BUS 330 Contract Admin and Mgmt; Assignment 1 Rule of the Road

BUS 330 Contract Admin and Mgmt; Assignment 1 Rule of the Road

The government of the United States of America has been rated as the largest single purchaser in the world on goods and services which awards almost $500 billion contracts every year. (SBA's Role in Government Contracting | The U.S. Small Business Administration, n.d) Not only does the government support small and growing businesses; it also ensures that the companies which are disadvantaged are given an advantage in the procurement process of the government contracts. According to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, FAR 19.201 General Policy, it dictates that it is the responsibility of the government to make sure that it provides maximum opportunities in getting small businesses, small disadvantaged business as well as small businesses owned by women among others and ensure that their concerns are addressed accordingly. The policy also says that, the concerns of these groups of people should be able to give them opportunity to maximum participation also as subcontractors on the contracts awarded by the executive agency in relation to the contract performance. (19.2 Policy n.d)

It is also important to acknowledge the fact that, despite larger organizations having been well established and reputable, it is the small businesses which are innovative and they drive the economy. It is clear that, these small businesses are the ones that offer a lot of private sector jobs estimated at two thirds and also half of the working Americans are working in small businesses. (Executive Summary Interagency Task Federal Contracting, n.d.) When small businesses do contracts with the federal government,they will be in a position to maintain and create a lot of new jobs in their communities with the necessary revenue. This in-turn will mean that the federal government will be in a position to achieve their goals by getting enough creative and technical expertise. (Adams, 2014)

However, the federal government structure of organization that exists today is one that is full of bureaucracy. This is wanting since, it is now that massive and complex organization have come up, and thus, the need to develop an approach that will be effective and very efficient to ensure that these organizations work well. There are so many challenges that have been neglected by the federal government that if addressed, a step will have been taken towards realizing the goals of the government. The federal government is still in the system of thinking where, managers were to do the thinking and the workers were to do the work assigned to them. (Transforming Organizational Structure n.d.)

Currently, it is evident that the federal government employs over 2 million people and at the moment, it has more that 2500 contracting activities which are developing. It is therefore important that all the players are involved in the process and that the prospective contractors clearly familiarize themselves with these players.

Discussed below in the chart are some of the roles and responsibilities which are supposed to be carried out by the federal government at different levels, with an aim of ensuring that the organizations are well-taken care of. With so doing, the federal government contracting system will be in a position to ensure that the organizations grow and develop in the country.

Organizational Chart

POSITION

DUTIES

Head of Agency

(HOA)

The HOA is given a duty of managing all the cotracting activities at the federal aganecy. He also decides, which employees will be acting as contracting officers. It is also responsible for contracting all the services and the supplies which are essential for the mission of the agency.

Contracting Officer

(CO)

It is the responsibility of this office to enter, administer and if deemed necessary to terminate contracts. It is only the CO who has the powers to bind the government to accountract which is seen to have exceeded a micro purchase threshold of $3,000.

Procuring Contract Officer

(PCO)

It is the Procuring Contract Officer who is the one accountable for not only consenting bids and proposals, but also dispensing petitions and making the the initial award to the contract.

Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO)

It is this department that is tasked with the responsibility of examining the contracts performance as well as giving the final authority on the matters which happen tpo be having a substantial bearing on the contract.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

It is the department which has a mandate of helping the contracting officer, in ensuring that the process of cjhecking the contractors’ perfomance goes on in accordance with the terms and the conditions of the particular contract. This office also helps in the inspection of the contracts.

Termination Contracting Officer (TCO)

This is the department that deals at the final stage of the contract giving. It deals with the cases brought to it which need to be terminated due to various reasons like; governements’ convenience or incase the contractor happens to have defaulted on the contract.

References

19.2 Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2017, from https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/far/19/2?&searchTerms=part%2B19.2

SBA's Role in Government Contracting | The U.S. Small Business Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2017, from https://www.sba.gov/contracting/what-government-contracting/sbas-role-government-contracting

Executive Summary Interagency Task Federal Contracting ... (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/contracting_task_force_report_0.pdf

Adams, Clark G. (2014). Federal Acquisitions and Contract Management (8th ed). Covina, CA: AGU

Stansberry, S.A. (2012). Federal Contracting Made Easy (4th ed.). Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.

(n.d.). Retrieved July 27, 2017, from https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/reports/tosint.html