ABC IT Consultancy and UFG Global Corporation - Contract Details - Case Study Example

Dеvеlор cоntrасts and mаnаgе cоntrасtеd pеrfоrmаnсе Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Name of Tutor Customer Inserts Grade/Course (June 10, 2016) Introduction A contract can be defined as an agreement that is legally binding that occurs between two or more parties. When parties are forming a contract, each of them should define their rights and obligations towards the agreement. As a result, contracts have four main ingredients that are essential to their formation. ‘These include; offer, acceptance, intention to create legal relations and consideration. Contracts are diversified starting from the very simple example of sale of goods to the extreme matters of employment relationships. For a contract to be valid there has to be the key elements of a contract. Some of these elements are offer and acceptance, mutual consent, good faith, consideration and non-violation of public policy. As stated above, there are three essential elements of a binding simple contract; agreement (consisting of offer and acceptance), intention to create legal relations and consideration. An offer may be defined as the expression of willingness by one party to a contract to be bound by the terms of the contract. Acceptance must be unequivocal, unconditional and in terms identical to the offer, it must be communicated by the offeree, or an agent of the offeree. Furthermore, acceptance must be in reliance of the offer and not for some alternate purpose (Halson). Whether parties intended for their agreement to have legal consequences is determined on an objective basis, taking into account a variety of factors such as; the nature of the transaction, the status of the parties, the relationship between the parties, and the surrounding circumstances. Lastly, consideration is an act or forbearance, or promise thereof, by the promisee, which is the price of the promise by the promisor. Consideration must move from the promisee, but not necessarily to the promisor. Additionally, it is necessary that consideration be something of value in the eyes of the law, consideration must be sufficient, however it need not be adequate. Case study: ABC IT consultancy and UFG Global Corporation 1. Boundaries of the contract There are different types of contracts depending on the business venture or the types of goods or services involved. However, for the contract to be valid there are conditions that have to be implemented in order to ensure its validity. Before accepting the offer, the offerree has to make sure that the contract is valid and can be authenticated. It is because of this that most parties of a contract will be prefer that it is written down as one way of affirming the agreement and also for future reference. Written contracts are therefore more valid than contracts made by way of mouth or through phones. The following are the project boundaries that will help identify how the project will be carried out from beginning to completion. Project goals Upon completion, it is expected that all the branches of UFG Global Corporation will be connected to a software network that will make their work and communication easier. Project phases The project will take place in two phases. The first phase will entail software development and installation at the headquarters where the main server will be. The second phase will involve distribution and installation of the software in all the UFG Global corporation branches across Australia. Project scope The scope of the software development project will entail solving a particular problem currently being faced by UFG Global Corporation. The software is expected to support the processes of the corporation as well as address any shortcomings for better performance. “The requirements on particular software are typically a complex combination of requirements from different people at different levels of an organization and from the environment in which the software will operate” (Mathur, 2010, p.265). 2. Document contract details and provide a copy to the client and vendor for review Software Development Contract THIS software Development Contract is made effective on the 10th day of June 2016 by and between ABC IT consultancy and UFG Global Corporation (Client). WHEREAS, Client wishes to have the software developed by ABC IT consultancy; and WHEREAS, ABC IT consultancy concurs that it has the expertise and ability to develop and install the software; and WHEREAS, ABC IT consultancy desires to develop and install the software for UFG Global Corporation upon the terms and conditions set forth herein; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows: TERMS AND CONDITIONS DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRODUCT: The client approaches ABC IT consultancy to design, develop and install the software in accordance to the project scope outlined. The project specifications are developed jointly between the client and the IT consultancy. Both parties shall work collaboratively to accomplish the tasks and achieve the project goals. ABC IT consultancy shall be responsible for performing and offering the professional services as detailed on the product specifications form. SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE: ABC IT consultancy will be responsible for support and maintenance services of the software developed. Again, UFG Global Corporation will not use the intellectual property of ABC IT consultancy without the latter’s written consent. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES: UFG Global Corporation will be obliged to provide all the required assistance and cooperation to ensure the success of the project. Signed by ;…………………….( client) Signed by………………………… (Service provider) 3. Once you obtain client and vendor feedback to clarify problems and misunderstandings, define how do you facilitate negotiations to resolve problems and misunderstandings An invitation to treat normally is an invitation to make an offer. The negotiation stages before an offer can be made entail an invitation to treat. An offer implies that the parties have an intention of being bound by the law if the offer is accepted. In an offer, there is what is called consensus ad idem. This is a Latin word that signifies the meeting of the minds. As stated earlier an invitation to treat simply invites others to make an offer. As it follows an invitation to treat can be manifested in various forms such as in advertisements, auctions, tenders, price lists, circulars and catalogues (Baker, 2002). As a result, it is correct to assert that an invitation to treat does not create any legal obligations to any party. 4. Define how do you seek agreement from stakeholders and how do you document Stakeholders need not to worry because the company putting our efforts at growing the company and plans are already underway to improve service delivery upon installation of the software. As a result, we are expecting the share price of the company to increase by the end of next year. However, there are very minute chances that the weakening of our company may occur in future, but we are working on increasing prices of shares by improving our quality of service delivery in the market (Cantor, 1997). With these goals and objectives, we are looking forward to producing sustainable income for our company’s further growth which off course will benefit all stakeholders including the investors. 5. Forward recommendations to the appropriate person for approval and document those details It is recommended that since the software development and installation in the company headquarters and the rest of the branches, there is the need of training the personnel involved. This is inclusive in the ABC IT Consultancy package of software development. Thus, it is upon the duty of the human resource department of UFG to organize and plan on the training schedule for its employees. Periodic employee security training should be employed. Training should review social engineering attack methods and use various techniques to validate its efficacy. Training should also include instructions on reaction to and reporting of suspicious contacts, e-mails, or computer behavior that may be indicative of a malware infestation. UFG Global Corporation should adopt and publish standard security policies and practices such as strong passwords and quick patching of known vulnerabilities. It should also implement the principle of least privilege when dealing with both physical and logical access to critical information systems (John and Roger, 2007). These recommendations address the more immediate remediation needs and attempted to reduce the risk of imminent breaches, additional efforts were made to address future incidents. 6. Define the methods you follow to monitor performance against contractual obligations to ensure desired level of quality is maintained To start with the already guaranteed contract requires confidential agreements that do not allow us to expose them unless they are required. You have to understand that we would like to promote our company using these accomplishments through the media, but due to the ramifications on our clients’ base it becomes difficult. From previous experience, the release of this information can cause criticism from clients and most importantly, increase competition. However, this does not mean that the company is not transparent enough because all regulations have been complied with. 7. Define how do you ascertain client satisfaction with contractual performance It is evident that for one to have rights in common law, the courts must establish that the parties had entered into a legally binding contract. Breach of duty can only materialise if the parties were in a binding contract. Anything short of that cannot be of any assistance in a court of law. Whether parties intended for their agreement to have legal consequences is determined on an objective basis, taking into account a variety of factors such as; the nature of the transaction, the status of the parties, the relationship between the parties, and the surrounding circumstances. 8. Define how do you handle unsatisfactory performance For a contract to be valid it should also be free from vitiating factors such as illegality, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation, and duress just to mention a few. If any of the terms of a contract are breached, then the contract is not legally binding. The parties responsible for the breach can be sued in a court of law. Someone can only be in breach of duty which he owed to the other party. Unsatisfactory performance by ABC IT consultancy can be equated to breach of duty and hence possible to be sued in a court of law for damages. Reference List Baker, J. An Introduction to English Legal History (London: Butterworths LexisNexis, 2002) Cantor, N. Imagining the Law: Common Law and the Foundations of the American Legal System. (New York: HarperCollins,1997) Halson, Contract Law p. 146 John, A, and Roger B:Understanding Contract Law (Sweet & Maxwell 2007) Mathur, S. 2010. Business law. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.,. Read More