Contract Management articles from September 2003

Contract Management archives from September 2003

Speaking up about the "Speaking Out" corner.(Reader Response Corner)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2003... I am writing in response to the "Speaking Out" article, "Contract Administrator--A Misnomer?" in the June 2003 issue of Contract Management. The tidy point in this article that hit the mark in my opinion was the title. I happen to agree with...

Why NCMA should be important to you.(President's Forum)
September 1, 2003... There are many professional associations. They run the gamut from supply management to state, local, and federal contracting groups. Why is NCMA special, and why should you belong? First of all, NCMA tries to reach many facets of...

Power-up your listening skills.(Professional Development)
September 1, 2003... Do you finish a sentence for a speaker? Do you interrupt a speaker with your ideas? Do you think ahead while a speaker is talking, preparing what to say next? Do you daydream or think about future activities or events, while a speaker is...

May the source be with you: business process outsourcing takes contract management to the next level.
September 1, 2003... Think that successful outsourcing contracts are as simple as putting pen to paper, letting the service provider "go for it," and laughing all the way to the bank with your fat raise for reducing costs? Think again. That's because for...

Contingent workforce management: are you contracts "Exhibit A for the Plaintiff"? Contingent workforce management is an extremely complex initiative, but here are a few ways to understand it more clearly and develop effective strategies for use.
September 1, 2003... In early 2002, I was engaged by a procurement contracts attorney from a Fortune 500 energy company, to help draft a master services agreement that would become his company's contract for acquiring contingent workers--the temps and contractors,...

Good ethics is good business: recent high-profile scandals, such as WorldCom's and Enron's have eroded the public's trust and spawned charges for more government oversight of private industry. The solution? A return to good, old-fashioned ethics.
September 1, 2003... In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville came to the United States to find out what made this brash, upstart, new nation so progressive and prosperous. He traveled all over the country mud talked to people of all walks of life. lie then went back to...

Comprehensive contract review: from beginning to end: with comprehensive contract review from pre-proposal through project execution, contract managers can proactively mitigate risk and increase the effectiveness of their agreements.
September 1, 2003... A company somewhere is convening a commercial proposal team conference call. The functions or departments represented in the call may include business development, program/project management, technical, pricing, purchasing, risk management,...

Contract management can improve corporate governance: corporate boards and leadership need to regain trust by demonstrating commitment to higher standards of accountability and adherence to provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
September 1, 2003... The business press has been dominated by recent waves of corporate scandals, and several well-respected companies have had to dramatically restate their earnings. It's not surprising, then, that a poll of corporate executives taken by Kennedy...

Business management autopilot: sit back, relax, and let your contract management software do the work.
September 1, 2003... It is amazing how a single contract can affect multiple departments within an organization. For example, depending on the type of contract, business operations, procurement, sales and marketing, legal, finance and administration, risk...

Words and meanings.(Case Commentary)(Catel Inc. and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
September 1, 2003... Catel, Inc., an experienced excavation firm, received a sole-source solicitation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), to be negotiated under the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) 8(a) program. The tasks involved correcting...

Moai Technologies: helping clients to de-mystify e-sourcing: this site was reviewed in July 2003.(E-Business)
September 1, 2003... Moai Technologies takes its name from the mysterious giant stone statues, located on the remote Pacific island Rapa Nui (known to most of us as Easter Island). Unlike their namesakes, which have stood still while gazing out to sea for more than...

ProPricer: meeting your costing needs.(Information Technology)
September 1, 2003... ProPricer is a commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) solution for proposal pacing, cost analysis, and source selection. This solution serves a diverse community of proposal pricing, cost estimating, and cost analysis professionals around the world....

Why some commercial activities programs can't work.(Speaking Out)
September 1, 2003... The buzz words today for government contracting and contractors are outsourcing, A-76, and cost savings. In fact, it seems the agencies are beset with the catchy phrases (mantras) better, cheaper, faster, and so on. This cost-cutting, "bigger...

Mirroring organizational strategies, services, and operations between government and industry.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry by Dr. Peter W. Singer ISBN: 0-8014-4114-5; $39.95; Order: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/ Cornell University Press (Ithaca, New York) 352 pp. Several years ago, I recall...

Small business size standards.(Small Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Small Business Administration (SBA) has taken several actions, regarding the waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule for several industry categories. These waiver applications involved the following industries and categories: * SBA...

House small business committee.(Small Business Briefs)
September 1, 2003... The U.S. House of Representatives has an excellent Web site that allows you to follow the path of small business legislation, receive live audio broadcasts of committee hearings, and submit comments directly to the committee by e-mail to...

Proposed legislation.(Small Business Briefs)
September 1, 2003... HR 1166 proposes to amend the Small Business Act, to improve and expand assistance that is provided to Indian tribe members, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians. Introduced in the House, the bill has now been referred to the Senate Committee...

Reconstruction opportunities.(Small Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration has established an Internet site to provide businesses with information on opportunities to participate in the rebuilding and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. Found at...

Forms available.(Small Business Briefs)
September 1, 2003... Businesses utilize a wide variety of forms in managing their activities and recordkeeping requirements. While the SBA offers many forms for receiving financial and technical assistance and applying for various certifications, it doesn't offer...

Small business news.(Small Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... In addition to reading this column in Contract Management, there are many Internet sites that can link you to various on-line small business articles and magazines. One such site is NewsDirectory.com, which currently offers access to these...

Inside Schedule 738 I: Marketing, Media, and Public Information Services.(GSA Case Study)
September 1, 2003... Case #1 "GSA saves us time and provided us with excellent PR support"--those are the words Kathy Daniel used to describe her experience of working with the General Service Administration (GSA). Kathy, who works for the Federal Highway...

Final edition.
September 1, 2003... Legislation Bills Regarding Contract Consolidation Requirements for Small Businesses Introduced in Senate and House Senator Olympia Snowe has introduced a bill, titled the "Small Business Administration 50th Anniversary Reauthorization...

The I-many Sarbanes-Oxley Suite provides visibility into operational contracts and financial transactions.(NCMA Corporate Profile)
September 1, 2003... Accounting abuses and recordkeeping irregularities have ushered the modern business world into an unprecedented era of regulatory scrutiny. As a result, internal and external visibility into the terms of contracts underlying revenue and expense...

Virtual CM reality: newest charter member of the CMLC.(Profile: Corporate Learning Solutions)(on-line Contract Management Learning Center)
September 1, 2003... NCMA welcomes Corporate Learning Solutions (CLS) as a charter member of the new resource for all contracts professionals: the on-line Contract Management Learning Center (CMLC). CLS has been an NCMA learning center training partner since 2001,...

The best of the best: Johnston named Outstanding Fellow.(NCMA Association News)(Michelle Johnston)
September 1, 2003... The Council of Fellows recently approved the newest member of the Outstanding Fellow Award winners. NCMA and CM magazine congratulates Michelle Johnston for her accomplishments, and for the exemplary way she has executed her Fellow status in...

Presenting the first CFCMs of NCMA's revised certification program ...(NCMA Association News)
September 1, 2003... NCMA and the Contract Management Certification & Accreditation Board are proud to present the first Certified Federal Contracts Managers (CFCMs) to have passed both the newly revised Federal Knowledge module and the General Business Knowledge...

Acquisition Professional Excellence Award winners.(NCMA Association News)
September 1, 2003... Congratulations to Charles Bright of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at the McDill Air Force Base in Florida, and to Nancy Gunderson of the Pentagon Renovation Program (PENREN) in Washington, D.C., for being chosen to...

Chapter bulletin board.(NCMA Association News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... DENVER CHAPTER The chapter gathered to host an NES in the spring 2003. Front row (left to right): Larry Boyd, Roger Ganger (awards chair), Dolly Fernandez (president elect), Sandy Lintz (NES chair); Back row (left to right): Steve Peck...