Contract Management articles from May 2002

Contract Management archives from May 2002

Reader response corner.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2002... DPAS Review I thought Barry McVay's article, "A Review of the Defense Priorities and Allocation System," in the January 2002 issue of Contract Management provided excellent information and highlighted the many success stories of DPAS. DPAS...

Financial analysis--a broader business topic. (President's Forum).(National Contract Management Association conference: "Financial Analysis--Contract Management Applications")(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... By the time you read this forum, NCMA's 2002 National Education Seminar (NES), "Financial Analysis--Contract Management Applications," will be in full swing. Dozens of chapters will have hosted the seminar with dozens more still to come. Of...

Contract management for financial firms: firms seeking to minimize costs and maximize savings would be well advised to examine their contractual obligations and take advantage of centralized management made available by new technology.
May 1, 2002... Business-to-business interaction and commerce is based on the fundamental institution of contractual agreement. Agreements signed to obtain telecommunications, hardware, software, and market data services often are filled with hidden costs and...

Fiscal Speak II: Understanding Contract Financing; mastering the fiscal law rules and terminology can help contract professionals navigate the complex field of government finance.
May 1, 2002... In the June 2001 issue of Contract Management, "Fiscal Speak: Understanding Contract Financing" introduced readers to common terms and definitions used in contract financing. The following guide expands on that article, and will further help...

Preparing for the FAIR cost analysis: before conducting a FAIR cost analysis, agencies must identify their commercial activities, develop a performance work statement, and establish their most efficient organization.(Federal Activities Inventory Reform)
May 1, 2002... The January 2000 article, "Conducting a FAIR Cost Comparison," discussed the methodology for conducting an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 cost analysis in compliance with the 1998 Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR)...

Closing the gap in the closeout backlog: while many managers assume the contract closeout problem can be solved quickly and easily, a problem many years in the making will not go away overnight.(Federal Acquisition Regulation )
May 1, 2002... Federal government acquisition is directed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). While the rules for pre-award procurement have changed drastically in recent years in response to congressional streamlining initiatives, post-award...

The seeds of revolution: an intriguing movement toward the integration of government and industry contract management systems promises a whole new way of doing business.
May 1, 2002... The merger and acquisitions mania of the past decade has left many large companies with disparate, often disconnected and inefficient business systems. Just as the federal government has been pursuing business system and process standardization...

Contracting for compensation: in the federal contracting community, pay banding has been offered as an alternative to the federal wage system.
May 1, 2002... Compensation involves giving something in return for a service or item of value. In the business world, compensation translates to the current pay system, which monetarily compensates employees for work performed. While various pay...

Government financing: pros and cons of Performance-Based Payments; the program manager and contracting officer must make a sound business case judgment on which source of financing is the most beneficial to the government for each contract.
May 1, 2002... When contracting with the government, there are several sources of financing available--some are more preferable than others. Under Secretary of Defense J.S. Gansler issued a policy letter (April 5, 2000), directing the Department of Defense...

Defective pricing vindicated. (Case Commentary).(Alliant Techsystems, Incorporated )(Company Profile)
May 1, 2002... A development contract to build combined effects munitions systems (GEMS) was awarded in 1985 to Alliant Techsystems, Incorporated (ATI). Each GEMS contained 202 BLU-97 fragmentation bomblets (BLUs). In 1986, a competitive award was made to ATI...

National Small Business Week and Annual Procurement Conference. (Small Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Each year since 1963, the president of the United States has designated one week as "National Small Business Week," in recognition of the small business community's contribution to the American economy and society. This year's celebration,...

The Future of Online Marketing. (Small Business Briefs).(Small Business Administration Women's Business Center)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... SBA's Women's Business Center provides a wealth of information for women-owned small businesses. The Future of Online Marketing is one of their many online publications and resources. This guide provides information on such issues as the...

8(a) contracting. (Small Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... According to an article published in Set-Aside Alert (February 22, 2002), SBA has appointed a task force to review the management of the 8(a) program. Led by Linda Williams, SBA's associate administrator and liaison for policy and planning, the...

Small business legislation. (Small Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Three bills of interest to small businesses have been introduced by Representative Albert Wynn in the House of Representatives. The first, H.R. 3636, titled "Prompt Payment Improvement Act," would require that prime contractors provide their...

DOD contract consolidation. (Small Business Briefs).(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... On January 17, 2002, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics issued a memorandum and guidebook to assist Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition teams to avoid unnecessary and unjustified bundling of...

Americans with Disabilities Act. (Small Business Briefs).(Guide for Small Businesses)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Small businesses can now find assistance to help them comply with the Americans with Dis-abilities Act (ADA). SBA has published an ADA Guide for Small Businesses. The 15-page guide provides an overview of basic ADA requirements for SBs that...

Should all your government property "eggs" go in one basket? (Information Technology).(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
May 1, 2002... Today, so many companies, both large and small, have diverse property management reporting systems in place that do not easily share data. An Oracle database here, an Excel spreadsheet there, and a handwritten log in yet another company...

GovernmentBids.com cuts through the RFQ and proposal jungle. (E-Business).(Request for Quotation)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
May 1, 2002... Is the government RFQ and proposal process still an uncharted jungle? Not according to Mike Mahathirath and Mark Knowles, founders of GovernmentBids.com, one of the first industry Internet portals to serve the government contracting community....

A management consulting option. (GSA Case Study).(Management, Organizational, and Business Improvement Services )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... This case study investigates the workings of Management, Organizational, and Business Improvement Services (MOBIS), a Schedule offered to federal agencies by the General Services Administration Federal Supply Services (GSA FSS) as a...

Acquistion rotational assignments: a success story. (Education).(Federal Procurement Executives' Council acquisition rotation program)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... As everyone knows, experience is the best teacher. The federal Procurement Executives' Council (PEG) inaugurated an acquisition rotation program to broaden the experience of mid-level procurement personnel without the need to change jobs. The...

Meeting the challenge. (Book Review).
May 1, 2002... World Class Contracting--How Winning Companies Build Successful Partnerships in the E-Business Age By Gregory A. Garrett Published by CCH Inc. 350 pages Recent literature dealing with the field of contract management presents...

Bill establishing priority preference among certain small business concerns introduced in Senate. (Legislation).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Senator John Kerry has introduced a bill in the Senate titled "Combined 8(a) and HUBZone Priority Preference Act." If enacted, this bill will establish a priority preference among certain small business concerns with respect to federal...

Bill regarding contractor integrity introduced in House. (Legislation).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Representative Albert Wynn has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that requires contractors with the federal government to possess a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. If enacted, this bill will amend 10 U.S.C....

Bill regarding telecommuting for federal contractors introduced in House. (Legislation).(Freedom to Telecommute Act of 2002)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Representative Tom Davis has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives titled "Freedom to Telecommute Act of 2002." If enacted, this bill will amend the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. [sections][sections] 405, 421)...

Bill regarding Veterans Health Care Procurement Reform introduced in the House. (Legislation).(Veterans Health-Care Items Procurement Reform and Improvement Act of 2002)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Representative Lane Evans has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives titled "Veterans Health-Care Items Procurement Reform and Improvement Act of 2002." If enacted, this bill would amend 38 U.S.C. [sections] 8125 (Procurement of...

DOD, GSA, and NASA issue final rule to rewrite procurement integrity coverage. (Regulations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have issued a final rule rewriting the procurement integrity sections of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)....

DOD, GSA, and NASA issue final rule regarding HUBZone Program applicability. (Regulations).(Federal Acquisition Regulation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD, GSA, and NASA have issued a final rule amending the FAR to change current language regarding the HUBZone Program. This final rule amends FAR Parts 12 (Acquisition of Commercial Items), 19 (Small Business Programs), and 52 (Solicitation...

DOD, GSA, and NASA issue final rule regarding government neutrality toward contractor labor relations. (Regulations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD, GSA, and NASA have issued an interim rule to implement an executive order (E.O.) regarding government neutrality towards contractor labor relations. On February 17, 2001, President Bush signed E.O. 13202 titled "Preservation of Open...

DOD issues final rule regarding pilot mentor-protege program. (Regulations).(Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to allow women-owned small businesses to participate as protege firms in the DOD pilot mentor-protege program. As previously reported, the...

DOD issues final rule regarding preference for local 8(a) contractors in base closures and realignments. (Regulations).(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD has issued a final rule to clarify policies relating to preferences for local businesses in acquisitions that support a base realignment or closure. Current policy allows a contractor to be awarded a contract under the Section 8(a)...

DOD issues interim rule regarding partnership agreement between DOD and SBA. (Regulations).(Department of Defense and Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD has issued an interim rule amending the DEARS to implement a partnership agreement between the DOD and the Small Business Administration (SBA). This partnership agreement, dated February 1, 2002, permits the DOD to bypass the SBA and...

DOD issues interim rule regarding performance of security functions. (Regulations).(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD has issued an interim rule allowing for contracts to be made with local and state governments for the performance of security functions at a military facility or installation. Under 10 U.S.C. 2465 (Prohibition on Contracts for...

DOD issues proposed rule regarding restriction on contingent fees for foreign military sales. (Regulations).(Department of Defense (DOD))(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD has issued a proposed rule amending the DFARS to remove a clause pertaining to the restrictions on contingent fees for foreign military sales. DFARS [section] 252.212-7001 (Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or...

DOD'S Defense Logistics Agency issues solicitation for cost-sharing cooperative agreement applications. (Regulations).(Department of Defense)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The DOD's Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has issued a solicitation for cooperative agreement applications to assist local and state governments, as well as other nonprofit eligible entities, in creating or maintaining procurement technical...

NASA issues final rule regarding limitation on incremental funding. (Regulations).(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... NASA has issued a final rule regarding policy dealing with incremental funding on cost-reimbursement contracts. Currently, the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) [section] 1832.702-70 (NASA Policy) limits the incremental funding of cost-reimbursement...

Time to move on--departing NEOs have final words. (NCMA Association News).(nationally elected officers reflect on their terms, National Contract Management Association)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... NCMA wishes the best for our outgoing nationally elected officers--thanks for all you have done to shape our vision this year and carry it out practically in your specific areas! Judy Ballou National Vice President of Professional...

Presenting the new CPCMs! "Certification is the key to professionalism". (NCMA Association News).(Certified Professional Contracts Manager designation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Congratulations to those candidates listed below who passed the Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) examination. The CPCM designation represents the highest level of qualification in the contracts profession. Both the CPCM and...

2001 Blanche Witte Award winners: one, two, three. (NCMA Association News).(awards granted by National Contract Management Association)
May 1, 2002... This honor, the Blanche Witte Memorial Foundation Annual Award, is given to three people each year, at the first-, second-, and third-place level. Honoring these top winners and those who earn honorable mention, NCMA recognizes contract...

NCMA's 2002 Dana Award winner--outstanding in service on all fronts. (NCMA Association News).(National Contract Management Association, Richard A. Hardesty)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... After many years of outstanding contributions and dedication to NCMA and the contracting profession, Richard A. Hardesty has earned the recognition and high honor of the Charles A. Dana Distinguished Service Award. His past records a remarkable...

Chapter bulletin board. (NCMA Association News).
May 1, 2002... MIDDLE GEORGIA CHAPTER Chapter President Misty Holtz presents a plaque to Ken Winslette after his presentation on supply chain management. Mr. Winslette is the director of the Acquisition Excellence Directorate for the Wright Robins Air...

CM 2002 editorial calendar.(Editorial)
May 1, 2002... SEPTEMBER Article Due: May 15, 2002 Commercial Contracting Customer service standards, marketing and business development, strategies for capturing specific markets, UCC, purchasing strategies, purchasing organizations, mergers...

Training for the new millennium: welcome to NCMA's contract management learning center.(National Contract Management Association)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Welcome to NCMA's Management Learning Center Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Once you go beyond the world of government contracting and move into commercial contracting, your knowledge of intellectual property (IP) rights...