from fasmg. org/farucc. htmlhttp://www.
All other issues are derived from this rule. Many of the modern contracts have express conditions, which are explicit contractual provisions that the parties need to abide by. The related elements that this incurs are detailed in the subchapter referring to express conditions. An interesting element of contract performances is those particular contracts that are divisible. In those cases, the parties' performance can be apportioned into pairs of matching or corresponding parts.
The part of this chapter discussing breaches of contracts starts with a classification of breaches into material and minor breaches, with each of the two being discussed in detail. Anticipatory breach is referred to and is defined and categorized in another part of the chapter.
Chapter 6 discusses general remedies for contracts and starts with basic measures that can be undertaken. The damage measures are described as being determined either based on the expectation of damages, or as restitutionary…...
Contracts and Performance-Based Acquisition
A contract is a planned and legal agreement made between two or more parties with intent. It could be oral or written and may involve business individuals, employers and employees, or tenants and land lords. elations built through contracts emerge from offers given, reception, intentions, considerations and genuine consent, and legal agreement from which the contract began. Every person involved in a contract gains responsibilities and rights similar to those of other individuals in the contract. Legally, all parties benefit equally from the contract, meaning all members are entitled to equal rights whatsoever. While contracts remain enforceable whether they are spoken or written, a written contract ensures legal security to all parties involved. This is because a spoken contract will only depend on the loyalty of people involved but with not future reference whatsoever. A written contract on the other hand will have recorded details on…...
mlaReferences
CCH Incorporated. (2007). Government contracts reference book; New York: CCH Incorporated,
C. Ralph. (2012). Intellectual property in government contracts: 2012 statutory and regulatory supplement. New York: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Publications
C. Terrence. (2007). Understanding government contract law. New York: Management Concepts Publishing
F. Steven. (2011). Feldman and Keyes' government contracts in a nutshell, 5th (West Nutshell Series). Minnesota: West Publications
Government Contracting class.
GAO case study: Contract dispute
One of the most recent government debacles of 2013-2014 was that of the healthcare.gov crisis. Healthcare.gov, the Internet exchange on which people could buy healthcare plans on the open market, was largely inoperable for the first months of its existence. The fact that the website was effectively the result of a failed government contract is often forgotten, due to the focus on the policy debate swirling around the requirement that all American citizens are ensured. There was later an investigation into the contract between the government and the firm (CMS) charged with designing the website. "To be expedient, CMS issued task orders to develop the federally facilitated marketplace (FFM) and federal data services hub (data hub) systems when key technical requirements were unknown, including the number and composition of states to be supported and, importantly, the number of potential enrollees. CMS used cost-reimbursement…...
mlaReferences
Ineffective planning and oversight practices underscore the need for improved contract
Management (2014). GAO-14-694. Retrieved from:
Prenegotiation Objectives Order
Prenegotiation Objectives Contract NO. DACA87-12-5-6789
Change Case NO. 23-0-41-2
Modification Description: he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development feels it is necessary to submit our interest in adding Employment Identification Verification EIV to the application process of families who need low income housing assistance.
o assist Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) with effective monitoring on a monthly basis of participant compliance with the Social Security Number (SSN) disclosure and verification requirement, in agreement with 22 CFR 5.910; and to measure the aid with diverse households, in agreement with 22 CFR 5.420. he account will also support PHAs with proof of citizenship, entitled citizens who are allotted alternate identification number (AL ID) who must reveal their given SSN, suitable noncitizens with AL ID who must reveal their allotted SSN, and to verify if families are honestly reporting their employment while receiving housing assistance.
Government Estimate: he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…...
mlaTime: We request that the EIV system be a part of the program effective immediately after approval to assist with the second half of FY2011. This can allow HUD to notify families and begin service for August 2011 to December 2011.
Price Analysis: HUD requests to pay EIV a monthly set fee because the accessibility should be unlimited logons and not to exceed what general verification websites charge which is no more than $60.00 a month per HUD office.
Price Objective: To cut back or terminate rental assistance to families that is verified through EIV as not reporting their income by their SSN. Even if HUD terminated 100K families with a $600 monthly voucher from approval starting August 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, that would be approximately $240 million in savings. We feel that is ample enough reason to consider awarding HUD the contract to add EIV.
Government Solicitation
Developing a Federal Acquisition Team: everse Engineering a Standard Forestry Project to Determine Team equirements
FA Provisions
The selected project is controlled by the Forestry Department, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, placing the project under the auspices of Chapter 4 for the Federal Acquisition egulations, which themselves make up Title 48 of the Code of Federal egulations (e-CF, 2012). elevant paragraphs include a provision that all Head of Contracting Activities (HCAs) comply with FA 7.103, detailed further below (e-CF, 2012, Title 48, Chapter 4, Part 407, par. 407.103). In addition, paragraph 407.503 of the same chapter provides provisions for the determination of whether or not a proposed contracting function is "inherently governmental" according to FA 7.503(e), and also sets out rules for settling disputes when there is not agreement on this issue (e-CF, 2012). It is not expected that this will be of issue in this case, however,…...
mlaReferences
e-CFR. (2012). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Accessed 22 April 2012.
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=%2Findex.tpl
PAYCO NSFR #2210 (2012).
PAYCO NSFR #2210 Recons. Drawing. (2012).
Contracts (except for those of high paid professional athletes who believe that they do not have to be held to such trivialities) are documents that require events to take place at the behest of each participant. When the participants are buyers and sellers, a contract is normally written to specific exactly what the buyer will receive from the seller, and what the seller will receive from the buyer. The contract also spells out any terms and conditions of the purchase or sale, and what the consequences will be if the contract is not fulfilled by either party.
As one recent article reports "contracts are mediated by markets, implying that there exists a price for every possible good for each possible contingency over each possible date" (Nosal, 2010, p. 1). As Nosal puts it, people choose to buy or sell goods to maximize their own happiness, and their only constraint is that…...
mlaReferences
Nosal, E.; (2010) What is clearing and why is it important? Chicago Fed Letter, Issue 278, pp. 1-4
("ender," 2010)
Evaluate how Public Policy Decisions Affect the Receipt of Revenues
Politics and attitudes about where the various revenues should be spent can create heated amounts of debate. In the case of the Department of Defense, this can mean that periodic reviews could occur that can have an impact upon a host of different spending programs. At the same time, various assessments will take place with Secretary of Defense. Where, they will review the size and necessity of the various bases / personnel. A good example of this can be seen when the Secretary of Defense will recommend various base closures and force adjustments. As politics and changes in the Department's needs / availability of funds will affect what programs are going to receive the most appropriate amount of revenues.
Analyze the Economic Conditions that Affect Revenue Projections
The economic conditions will play a major role in determining how much spending will…...
mlaBibliography
Base Closure List. (2005). MSNBC. Retrieved from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7834939/ns/us_news
The Numbers. (2010). Tax Policy Center. Retrieved from: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/background/numbers/revenue.cfm
Bender, B. (2010). Spending Critic Brown. Boston Globe. Retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/04/08/spending_critic_brown_backs_mass_weapons_bid/
Dupy, T. (2010). Defense Secretary Wants Spending Cuts. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-dupuy/defense-secretary-wants-d_b_571906.html
Government Accounting Office in America (GAO)
This is an examination of the Government Accounting Office in America. The writer discusses the history, purpose and background of the GAO as well as the duties that the office is charged with performing. The writer then analyzes literature that illustrates the office in action. The final discussion revolves around the question, "Is the office effective or is it a waste of money." There were four sources used to complete this paper.
During the last few years there has been a public outcry and demand to investigate government spending. The public was brought stories by the media about the government paying thousands of dollars for toilet seats, and spending hundreds of dollars on a screwdriver and other such tools. When the reports began to surface about wasted government spending the public became angry. Lobbyists across the nation began to demand an accounting of not only tax…...
mlaBibliography for a listing of non-GAO publications.) It should be noted that, as with any effort to put current events into historical context, alternative interpretations are possible. Often debated are the intent and motivation of the framers of the Constitution who created the census. In this report, we have quoted the Constitution and various laws relating to the decennial census and have attempted to place their language in an historical context. We are not, however, providing our own independent review or interpretation of the constitutional and statutory issues discussed in this report, which, unless otherwise noted, are based primarily on the analysis contained in the various publications and documents we relied upon in preparing this report.
Short answers to some frequently asked questions about the decennial census are in appendix 1. Appendix 11 contains information on changes in the apportionment of the membership of the House of Representatives between the 1920 and 1990 Decennial Censuses by region of country and on changes in the nation's population and its undercount by race and ethnicity between the 1950 and 1990 censuses, as well as a snapshot of the growth and cost of census-taking since the first decennial census in 1790. Major contributors to this report are identified in appendix III.
L. Nye Stevens Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues
Chapter 1
Why Take the Census?
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now