BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 1 Discussion
- Why Sell to the Government
Please respond to the following:
Introduce yourself to your peers by sharing something unique about your background. Explain how you expect this course to help you move forward in your current or future career.
Describe what you feel are key advantages of selling goods and services to the U.S. government. What do you feel are the disadvantages?
Select a small business in your community and use it as an example. If you were contemplating a business target to government contract, what would that business be? Why did you select it?
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 2 Discussion
- Buy American Act
Please respond to the following:
Specify what you feel are the main advantages of the Buy American Act to small businesses. Then specify what you feel are the disadvantages of the Buy American Act.
Apply this act to the business you selected in the Week 1 Discussion. Explain why you would be willing to deal with the disadvantages you might encounter.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 3 Discussion
- Small Business Preference Programs Read the following:
Set-Asides and Special Interest GroupsLinks to an external site..
Set-aside procurementLinks to an external site..
Respond
Please respond to the following:
There are many ways a company can qualify for small-business preference programs. Select one program you believe would be best for a small business of your choice in your community. Explain your selection.
Identify some problems the small business might encounter and identify several ways they could manage these issues.
Describe whether you feel there are enough suitable programs or if you feel there are too many barriers for businesses to qualify for programs targeted to small businesses.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 4 Discussion
- SBA Resources and Special Programs
Prepare
Select a business in your community and research the U.S. Small Business AdministrationLinks to an external site. website to find useful resources. Also, review the benefits available through the SBA Mentor-Protégé ProgramLinks to an external site..
Respond
Please respond to the following:
Evaluate how the Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé program is useful for a small-business owner contracting with the federal government for the first time. Select a small business in your community and describe how this program would help.
If you owned the business you selected, describe what other resources provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) would be useful for your purposes.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 5 Discussion
- Support Programs and the GSA
Go to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)Links to an external site. website and research how to sell to the federal government.
Respond
Please respond to the following:
Explain the purpose of the GSA schedules and the importance of using GSA schedules in the process of pursuing government contracts. What factors are necessary to get on the GSA schedule?
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 6 Discussion
- Responding to Solicitations
Prepare
Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on how to respond to a solicitation opportunity with the federal government.
Respond
Please respond to the following:
Put yourself in the position of a purchasing agency contract officer. When accepting bid submissions or responses to a request for quote that you have issued, what would you look for in the responses that would be factors for issuing a contract award? Select a company in your community and provide a hypothetical example.
Explain the benefits that simplified acquisition methods (SAMs) provide to the small-business owner.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 7 Discussion
- Pre-Solicitation Notices and Proposal Weaknesses
Prepare
Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on government contracting, focusing on the steps of the contracting process from pre-solicitation to contract closeout.
Respond
Please respond to the following:
Specify the importance of the pre-solicitation notice to the contracting process. What are the advantages of utilizing a pre-solicitation notice for both the potential contractor and purchasing agency?
From the position of a government contracting officer, where do you think most companies fall short in the proposal process? What suggestions would you make to a business owner to reduce proposal weaknesses? Choose a business in your community and take the perspective of the contracting officer.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 8 Discussion
- Fixed-Price Contracting
Prepare
Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on government contracting for small businesses, focusing on the steps of setting up a bid and fixed-price contractingLinks to an external site..
Respond
Please respond to the following:
When setting up a bid, what important steps would you initiate and regard as the most important to assure your bid was competitive? Select a business in your community and provide an example.
When evaluating the different forms of fixed-price contracting, determine the single most significant form that you believe would benefit the small-business owner the most. Explain why.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 9 Discussion
- Forms of Contracting
Prepare
Review the following resources:
PMP Study: Types of ContractsLinks to an external site..
Government Contracting: The Basics [PDF] Download Government Contracting: The Basics [PDF]. Read the sections on basic small-business programs.
Respond
Please respond to the following:
Among all the forms of contracting described in Chapter 16, determine which one you believe would benefit the small-business owner the most. Apply this to a small business in your community.
What would you consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of fixed-price contracts and cost-reimbursement contracts for both the contractor and the government purchasing agency? Use the same business you chose in the first part of this discussion.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 10 Discussion
- Contract Administration Office Roles and Responsibilities
Prepare
Read A Guide to Best Practices for Contract Administration [PDF]Links to an external site. and take note of "The Do's and Don'ts of Contract Administration."
Respond
Please respond to the following:
Consider the five roles and responsibilities of the contract administration office as a contract administrator. What do you feel would be the most difficult role and what would you do to assure that you performed this role successfully?
Of the major activities of contract administration, suggest what you think would be the major do's and don'ts. Apply this to a real-life business of your choosing.
Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 11 Discussion
- Return on Investment Reflection
Every course you take is an investment in the "Business of You." Take a moment to reflect on what you've learned over the last 10 weeks and answer the following:
How will you apply what you have learned in this course in your professional and personal life?
What challenges did you have in this course, and how did you grow from them?
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 4 Assignment
- Rules of the Road
Overview
You and your partner have turned your hobby of building precision drones and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for filming and photography into a successful Internet business called Aerospace Drones. Your company has earned a reputation for building high-quality drones equipped with premium cameras, advanced performance features, and a wide range of automated flight modes.
In recent years, Aerospace Drones has become a preferred vendor for private security companies due to your products' superb aerial imagery. Recently, a colleague recommended that you expand your business even further by competing for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security contracts. Because you have limited experience in this realm, you have important research to do.
Instructions
Write a 2-4 page executive summary for your board of directors in which you:
Analyze how existing federal statutory acts favor smaller businesses over large multinational organizations that build drones (for example, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and General Atomics).
Evaluate the small-business programs created by Congress and provide details on how they could benefit your company over large multinational organizations that build unmanned aircraft.
Identify what positions (titles) you would designate within your organization to interact with the government purchasing agency and why.
Use three sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Evaluate the impact of both statutory and legislative acts on the creation and administration of small business preference and entitlement programs.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 6 Assignment
- GSA Wants You
Overview
Your partner in Aerospace Drones is a service-disabled Iraq war veteran. You recently learned about a federal acquisition rule allowing agencies to provide sole-source and set-aside contracts to service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses. This means agencies must devote three percent of their spending to these qualified small-business owners, a goal set by Congress. While your partner has majority (51 percent) ownership in the company, you are responsible for federal contract administration and oversight. You were recently alerted to an Energy Department RFP for drones needed for geo-mapping. Now you must reply to a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) schedules solicitation for your products. To prepare for this, you must write a 3-4 page preliminary report for your partner and senior management that details the following:
Instructions
Describe the electronic data interchange (EDI) or electronic submission processes and the security measures present in this approach, including the advantages over classic paper solicitations.
Analyze whether your company has as much of a chance of having its bid accepted as a much larger corporation by comparing the advantages of being a small company over being a larger firm (for example, Boeing) in terms of contract administration and management.
Explain how you would negotiate during the contract award process once your solicitation is accepted.
Determine the value of your most favored customer or class of customers to GSA including an analysis of its impact on your small business.
Assess the different marketing methods used to market to the federal government by selecting the three most effective methods you would use to market your product or service to the U.S. government. Provide a rationale for your selection.
Use three sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Examine the process of replying to a U.S. government solicitation relative to contract negotiations, customer value, and marketing methods.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 8 Assignment
- Win the Contract
Overview
"Aerospace Drones" is gaining visibility in the highly competitive drone industry. More importantly, your organization's reputation with the Energy Department for quality instrumentation and reliability did not go unnoticed by other government agencies.
Your profits will now allow you to reinvest in both hardware and software R&D and expand operations. This means you are ready to compete for Department of Defense (DoD) contracts. You are currently researching an RFP that will be worth over $600,000 to your expanding company.
DoD contracts are a new ballgame, so you have your work cut out for you. To prepare for this contract submission, write a 2–3 page business report that communicates relevant information succinctly and efficiently. Follow the instructions below.
Instructions
Describe the simplified acquisition method that best fits your company, including a detailed rationale for why it was selected. Note: Remember you are a small business that will have a massive expansion if you win this contract.
Analyze all parts and sections of the UCF (Uniform Contract Format) that could present a problem in this scenario. Suggest how you will adjust your approach to turn the problems you have identified into strengths for your small company. (Hint: Remember you are a new small business.)
Use three sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Assess simplified acquisition methods and a contract format based on the strengths of a given company.
BUS330 Contract Admin and Management
Week 10 Assignment
- Evaluating Contracts
Overview
Aerospace Drones has completed its first contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) on time and under budget. Company expansion has increased production capacity. R&D continues to set industry standards for camera stabilization systems.
You have now learned that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is seeking to expand their UAS surveillance capabilities. These contracts will require significantly more time to prepare. Once again, you must get to work and prepare a detailed report that addresses the more advanced level of requirements needed for submission.
Instructions
Write a 6–8 page paper in which you:
Compare fixed-price contracts and cost-reimbursement contracts in terms of the benefits and drawbacks of each for your business.
Analyze at least three opportunities your small business will have compared to large businesses in general.
Discuss which elements of cost-reimbursement contracts tend to produce the biggest troubles for your small business. Provide a rationale for your choices.
Determine which form of contracting would benefit your business the most among all the forms of contracting described in Chapter 16, including reasons why.
Select the most significant form of contracting that would support large companies (for example, Boeing) among all the forms of contracting described in Chapter 16, including reasons for your selection.
Develop a plan on how your company would justify the government to award your company the contract when the form of this contract supports larger companies.
Use three sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Evaluate the impact of fixed-price contracts and cost-reimbursement contracts on a given business.
