UMUC BMGT339 week 5 activties

Learning Activity 1: FAR part 14 Sealed BiddingTake a look at FAR Part 14 and discuss what conditions require using sealed bid?Here’s a scenario: Lets say you submitted a bid due at 11:00 AM on March 15. Bids have come in prior to being due, sealed and securely locked away until time for opening. Not only time but also place of opening.What does the Firm Bid Rule at FAR 14.304 tell us if your bid is submitted before 11:00 AM on March 15?1. In Sealed Bid, what doesresponsive mean?(FAR 14.301)2.What is the procedure for opening bids? (FAR 14.402)3. What are some of the circumstances that may cause a contracting officer to cancel an IFB after Bid Opening? (FAR 14.404-1)Learning Activity 2:Can a bidder withdraw a bid after bid opening?Let’s have a good discussion what you think the FAR has to say about whether a contractor can withdraw a bid after bid opening…(FAR 14.303)Learning Activity 3: Late Bid ScenarioSuppose your organization issued an IFB for electrical generators. One day before bid opening Offeror A contacted the contract specialist to ask whether the bid could be submitted by email or facsimile transmission. The contract specialist informed Offeror A that the firm could transmit its bid by facsimile transmission to the attention of the contracting officer and provided a telephone number for a facsmile machine. Officer A transmitted its bid by facsimile to the telephone number provided on the bid opening date. The contracting officer, sho states that she was unaward of the contract specialist’s communication with the Offeror until after bid opening, rejecting Offeror A’s bid because facsimile bids were not authorized by the IFB.Was the contracting officer’s rejection of Offeror A’s bid proper?Learning Activity 4: FAR part Contracting by NegotiationTake a look at FAR 15.002 and explain the differences between sole source and competitive acquisition. How about a deficiency in FAR Part 15.001?Notice that unlike sealed bidding, negotiated acquisitions may be awarded on either a competitive or a sole-source basis. Competition is always the preferred method.We talked about withdrawing offers in Sealed Bidding. In a negotiated procurement, can an offeror withdraw its proposal after the deadline for the submission of proposals?Learning Activity 5:It is so important to have an understanding of the broad variety of contract types and how they differ, primarily in the extent of risk assumed by the government or by the contractor.They also differ in the amount of responsibility for performance accepted by the contractor.The contracting officer must determine which contract type most clearly meets the needs of the government and provides the best value. The resulting solicitation will reflect and incorporate the contract type as determined by the contracting officer.Of course, the contracting officer does not decide on the contract type in a vacuum.Take a look at the FAR Matrix. The FAR Matrix tells us which contract provisions and clauses should be included and provides the prescription for use. Explain the difference between a provision and a clause.According to the FAR, contract types vary according to what two factors? In your own words, describe the difference in the two categories.You may have heard of Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) but these are not contracts, but agreements. I look at them sort of like a credit card…I get a new card in the mail and all the Terms and Conditions are spelled out up front, I am bound by those Terms and Conditions (only if I use it). If I don’t use it, I don’t have a contract.FAR 16.103 explains how negotiation of contract type and price are closely related. There are a number of factors the contracting officer should consider when selecting and negotiating the contract type. (FAR 16.104).We need to understand limitations as in FAR 16.301-3(a) and (b). “(a) A cost-reimbursement contract may be used only when…Try to determine the best contract type for each of the following scenarios. Let’s have some good discussion….1. The government agrees to pay the contractor $100,000 for the delivery of 100 components by June 30. If the contractor delivers 50 widgets by June 15, the governnment will pay an additional $10,000.See if you can figure this one out. Hint: FAR 16.202-22. The governemnt agrees to pay the contractor 1,000,000 to produce 1,000 components if the contractor incurs $900,000 in cost. If the contractor incurs less than $900,000 in cost, the government will pay $1,000,000 less $0.70 for each dollar of the contractor’s cost less than $900,000 in cost. If the contractor incurs more thatn $900,000 in cost, the government will pay $1,000000 plus 0.30 for each dollar of the contractor’s cost in excess of $900,000. In no event will the government pay more than $1,200,000.This one is a little hard…the answer is: Fixed-price-incentive firm target3. The government agrees to pay $500 per acre to a landscaper (contractor) to mow.This one is easy.4. The government agrees to pay a contractor $500,000 of the cost to conduct a research study. If the contractor’s cost will exceed $500,000, the Government is not obligated to pay anything over $500,00- and the contractor is not required to complete the work.5. The government agrees to pay $75 per hour that the contractor works and will pay for the cost the contractor incurs for all material as long as the total does not exceed $25,000.