MGT 5211 Case II Questions Answered
Bisk College of Business: Extended Studies -- National Capital Region Site
MGT 5211 PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Case No. 2 – Contract Issues
Instruction Sheet
Questions: 1. Given the difficult situation identified in this case, describe what you see as factors that contributed to the problems encountered by both parties.
A: 1) Poorly defined requirement. The specifications were not fully developed. Offerors are unable to provide a comprehensive quote for a poorly defined requirement.
2) Pressure from leadership. Interagency politics and lack of planning resulted in this procurement being somewhat rushed. Current year funds expiring and senior manager eagerness are not appropriate factors to force a contract specialist to consider.
3) The Agency did not advertise. There is not statement as to why the agency did not advertise. While competition was still sought the agency may have received better questions from interested vendors if it had advertised the requirement.
4) Selection Criteria – The scenario indicates the main reason the vendor was selected was that it performed other work on the system. FAR Part 15 notes many factors the evaluation team should consider.
5) Quality Assurance – No clear quality control plan was required in the contract. No agency approvals were contained in the contract terms which precluded the contractor from starting a new phase of the project. No acceptance testing procedures were included. The terms for quality control and acceptable performance are very vague.
2. Also identify the phase(s) in the contracting process where these factors originated and describe what actions could have been taken in each of the phases identified to prevent these problems from occurring.
A: 1) Poorly defined requirement. This should be addressed by the Gov’t in the acquisition planning phase before contracting is involved. If the program manager cannot fully understand what is required she should work with the technical team to fully
MGT 5211 PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Case No. 2 – Contract Issues
Instruction Sheet
Questions: 1. Given the difficult situation identified in this case, describe what you see as factors that contributed to the problems encountered by both parties.
A: 1) Poorly defined requirement. The specifications were not fully developed. Offerors are unable to provide a comprehensive quote for a poorly defined requirement.
2) Pressure from leadership. Interagency politics and lack of planning resulted in this procurement being somewhat rushed. Current year funds expiring and senior manager eagerness are not appropriate factors to force a contract specialist to consider.
3) The Agency did not advertise. There is not statement as to why the agency did not advertise. While competition was still sought the agency may have received better questions from interested vendors if it had advertised the requirement.
4) Selection Criteria – The scenario indicates the main reason the vendor was selected was that it performed other work on the system. FAR Part 15 notes many factors the evaluation team should consider.
5) Quality Assurance – No clear quality control plan was required in the contract. No agency approvals were contained in the contract terms which precluded the contractor from starting a new phase of the project. No acceptance testing procedures were included. The terms for quality control and acceptable performance are very vague.
2. Also identify the phase(s) in the contracting process where these factors originated and describe what actions could have been taken in each of the phases identified to prevent these problems from occurring.
A: 1) Poorly defined requirement. This should be addressed by the Gov’t in the acquisition planning phase before contracting is involved. If the program manager cannot fully understand what is required she should work with the technical team to fully