One of the first things that is taught upon entering an acquisition career field is who has the authority to make purchases. Depending on the organization the requirements that these chosen individuals need to meet may vary greatly. The ones given this authority are typically held in the upmost trust and are required to have additional training to better prepare themselves for this responsibility. Unfortunately not everyone knows and understands who may and who may not have the authority to enter into binding contracts with that particular company or that organization, furthermore they may not understand what their responsibilities are. To confuse a situation even further, there are times when one may either express or imply they have …show more content…
Contracting officers may bind the Government only to the extent of the authority delegated to them. Contracting officers shall receive from the appointing authority clear instructions in writing regarding the limits of their authority. Information on the limits of the contracting officers’ authority shall be readily available to the public and agency personnel.” It even further explains that there is no contract shall be entered into unless the contracting officer ensures that all requirements of law, executive orders, regulations, and all other applicable procedures, including clearances and approvals, have been met. In selecting a contracting officer, the appointing official considers the dollar value of the acquisition, the complexity and the potential contracting officer’s experience, education, business acumen, character and reputation. A contracting officer is appointed in writing and states any limitations on the scope of the authority that is to be given to them. The FAR specifies that a contracting officer’s responsibility to ensure that no contract is entered into unless it meets all requirements of law, regulations and other procedures, that sufficient funds are available and that contractors receive impartial, fair and equitable treatment. Unlike the commercial sector, the FAR mandates that certain requirements be met prior to being appointed to a contracting officer. It requires that the candidate complete all mandatory contracting courses required for
Government contracting is a lucrative industry, both large and small management and technology consulting firms along with defense, aerospace and other companies who bill themselves as "experts" in various different areas complete for billions of dollars in government contracts each year. The benefit of the federal government leveraging the skills and expertise is great; but there is also a downside. Ethical violations can and have occurred within the government contracting arena. This paper will discuss a case that demonstrates ethical violations in government contracting as well as answer the question of how ethical violations in government contracting affect the role of contracting management acquisition.
Additionally, it is clarified that contracts falling within the scope of the Act shall contain certain provisions allowing the contracting officer to terminate, by written notice, the contractor’s right to proceed with the work should it be found that the wages being paid by the contractor are less than the prevailing wage. Should termination be necessary, the contractor can be held liable for any excess costs incurred by the Government to gain a new contract or otherwise have the work
The United States government is the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world. Even during times of economic hardship, the US continues to dump billions into the private sector. The federal procurement spending rate of growth has surpassed the rate of U.S. inflation every year, since 2000. With annual federal procurement budgets of more than $400 billion, it is no surprise that the competition for government contracts has increased tremendously. Consequently, more and more companies are trying to get a piece of the action. When these companies adhere to all of the required regulations and statutes, they expect their proposals to be evaluated and the contract awarded in
Section 3.2 Authority. The Seller has full corporate power, authority and legal right to execute and deliver, and to perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereunder, and has taken all necessary action to authorize the purchase hereunder on the terms and conditions of this Agreement and to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement. This Agreement has been duly executed by the Seller and constitutes a legal, valid, and binding obligation of the Seller enforceable against Seller in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, or other similar laws from time to time in effect, which affect the enforcement of creditors' rights in general and by general principles of equity regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in
Law 95-563, by which only contractors, not subcontractors, may pursue claims against the government, and the term “contractor” is clearly defined as “a party to a Government contract other that the Government.” 41 U.S. C. §601 (4). To make the even clearer, the FAR prohibits a government contracting officer from consenting to a subcontract that obligates the contracting officer to deal directly with a subcontractor or that makes the results of arbitration, judicial determination or voluntary settlement between the prime contractor ad subcontractor binding on the government. FAR 44.203 (b). Lack of privities and the resulting barrier to direct claims does not, however, mean that no way whatsoever exists for a subcontractor’s claim to be heard. The regulations permit and the astute government contractor will ensure that its subcontract with the federal prime contractor will provide for “sponsorship of a subcontractor’s claim. Sponsorship is the practice whereby the prime contractor nominally prosecutes what in fact is the subcontractor’s claim against the government. The appeal of the claim is brought in the name of prime contractor even though the subcontractor is the real party in interest. FAR 44.203 (c) (Government Contract Law, pp. 419-420). Performance and payment bonds are an available tool to be mandated by the government for the protection of itself and of subcontractors.
Per the text, Adams states that ethics in government contracting requires maintaining integrity in the procurement of products and services from private contractors. From the e-Activity, select two (2) components of Subpart 3.10—Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct that interest you the most. Next, evaluate the level of necessity of these components that you have selected in
Procurement is the process of selecting suppliers and signing contracts for the purchase of goods and services. While simple in definition, quite the opposite is true when it comes to execution. When speaking about public and private sectors, they are two entirely different entities. They have different work principles, different functions and responsibilities in the economy, and different limitations to do work. In the case of government acquisition, the leading and primary objective is for public good, not profit. For a private venture, it is profit for the shareholders. A private company has to have profit as the first priority when awarding procurement contracts. Due to this obvious dichotomy, contractors generally either service
A contract has been awarded under competitive negotiated procedures and an unsuccessful offeror wanted to know why they were not the winner. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides an approach to this issue by offering an organized correspondence with the unsuccessful offeror and the government. An unsuccessful offeror may submit a request to the contracting officer for clarification on why they did not win the award. This request is called a debriefing. The debriefing provides feedback from the government on the unsuccessful offeror’s proposal explaining the process in depth as to why they were not selected. Only certain information is shared and will vary depending on whether the debriefing is conducted prior to or after
That situation changes when you start negotiating a big business deal. For example, you see a chance to acquire a competitor or someone wants to acquire your
On top of the general rules portraying a small business, a contracting officer has rules and regulations to follow regarding number of organizations bidding on the acquisition, contract dollar sums, and sub-contracting limitations that is thought about while deciding the requirement for set-aside standing.
Strict adherence to formal procedures characterizes sealed bidding which attempts to provide a “level playing field” or as a multitude of references point out equal footing to all bidders who compete for a contract. Competitive negotiation is a more flexible process that enables the agency to conduct discussions, evaluate offers, and award the contract using price and other factors. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), whose origins can be traced back to the ASPA of 1947 was codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations and became effective 1 April 1984. The FAR contains the uniform policies and procedures for acquisitions by all federal agencies to date. It addresses nearly every procurement related statute or executive policy; and subsequently encompasses every stage of the acquisition process. In a nutshell, FAR appears to have modernized and thus enveloped the aforementioned three acts.
In this research paper I will discuss the process of contracting out, issues of cost, credibility, accountability, and quality and quantity of services. My discussion will also include reasons for contracting out, opposition, and advantages and problems of contracting out.
Reviews are mainly meant for describing someone’s shopping experiences when it comes to certain sellers or service providers.
To fully understand the nature of the question posed one must know the meaning of ethics. Webster’s dictionary defines ethics as the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it; moral philosophy, the moral fitness of a decision, course of action, etc. Basically, I believe ethics is how one makes a decision according to the social norm that surrounds him. The social norm includes not only the culture but the laws and standard procedures of the environment. These laws and norms must be fully understood before one can understand the ethical significance of one’s decision.
In this case one business has to make a purchase from another business and such processes are considered as impersonal processes. In this process of purchasing personal biases and inclinations should not supposed to come. “The seller company of laptops has chances to secure a best deal for their company through buying center concept and it is taken as better marketing tool. This concept of purchasing products is very useful on a large scale for a firm or any nonprofit organization” (Robinson, Farris, and Wind, 1967). Business to business dealing is basic idea behind this buying center concept. In order to utilize this deal and making decision of purchasing many people within a firm have to be involved and also firm need to assign