Contract Management articles from February 2005

Contract Management archives from February 2005

Thank you for making all the difference.(LEADERSHIP FORUM)(contract management)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. "The Road Not Taken" --Robert Frost I...

Let's get organized.(PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT)
February 1, 2005... Organize: To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary. Whoa! Does this sound like your desk? Or, is your work area cluttered... filled with numerous pieces of data that you...

Contractor vs. employee: what's best for you? You might be currently contemplating whether or not to join the growing ranks of contract employees, also known as consultants. All of the national trends show that the numbers of people engaged in this type of employment are destined to virtually explode in the coming decade.
February 1, 2005... Kevin Thomas* is loving life. He plans his own flexible work hours around the school schedule of his eight-year-old twin sons. He requests and receives challenging contracts management consulting projects that are enviably close to his...

The acquisition road: technological changes and new laws and regulations make the acquisition road challenging to travel.
February 1, 2005... The Road goes ever on and on. Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands...

Avoiding 10 resume taboos: if you make one of these common mistakes, you may be eliminated from consideration before even receiving an opportunity to interview.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2005... Job-hunting is like an arms race--it just keeps escalating, with the job hunter's weapons becoming ever more sophisticated. Your resume is a key weapon in your arsenal. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most employers use this document to screen...

Measuring worthy performance behavior: use the Gilbert Behavioral Engineering Model and get clear results and quantitative values.
February 1, 2005... Enter the phrase "measuring worthy performance behavior" into a search engine, and you'll get thousands of topies returned. I recently entered the phrase into Google on my home computer and found about 24,300 references in 0.52 seconds--now...

Writing matters: from evaluation memorandums to redlines, effective contract management requires the clarity of prose and intense attention to grammatical detail that is often lacking today.
February 1, 2005... In 1991, the U.S. Navy identified a single cost-cutting measure that would save the U.S. citizens between $27 and $30 million per year. It didn't involve cutting staff or spending on weapons and security procedures. It didn't require an act of...

Managing employees' security clearance investigations: in light of the opportunities available to defense contractors and other businesses seeking to obtain contract awards after 9/11 or the post-war Iraq era, a decision to deny or revoke a security clearance of a particular officer or employee can have serious ramifications for that government contractor.
February 1, 2005... Understanding the security clearance investigative and adjudicative process is critical to retention of security clearances for qualified key personnel. Security clearances are required for officers and employees of defense contractors that...

Strategies to retain high performers: understand the reasons why the best employees leave--and then design and implement key strategies to retain them.
February 1, 2005... As the economy improves, the number of workers moving from one company to another tends to increase. Also, signposts point to the fact that there will be more jobs created in the future than available workers to fill them--all the more leverage...

Management book: blueprint of practical tools.(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... The Instant Manager: More than 100 Quick Tips and Techniques for Great Results (Revised edition) by Cy Charney New York: AMACOM, 2004, $18.95 ISBN 0-8144-72133 (Order at www.amacombooks.org) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In...

Classic defective pricing.(CASE COMMENTARY)
February 1, 2005... When Lockheed Martin Corporation--doing business as Sanders (Sanders)--upgraded its electronic countermeasures set (126B) with five new "EEPROM" circuit cards, the Department of Defense (DOD), under a basic ordering agreement (BOA), ordered a...

"What about Bob?" Review of Omnicom's contracts applications.(E-BUSINESS)
February 1, 2005... Throughout the years I have been in contract management, there has only been one person who was a standout performer when it came to knowing everything there was to know about total contract management. His name was Bob. I'm sure you have...

GSA FTS Office of Professional Services: single-source experts.(GSA CASE STUDY)(genral services administration)
February 1, 2005... At GSA, acquisition excellence is a top priority. The services provided by the Office of Professional Services offer federal agencies fee-based acquisition support from many of the most popular GSA Multiple Award Schedule contracts. ...

CM magazine 2005 editorial calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... June -- Articles Due: March 1, 2005 Ethics and Corporate Compliance Upholding high standards and values in the workplace has become an increasingly important issue--especially given recent events. Ethics in the contracting profession...

Intelligence Reform bill signed into law.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... On December 17, 2004, President Bush signed into law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which implemented several of the recommendations from the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (also...

DOE's new research program.(Legislation)
February 1, 2005... On November 30, 2004, President Bush signed into law the Department of Energy (DOE) High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004. This act directs DOE establish a research and development program (involving software and hardware development)...

Liability indemnification extended for commercial space transportation industry.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... On November 30, 2004, President Bush signed Public Law 108-428, extending the indemnification provisions in 49 U.S.C. [section] 70113(f) for the commercial space transportation industry an additional five years from December 31, 2004, to...

FY05 consolidated appropriations act.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... On December 8, 2004, President Bush signed Public Law 108-447, the omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2005, which authorizes expenditures for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior, Labor, Health and Human Services,...

FAR: electronic submission of certifications.(Regulations)(Federal Acquisition Regulation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have issued a rule changing the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requiring offerors to submit...

Special emergency procurement rules: nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological defense.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... DOD, GSA, and NASA issued a rule amending the FAR to implement the special emergency procurement authorities of Section 1443 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-136), and Section 822 of the FY2005 National Defense...

Australia, Morocco added to FAR Buy America exemption list; Singapore, Chile added to DFARS Buy America exemption list.(Regulations)
February 1, 2005... DOD, GSA, and NASA issued an interim rule amending the FAR's Buy America Act regulations at FAR Part 25 to implement free trade agreements with Australia and Morocco. This interim rule will allow contracting officers to purchase items from...

DFARS competition requirements.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... DOD issued a revision to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) regarding competition requirements on December 15, 2004. This final rule amends DFARS 206.001 and DFARS 206.202(b) regarding the documentation needed to...

DFARS: construction and A-E services.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... DOD issued a final rule that relocates text from several parts of the DFARS concerning construction and architect-engineer services to DOD's new DFARS PGI Web site. DFARS 236.602-1 was amended to remove procedures for establishment of...

DOD consolidates reporting requirements: violations of federal procurement law.(Regulations)(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... DOD issued a final rule amending the DFARS to consolidate the reporting requirements for violations and suspected violations of federal procurement law in DFARS 203.070. The rule eliminates several sections of DFARS Part 203 relating to...

Time limit for task and delivery order contracts.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... DOD issued an interim rule amending DFARS 217.204 to implement sections 843 of the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act and Section 813 of the FY2005 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 843 places a five-year limit on the period of...

GAO: proposed overhaul for bid protest rules.(Regulations)(Government Accountability Office)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Government Accountability Office (GAO) proposed a series of amendments to its bid protest regulations to implement new requirements in Section 326 of the FY05 National Defense Authorization Act. The proposed amendments affect the bid...

State Department changes rules re: contractors supporting U.S. diplomatic operations abroad.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The State Department proposed changes to the Department of State Acquisition Regulations (DOSAR) to require the application of the Small Business Act to contracts awarded by domestic contracting activities where contract performance takes place...

GSA sets rates for public on-line access to Federal Procurement Data System.(Regulations)(General Services Administration)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The GSA announced plans on December 28, 2004, to establish rules for public electronic access to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) database. The FPDS is the primary database of the federal government for information relating to federal...

SBA revises ownership requirements for SBIR Program awardees.(Regulations)(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The SBA issued a final rule that revises its small business size regulations regarding ownership and control of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program awardees, affecting the requisite ownership percentages and the citizenship status...

Commerce department amends export license rules for encryption items.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a final rule on December 9, 2004, which substantially revises several parts of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) relating to the export of encryption items....

Labor department proposes on-line wage determination system.(Regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule on December 16, 2004, to implement its new Wage Determinations Online (WDOL) (www.wdol.gov) system. When complete, DOL will require contracting agencies to use the WDOL Web site to obtain its wage...

Stream of success: the future of government contracting.(NCMA ASSOCIATION NEWS)(National Contract Management Association)
February 1, 2005... NCMA's 23rd Annual Government Contract Management Conference, December 6-7, 2004, was quite a success! At max capacity, the event really did feel like leaders in the field were there, "riding the wave of the future of contract management," as...

Foundations of the certification program; Part 1: practice or job/task analysis--demographic report.(NCMA ASSOCIATION NEWS)(National Contract Management Association)
February 1, 2005... NCMA has had a viable and active certification program since the 1970s. The legacy programs for the CACM and the CPCM were administered twice a year and were based on the contract management body of knowledge. The latest version of this body of...

NCMA's 2005 educational conference calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... Attendance at NCMA's conferences offer you: * ways to stay in touch with contemporary issues, * exposure to best practice models, * opportunities for networking with those in the same field, * career growth programs, and *...

Rockford chapter.(CHAPTER BULLETIN BOARD)
February 1, 2005... President Scott Jaeger (left) thanks Rockford Mayor Doug Scott (right) for his talk on the changes and challenges that face the Rockford area in the near future. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Saguaro chapter.(CHAPTER BULLETIN BOARD)
February 1, 2005... They recently hosted a chapter training seminar on "Interpersonal Negotiation Skills"--pictured here from left to right, Kevin Prins (Moss-Adams, LLP), Phil Kohn (Moss-Adams, LLP), Connie Cobo (VP education), Daniel Thelen (treasurer), Omar...

Texoma chapter.(CHAPTER BULLETIN BOARD)
February 1, 2005... These members, who have been with the chapter since its inception in 1989, came out to celebrate the 15th anniversary! (From left) Ann Vickers, Rose Marie Fidelie, Mary Jane Whyborn, Tandy Weaver, Marcy Fragomeli, and Colleen Phipps. Colonel...