Question 1 (6/30). You are a rising star contract specialist in the Department of Troy, a federal agency that is subject to the FAR. Before today, your agency did not include references to mediation or arbitration in its solicitation and contract documents. Your manager asked you what is the difference between mediation and arbitration and whether best negotiation practices suggests that the Department should provide for such alternative dispute resolution in your terms and conditions. She asks you for a memo, maximum two pages, wherein you describe the similarities and differences between the two methods generally. If time permits indicate how they might specifically be used in a government contracting context. Include any pertinent references to your texts and any authority the FAR gives for the use of mediation or arbitration.
Documents for this question:
Textbook:
Title Publication Year Edition. Authors Publisher ISBN
Negotiation 2015 7th Lewicki, Saunders & Barry McGraw-Hill 978-0-07-802944-8
Question1memoFormat.docx
Question #2 (20/30). Refer to the following scenario:
You are a procurement specialist in the Procurement Department of Troy, a federal civilian agency subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Your department recently issued a request for proposals for a new applicant tracking system that will be used by the human resources offices throughout the agency. The system will post available positions, receive applications from prospects, review the applications for meeting the basic qualifications and experience requirements of the posted position and forward applications in groups of five to the hiring official for review.
Based on a preliminary review of the proposals, six of them were found by your procurement services department to meet the basic requirements of the RFP and those six were referred to an evaluation committee for review and recommendation for award. The evaluation committee narrowed the six proposals down to three that were all found to be in the competitive range because of their technical sufficiency and their price.
You, Jack Hawkins, the senior contract specialist, and Apli Kahnt, the manager of human resources are about to meet with a representative from each of the three finalist companies.
Important concerns that the human resources department has expressed for this procurement include:
price – the department has a budget of $400,000 for this project, and $50,000 per year for support and maintenance, those figures have not been disclosed to the proposers;
time to make the system operational – research by the Troy IT department indicates that most systems of the size and scope required here have been installed and made operational within six months from contract signing;
on-going technical support for users and administrators of the system – human resource staff have little IT expertise. Troy IT staff is maxed out with other ongoing responsibilities and can’t support the system. Human resources department is concerned the project will not be well received if users can’t get answers to questions promptly by live telephone operators;
acceptance testing – Troy human resource staff want to operate the system for a full month before final acceptance sign off (the IT department advises this requirement is commercially unrealistic).
The three proposals under consideration:
ABC Company: This company is a legacy firm with over twenty years experience designing and implementing systems like the one proposed. The initial price is $495,000 and annual support and maintenance is $75,000. The company offers to complete the installation within four months and has a call center available for support, staffed with live, technically proficient operators during regular business hours. The company’s model is to implement systems quickly, orient client staff and use a train-the-trainer approach. Acceptance sign-off is expected within four months of installation.
XYZ Company: This is the start-up company in the group, having been in business just over two years, but owned and operated by personnel from ABC and other legacy companies. The company’s offer is $375,000 for the initial installation and $15,000 for annual support. The company has several projects underway and will be able to squeeze the Troy system into its schedule during the first quarter of next year, although the completion time-frame is not specified. On-going support is handed through a 24-hour call center staffed off shore. The implementation staff plans to complete the implementation, gain acceptance as soon as possible and move on.
JKL Company: A well-regarded company having been in this business for approximately 10 years. The initial price is $425,000 and $65,000 for annual support. The company’s proposal is to complete the implementation within six months and the company has no problem with a full month’s testing by end users before final acceptance sign-off. On-going support is handled by a call center message center; callers leave a message and are called back within 30 minutes.
On December 3, 2018 your evaluation team met with the following individuals in connection with each company’s proposal:
ABC Company: Mary Cloud, Vice President of Sales represented the company and indicated that the initial price could be reduced to $425,000 and annual support and maintenance would be $45,000, if Troy will commit to ABC by December 20. Another customer cancelled an order because of budget shortfalls, and so ABC could start on Troy’s project the first week of 2019 and complete installation by the end of February. If Troy does not commit by 12/20/2017, the originally proposed prices will apply. The one-month testing period is very unusual and the above prices will have to be adjusted if Troy insists on that requirement. All other aspects of ABC’s proposal apply.
XYZ Company: Dr. Roger Jolly presented the company’s proposal which was essentially as originally proposed. Business is thriving for this start-up and Troy’s project might get scheduled in March or April. Dr. Jolly reassured that it was a comparatively simple project, so there would be no problem completing installation within three weeks of beginning, but a month-long acceptance testing is out of line with normal business. Dr. Jolly indicated that all companies in this business used off-shore call centers, so there will be no problem.
JKL Company: President and CEO Jerry Clicker represented the company and indicated that its initial price could be reduced to $415,000 and annual support to $50,000. Clicker reiterated that a full month’s testing by end users before final acceptance sign-off is acceptable. Otherwise, the company’s proposal is as originally submitted.
In recent weeks Troy’s Finance Department has indicated it may be possible to find up to $425,000 for the initial installation, but that annual maintenance must be held at $50,000.
Prepare a price negotiation memo that meets the requirements of the FAR that summarizes the strengths and challenges with each of the three proposals.
Documents for this question are:
FAR.docx
Question2-PNMSampleFormat.docx
Question #3 (4/30) Review “Latz’s Rules of Negotiation” found under the Announcements for this exam. Pick any two of Latz’s rules and describe similarities or differences between Lewicki’s view of integrative negotiation and Latz’s rules. Your answer should include a 2-3 sentence paragraph for each of the rules you select. Support your arguments with citations from your text.
