Contract Management articles from November 2000

Contract Management archives from November 2000

A Proud Tradition; A Promising Future.(National Contract Management Association)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... JUDY BALLOU NCMA is blessed with two important advantages: a proud tradition and a promising future. As I write this message, I have been the national vice president for professional development-commercial contracting sector, for less...

READER RESPONSE.
November 1, 2000... I enjoyed [Joseph Beausoleil's] article on past performance [July issue] and agreed with a lot of it. I like the idea of anchoring "grades" around 3 and requiring narratives only for grades that are higher or lower. For very big contracts,...

E-mail: The New Tool in Office Politics.(examples of use and misuse)
November 1, 2000... Though the traditional strategies for influencing others and getting them to follow your lead still apply, you also need to take into account the use and misuse of e-mail in the world of corporate politics. A consultant tells the story of...

Electronic Commerce Gains a Legal Foothold.(Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000)
November 1, 2000... New federal and state laws are creating a dynamic environment for commercial electronic commerce. Contracts professionals must be wary of the potential pitfalls. For years, retailers, consumers, industry, and even the federal government...

The Electronic Revolution in Contract Management.(designing and implementing technology for contract management processes)
November 1, 2000... We have only just begun to leverage the technology that is going to bring new ease and control to our processes. Contract managers have a critical role in an organization. According to the National Contract Management Association, that...

Trends in Electronic Commerce.(business-to-business to become marketplace-to-marketplace)
November 1, 2000... E-commerce is moving toward a new economy in which B2B gives way to M2M (marketplace-to-marketplace). Last April, at NCMA's World Congress 2000, Michael Dow, from American Management Systems, spoke on commercial trends in the world of...

Will E-Sign Affect Government Contracting Practices?(electronic signatures)
November 1, 2000... Despite E-Sign's many exceptions, it will expedite the use of electronic technology by government agencies. On June 30, 2000, President William J. Clinton signed into law the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act...

IT Acquisition & Management Reform: Has the Vision Become a Reality?(information technology)
November 1, 2000... What changes have occurred in the four years in the four years since Congress reformed information technology acquisition and management? Four years have passed since Congress reformed how the federal government manages and acquires...

Will the Internet Engulf EDI?(electronic data interchange)(value-added networks)
November 1, 2000... Internet EDI, with its efficiency and relatively low cost, is changing the course of value-added networks. As internet-based electronic data interchange continues to gain in popularity, shoving aside the traditional value-added network,...

Bill to Provide for Recovery Audits Introduced in the Senate.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Senator Fred Thompson has introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would amend Chapter 35 of Title 31 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) by adding various sections regarding recovery audits. The term recovery audit is defined to mean a...

DOD, GSA, and NASA Propose to Amend the FAR with Regard to Products Produced by Forced or Indentured or Child Labor.(Federal Acquisition Regulation)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration propose to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order 13126, Prohibition of Acquisition of Products...

DOD, GSA, and NASA Propose to Amend the FAR with Regard to the Balance of Payments Program.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration propose to amend Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 25 to remove regulations regarding the Balance of Payments Program and to...

DOD, GSA, and NASA Propose to Amend the FAR by Moving Definitions of Applied Research and Development.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration propose to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) by moving the definitions of applied research and development currently...

DOD, GSA, and NASA Propose to Amend the FAR with Regard to Financing Policies.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration propose to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to permit use of performance-based payments on fixed-price contracts prior...

DOD Issues Final Rule Regarding Pollution Control.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) regarding the level of approval required to except contracts from restrictions of the Clean Air Act (see the....

DOD Proposes to Amend DFARS with Regard to Overseas Use of Govern-mentwide Commercial Purchase Card.(Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Defense is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to permit contracting officers supporting a contingency (see the United States Code [U.S.C.] at 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13)), humanitarian, or...

NASA Issues Interim Rule Regarding Property Reporting Requirements.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued an interim rule amending the NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NFS) with regard to property reporting requirements. NASA is required to account for and report...

NASA Proposes to Amend Priority Rating Requirement.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) proposes to amend the NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NFS) to limit the current priority rating process. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) supports...

EPA Issues Final Rule Regarding Inspector General Hotline.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has amended the EPA Acquisition Regulation to require certain contractors to display EPA Office of the Inspector General Hotline posters in contractor work areas. Government contractors are required...

SBA Amends Its Rules of Procedure Governing Cases before the Office of Hearings and Appeals.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a final rule amending its regulations with regard to the agency point-of-contact for procurement-related legal issues. This change was prompted by SBA's recent reorganization of its Office of...

DOL Proposes to Amend Labor Standard Provisions That Implement the Davis-Bacon Act.(Department of Labor)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Department of Labor (DOL) proposes to amend regulations issued under the Davis-Bacon Act by altering the definitions of construction, prosecution, completion, repair, and site of work. The Davis-Bacon Act (see the United States Code...

USDA Proposes to Amend the AGAR with Regard to its Contractor Performance System.(Agriculture Acquisition Regulation)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposes to amend its Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (AGAR.) to establish the National Institutes of Health Contractor Performance System as the single USDA-wide automated performance evaluation...

CAS Board Seeks Comments Regarding Employee Stock Ownership Plans.(Cost Accounting Standards)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board has issued a notice seeking comments regarding accounting for the cost of employee stock ownership plans under government contracts. The board has noted that a number of individuals have identified...

Seat Management: A Recipe for Success.
November 1, 2000... As readers begin reading this article, they will undoubtedly wonder; Why another article on seat management when at least six articles have appeared in various publications within the last month alone? [1] What does this article have that is...

When Is Information Confidential?
November 1, 2000... The government and court's ongoing tug-of-war over FOIA's Exemption 4 leaves contracts professionals in a bind. For the last eight years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the various departments of the U.S....

Women-Owned Business Set-Aside Program.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Legislation proposed by Representative Nydia Velazquez would create a set-aside program for women-owned businesses with provisions similar to the existing small disadvantaged business set-aside program and its benchmarking process. House...

Small Business Size Standards.
November 1, 2000... The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued several new and modified size standards. For Standard Industrial Classification Code 4731, Arrangement of Transportation of Freight and Cargo, the size standard is $5 million in average...

Spotlight on U.S. Commercial Service.
November 1, 2000... The U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. Commercial Service is dedicated to increasing the number of small-to medium-sized U.S. firms that benefit from international trade (www.usatrade.gov). Through its network of offices in more than 100 U.S....

Proposal Would Allow Contracting Officers to Decide Final Contract Payment.
November 1, 2000... A proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation would state specifically that a federal government contracting officer can unilaterally determine the final contract payment amount when the contractor has not submitted its final...

SBA Report to Congress Gives Breakdown on Minority Support.
November 1, 2000... A report from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to Congress for the agency's Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development 8(a) program for fiscal year 1999 contains some interesting statistics: * New contract actions...

New Small Business Loan Programs.
November 1, 2000... The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the availability of loans to assist small businesses that have experienced trade-related job losses attributable to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Affected communities...

Federal Electronic Commerce.
November 1, 2000... As expected, the federal government is proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to designate FedBizOpps (formerly EPS or Electronic Posting System) as the single point of entry to federal procurement opportunities. Agencies...

e-Procurement: The New Model for Purchasing in the Internet Age.
November 1, 2000... During the last few years, we have witnessed the birth of the single most fundamental change in the history of business: the Internet. It has created a non-stop global economy, driven a frenzy of mergers and acquisitions, sent the world's...

Default Findings.
November 1, 2000... In September 1992, the Special Operating Training Facility (SOTF) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, contracted with Applied Communications Research (ACR) for the delivery of 12 production miniature video transceivers designated MVT, designed to...

Need an Automation Tool? Create Your Own!
November 1, 2000... Whether you are in charge of one large contract or a multitude of smaller contracts, you are typically responsible for a considerable amount of data. In a contracts office, computers have become a standard repository for that data and,...

The Revolution in Business Affairs: Will Contracting Officers Survive or Be a Casualty?
November 1, 2000... Winner of the 1999 Delaney Award. Originally published in February 1999. "Revolutions come they are not made" -Millard Fillmore The Revolution in Business Affairs (RIBA) is being held out as the linchpin to modernizing the...

Requiem for Research.
November 1, 2000... NCMA recently jettisoned its most visible and enduring contribution to contract management research and education, the National Contract Management Journal. NGMA's aspiration to publish journal articles in the Contract Management (CM)...

NCMA Moves toward Integrated Digital Environment.
November 1, 2000... More efficient use of technology means improved services and greater accessibility for members. According to its vision statement, NCMA strives to be "the preeminent source of professional development for contract managers." To that end,...

Shearer Wins 1999 Delaney Award.
November 1, 2000... Honored for writing Contract Management article on contracting officer "survival." R. E. "Randy" Shearer, CPCM, of the Middle Georgia Chapter, received the Charles J. Delaney Award for his February 1999 article titled, "The Revolution in...