Awarding, Negotiating and Administering Contracts - Research Paper Example

? Awarding, negotiating and administering contracts al affiliation Awarding, negotiating and administering contracts a. Contractadministration program Implementing an administration program beneath a contract can simply be based on the nature of the context. There are governmental, private and personal contracts that affect the execution of the administration program. Implementing a contract in the best interests of the government involves insufficient monitoring and observance of contracts. The advancement of a contract administration agenda is necessary for high quality contract administration. The program could be simple or complicated even though it is supposed to specify what the performance outputs of the statement of work are supposed to be (Garrett, 2007, p. 3). At the same time, the program is supposed to define the technique used to carry out the analyses. This saves time and reserves since the COTR is not observing the ordinary, scheduled proportions of the contract, instead of the COTR is aiming of the leading outputs of the contract. The contract administration program is also supposed to contain a quality assurance (QA) monitoring plan as a subsection. This is necessary when executing the program since the advancement of such a contract plan offers a systematic outline and technique for the COTR to assess services and commodities that dealers are needed to furnish. The QA plan is supposed to aim at the value of the commodity supplied by the contractor and not on the steps taken or processes utilized in order to deliver that commodity. It comprises of suitable usage of pre-planned assessments and random spontaneous reviews (Garrett, 2007, p. 3). When a contract is allocated to administration under the watch of the government, the contract administration staff is supposed to perform contract administration roles according to the terms of the national law, and the contract expressions too. The appropriate protocols of the servicing agency should also be observed when implementing these contract roles lest else settled for in an interagency contract. Another step included when executing a contract administration program is negotiating cost changes and the implementation of auxiliary contracts beneath the cost accounting principle articles (Garrett, 2007, p. 3). Defining the appropriateness of the contractor’s accounting method makes his or her system’s adequacy in the course of the whole phase of contract performance become vital. The suitability of the accounting method of the contractor and the affiliated interior control coordination, together with the contractor agreement with the cost accounting standards (CAS) have a huge impact on the value and legitimacy of the contractor information. As a result, the government is supposed to provide a feedback on its administration inaccuracy of the contractor and contract enactment (Murphy, 2009, p. 71). The implementation of a contract administration program also involves the analysis and assessment for practical suitability and the contractor’s logistics support, sustenance and modification agendas. The contractor ought to also report to the contracting workplace any insufficiencies noticed in details. The contractor ought to also perform industrial assessments of contractor price plans (Garrett, 2007, p. 3). The analysis and review of the contractor-suggested industrial and design researches and submit remarks and commendations to the contracting headquarters as needed. Any change plans made to the contract ought to be reviewed by the contractor for suitable categorization, and when needed, the need for practical appropriateness of design, productivity, and the effect of value, dependability, program and price. Correspondingly, the contractor is supposed to submit remarks to the contracting headquarters. The execution of the contract administration plan also involves helpful effort in assessing and creating commendations for reception on refutation of disclaimers and nonconformities (Garrett, 2007, p. 3). Implementing such an agenda also involves analyzing and observing the processes that the contractor needs to comply with so as to regard limiting patterns on the information needed. The contractor should also monitor the worth of the industrial plan. This way, analyzing, approving or disapproving, sustaining observance of the contractor’s procuring system. The contractor is supposed to consent to the engagement of delegates, followed by the analyses, assessments and support of plant or division-wide minor, small deprived, women-possessed, expert-owned, HUB zone, and service-restricted expert-owned minor enterprise master commissioning proposals (Murphy, 2009, p. 71). One is also supposed to get the contractor’s present accepted firm or division-wide proposals for minor, minor underprivileged, women-owned, veteran-owned, expert-owned, HUB zone, and service-restricted expert-owned minor enterprise commissioning for its industrial commodities. Should there not be any present approved proposal; the contractor should assist the contracting officer in assessing the proposals for the commodities (Garrett, 2007, p. 33). The contracting officer should also be assisted upon request in assessing the provider’s proposed minor, minor underprivileged, women-owned, veteran-owned, expert-owned, HUB zone, and service-restricted expert-owned minor enterprise commissioning proposals, together with records of compliance with similar plans beneath before contracts (Garrett, 2007, p. 42). By periodic observance, one should assure the contractor’s submission with small, minor underprivileged, women-owned, veteran-owned, expert-owned, HUB zone, and service-restricted expert-owned minor enterprise commissioning plans and any employment surplus region for contractual necessities. Sustaining records of the contractor’s proposals beneath and amenability with these agendas and necessities that give counsel and assistance to the organizations involved, as suitable. A team of contractors should be affiliated with an administration firm through which the contractors will be able to execute any administration plans brought forward. Sequentially, the team will help the capacity and scholars in transferring and implementing contracts with benefactors, whether domestic, national and federal government interventions and private guarantors. This will enable discussion and intercession of predetermined articles impacting intellectual assets, discretion, periodicals and other contractual worries. The team of contractors also copes with every element of processing subcontracts to external entities engaged in the practical and or programmatic elements of a specific proportion of a subsidized proposal (Garrett, 2007, p. 102). b. Analysis of cost, and price information/contract financial requirements Covering the practical and basic processes to contract administration will test the assumption and practice, stressing enforcement to the conditions of the contract, expenses of overruns, change orders, disputes and appeals, monetary scrutiny, contract authority and interpretation, manufacture investigation, worthy assurances, and appraisal (Garrett, 2005, p. 84). The analysis of the expenses and cost data will cover the fundamental principles aligned with breakdown of contract-cost by cost-price analysis methods, book learning curve, subjective principles, profit goals, and the scrutiny of the ADP structures of the contracting context. The analysis of contractual or monetary necessities of an agreement will enable the covering of the essentials of systems attainment, overall policy, the leading coordination procedure, DSARC data necessities, incorporated DSARC and PPBS procedure, basic administration guidelines, worries with the attainment procedure, managed devolution and participating administration guidelines, attainment or life rotation administration and software structures attainment procedures (Murphy, 2009, p. 71). Observing contractor direct and indirect rates and elements in the course of the following twelve months, creating contrasts to past actual prices and to contractor proposed or negotiated forward pricing rates and elements, and giving ate commendations based on their analysis (Garrett, 2005, p. 84). Performing approved practical reviews of a contractor’s operations, to include supporting government staff in getting access to valid contractor strategies, processes and any information that is related. Guiding the ACO and CAO administration of correct action commended the improvement of unproductive or expensive contractor circumstances, policies or rehearses to include preparation. For the ACO’s, their regard when suitable should provide a notice of intent to disallow is not supposed to identify the costs incurred while implementing the contract. When making an analysis of cost, and price information or contract financial requirements, continuous tracing the status of commendations made to the contractor regarding cost enactment curtailing from all governmental reports (Garrett, 2008, p. 150). Maintaining the contracting officer, agenda manager, contract auditor, and other liable officials knowledgeable of problems impacting financial contract performance is a part of the analysis. Implementing a contract administration program for the government involves sustaining an existing organizational chart of the activities recognizable to the contractor’s practical centers of its cost control roles and arranging for a finishing price observing report outlining all of the expense observing roles performed in the course of the government’s financial year (Garrett, 2005, p. 84). Auditing in governmental contractual agreements makes the contract auditor accountable for the CMS by performing the proportion of expense observing proposal and affiliated evaluations the need access to the monetary and accounting documentation of the contractor that back up the price and costing information. Usually, this does not impede the agenda administrator, contracting officer, ACO, CMS, or additional agents from analyzing contractor and information essential enactment of their tasks. Audit firms, agenda offices, contracting operations, and whichever other DoD companies with accountability for analyzing contractor activities with the aim of observing contractor guidelines, processes and rehearses to authorize expenses that will be later on be submitted to the CMS. A yearly program of proposed and cautious appointments, lapse appraisals and audits need to be carried out at price observing locations (Garrett, 2005, p. 84). Amendments to programmed appointments or accounting plans within the opening month of issuance should follow when analyzing the cost, and price information/contract financial requirements. One is also supposed to arrange for a comprehensive cost plan as well as all sections of an entire cost capacity, founded on the basis of RFP solicitation necessities that assure compliance with federal acquisition regulation and solicitation necessities. Assuring precision founded on the basis of approximation and unit prices founded on the basis of chronological expenses and the latest quotes. A cost or price and productivity scrutiny ought to make an effort in the advancement of pricing policies. This way, the contractor will be able to maintain program administrators for financial statement preparation, tracing and productivity scrutiny. In turn, the terms of the contract will offer pricing contribution to proposal efforts by taking part in strategy advancement meetings and brain storming, whilst also performing other errands as allocated (Garrett, 2005, p. 84). c. How to apply the above to contract negotiation objectives that will directly support awarding a government contract. The aforementioned contract negotiation goals can be applicable through a contrast of the terms and conditions of the MAS solicitation with the terms and settings of agreements with the provider’s industrial clientele (Garrett, & Kipke, 2005, p. 164). The application of these goals involves the foundation of mediation goals and defining cost sensibleness. When attempting to figure out the price mediation goals of the government, a number of elements need to be considered: Cumulative capacity of expected purchases The purchase of a minimum volume or a configuration of past purchases Costs taking into deliberation any joint markdowns and franchises provided to industrial clients The span of the agreement period Assurances, preparation, and sustenance counted in the buying price or provided at auxiliary price to the commodity costs (Garrett, & Kipke, 2005, p. 171). Ordering and supply rehearses Any other applicable knowledge, together with the variations amid the MAS solicitation and industrial terms and state of affairs that might permit discrepancies amid the offer and the markdowns provided to the most preferred marketable client. For instance, a provider might experience more expense selling to the government than selling an individual client. This is because this individual client will most likely get the provider’s finest price, or dealer, distributor, original equipment manufacturer, other reseller who gets the most appropriate price. This is because the contractor might perform definite value-added roles for the provider that the government does not implement. If the finest price is not provided to the government, one is supposed to ask the provider to recognize and explain the reason for any variances. This way, the contractor will not see the need for the providers’ provision of specific cost evaluations (Garrett, & Kipke, 2005, p. 184). Every practical, cost and pricing evaluation reports and other pricing records enclosing government or contractor registered information ought to be labeled. This way, the office will be adhering to the DCMA order on accounts administration that gives a structure for categorizing and consolidating accounts for filing, reference and ultimate outlook in a methodical and systematic fashion. The accountability for sustaining past records of dealings that have taken place in the course of a work procedure that mainly reposes with the office implementing that procedure (Garrett, & Kipke, 2005, p. 199). Electronic data warehouse is a system that can be made use of when making a formal filing system for the agency and the agents involved in a contractual settlement. For purchasing command negotiated contract operations, the cost price analyst should be able to forward the cost and pricing analysis report and backing records to the ACO. The ACO is also supposed to present it to the purchasing requests. The ACO, according to CMO processes, might represent this role to the cost price expert. CMO professionals can also support the purchasing command’s negotiations upon request. For DCMA negotiated contract operations, the ACO negotiates the contract action; the price expert ought to give the cost and pricing inquiry report and any supporting records needed for mediation to the ACO. The mediator of the contract operation can also apply cost and pricing analysis report and backing records that counsel the pre-mediation objectives memorandum (PMO) (Garrett, & Kipke, 2005, p. 203). The pre-negotiation objectives establish the mediator’s preliminary negotiation position and the PNO is the mediator’s proposal for negotiation and comprises of just and logical price goals. The cost feature objectives, analysis, when needed, and the legitimacy and rationalization underlying the goals. The PNO gives documentary proof and explanation of the mediator’s proposed settlement to reviewers and the PNO support official. Following a proposal that was gladly received by OSP and submitted to a sponsor and the proposal is chosen for funding, the negotiation and reception procedures can start. Rewards are revised and, if essential, assigned by the suitable institute authorized to assure the terms and conditions are acceptable. As suitable, OSP will consult with the PI, unit or laboratory or center (DLC) managers, and additional administrative offices like the technology and licensing officer or office of intellectual property counsel. The negotiation procedure could take as little as a few days or long as a number of months (Garrett, & Kipke, 2005, p. 220). References Garrett, G. A. (2005). Contract Negotiations: Skills, Tools, and Best Practices. California: CCH Incorporated Garrett, G. A. (2007). Performance-Based Contracting. New York: Management Concepts Garrett, G. A. (2008). Cost Estimating and Contract Pricing: Tools Techniques and Best Practices. California: CCH Incorporated Garrett, G. A. and Kipke, R. J. (2005). Capture Management: Winning More Business. California: CCH Incorporated Murphy, J. E. (2009). Guide To Contract Pricing: Cost And Price Analysis For Contractors, Subcontractors, And Government Agencies. New York: Management Concepts Read More