Category: Business

Contract Cost and Documentation for the Navy

Contract Cost and Documentation for the Navy
Contract Cost and Documentation for the Navy

Contract Cost and Documentation for the Navy

Order Instructions:

Assignment 5: Contract Cost and Documentation for the Navy

Due Week 10 and worth 300 points

Based on the same scenario as in Assignments 1, 2, 3 and 4, you are now considering the final factors needed for your proposal based on RFP #123456789, dated 07/14/2014.

Additional factors to consider are:

1. The other local competitor has removed their name from consideration and has requested to become your company’s sub-contractor due to your company’s patent on the specialty coating.

2. Your existing floor equipment is dated. However, you have learned that the Navy base has floor equipment which is not currently being used.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Determine the payment type (i.e., receiving progress payments, performance-based payments, or partial payments) you will use in your bid. Provide a rationale for your response.

2. Determine the approach and the key terms that you would consider in requesting the use of the Navy’s floor equipment. Provide a rationale for your response.

3. Propose the quality control and inspection procedures that you believe should be included in your proposal. Provide a rationale for your response.

4. Determine, because of your company’s private patent on the specialty floor coating, whether the Navy would or would not have a patent infringement objection for the use of the coating. Provide a rationale for your response.

5. Determine the mechanism for contract closeout your company would use with the Navy. Provide a rationale for your response.

6. Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • Describe the nature of government contracting, including authority, responsibilities, and legal considerations.
  • Outline and explain the process for developing competitive proposals and source selection.
  • Explain the process for administering and evaluating contract performance.
  • Explain the various mechanisms for contract closeout.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in federal acquisition and contract management.

· Write clearly and concisely about federal acquisition and contract management using proper writing mechanics.

Follow rubric attached.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Assignment 5: Contract Cost and Documentation for the Navy

Conditions and terms keep on changing and this requires the contractors to as well to adapt to these changes.  Ben Rose Inc., is expected to as well incorporate the changes that have occurred to ensure that it meets the threshold.  In this scenario, competitors of Ben Rose Inc., have removed their name and requested to become subcontractors because of the patent on the specialty coating.  In line with the RFP #123456789, dated 07/14/2014, the paper deliberates on the payment type to use in this bid, determines the approach and the key terms to consider in requesting the use of the Navy’s floor equipment and proposes suitable quality control and inspection procedures. The author furthermore, determine whether the Navy would or would not have a patent infringement objection for the use of the coating and determine the mechanism for contract closeout the company would use with the Navy.

Even though different payment types are available to use such as progress payments and partial payments, the most suitable for the company is performance-based payment. This payment option is customary form of contract financing covered in the FAR part 32.10 (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). It is one of the payment method that contractors are authorized to use.  This method is adopted if the contracting officers find them to be practical and if the contractor is satisfied and in agreement to use it. This type of payment is based upon achievement of specific, accomplishments or measurable events valued or defined in advance by those parties to that contract (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). The rationale for selecting this method of payment is hereby explained. One of the reasons is that the method allows the contractor to fully recover the finances in an event of default. The contractor is fully guaranteed to get the finances as per agreed terms. This will therefore savage the contractor from tussles with the sub contractors on payment of their dues.  Another rationale for using this payment method is that it is flexible and has provision that will allow the contractor either to select financial payment option based on whole contract basis or on specific deliverable items (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). The contractor   will therefore make the best decision that will enable the contract to be executed accordingly. The type of payment is also preferred as it enhances the technical and schedule focus performance as it will motivate the contractor to accomplish the events when executing the contract. The contractor will be in a position to ensure that all activities are accomplished promptly and in a more efficient manner (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). This will as well increase the rating of the contractor giving the company an upper hand in the future contracts. Performance based payment compared to progressive payment has a potentially improved cash flow to the company contractor. The total of performance-based payment is 90 percent of the contract price compared to progress payments that is 80 percent of the contract cost (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). Therefore, using performance-based payment is preferred. This type of payment is also essential, as its benefit of improved cash flow is significant for the contractor especially when the contract is of considerably less profit or low price (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). The contractor stands a chance of getting a better financial deal when compared to a higher price deal with a similar contract that uses progress payments. This is a win-win deal as it puts into consideration time value of money when measuring the cost to the Navy and benefits to the contractor of the now improved cash flow.  Time value is slightly greater to the contractor when compared to the defence department if performance based payment is used. In addition compared to prompt payment, performance based payment, payment are not subjected to any interest penalty provisions. The payments are remitted as per the agency policy and the agreed terms hence; the contractor is guaranteed to get the funds without any penalty.

In requesting the use of the Navy floor equipment, the contractor must use certain approaches and key terms. One of the approaches is to enter into a negotiation with the Navy on the possibility of using the Navy floor equipment. The contractor should be persuasive for the Navy to give in.  In the negotiation, the company contractor can negotiate for a certain fee to be able to use the equipment as a lease (Acquisition. Gov, 2014). This agreement should be documented and the parties must sign as a proof of agreement.  The contractor as well can as well request the equipment to execute the contract within the shortest time possible.  Therefore, because of this reduced time, the contractor can reduce the amount of fees for the contract. This will benefit both the contractor as well as the navy. The contractor will be able to finish the contract quickly and will save on the repair and maintenance of his own equipment.  Time saved in this contract can as well be used to perform another contract. Similarly, the Navy will as well benefit as it will enjoy the facilities once they are ready and will save on cost since the contractor will reduce the cost that will cater for the lease of the Navy floor equipment.   Key terms requiring consideration is the parties to be involved in the negotiation, the lease period, terms on the repair and maintenance and the duration of the contract, and documentation of the agreement (Acquisition. Gov, 2014).  The parties that will be involved in the negotiation must have adequate information about the contract and the functioning of the equipment. This will ensure that the negotiation and agreements on lease are done in a fair manner. The lease period of the navy floor equipment is also very important, as it will determine the kind of agreement that the two parties to the contract will reach. The people that will be in charge of repair and maintenance of the navy floor equipment as well require deliberation to ensure that the parties agree and work together.  The contractor must be clear on these aspects, as they will have an impact on the terms and conditions of the contract. They navy floor equipment will alter the previous agreements because it is not known by the contractor and is exposed to wear and tear when used in the repairs.

Quality control and inspection procedures are essential to ensure that the contract is completed successful and meets the threshold.  To ensure high quality the company will come up with a quality control plan.  Process control testing will be done where material to be tested will be listed and test conducted and testing done on sample materials (U.S Department of Transportation, 2012).   After this, the inspection of the repairs will be done continuously. In preparatory phase, all contract requirements will be reviewed to ensure compliance of materials. This stage will ensure that personnel and equipment are able to comply with the contract requirements. At start up phase, contract requirements will be reviewed with personnel to perform the work, workmanships standards will be established and necessary training will be done. During production phase, inspections will be done to ensure that the contract moves on as expected and the work of high quality. Personal qualifications and work of subcontractors will be recorded to ensure that the process moves on smoothly and meets the threshold.

The company has a private patent on the specialty floor coating meaning that it has been given or granted a property right as the inventor of this design.  This is a design patent and the company has limited monopoly as it has been granted exclusive rights to use the coating and to sell. This innovation will benefit the company but for a limited period and on expiry of the period, the patent becomes obsolete and the owner cannot sue (Cornell University Law School, 2015).  Therefore, in this case, Navy has a patent infringement objection as they have no right to use the specialty floor coating to advance their own interests. This innovation is protected and the company has the mandate to sue the Navy if the specialty coating is used for their own benefit. The innovation remains the property of the company until that time that the patented   expires (Cornell University Law School, 2015). On expiry, the Navy will not be under any legal restriction or will not be held responsible for infringement of the patent. The period allowed is enough to enable the company to reap from its innovations. The reason why the patent has an expiry date is to allow more investments in time and resources in development of new and essential discoveries. Therefore, Navy would not have a patent infringement objection to use the coating for their own benefits the moment the patent expires. Before the expiration of the patent, the Navy has no legal authority to claim ownership of the coating.   Even though, the Navy will enjoy the services of the coating, it remains the property of the contractor or the owner until the time it was given elapses.

Different contractors use different mechanisms for contract close out.  In this case, the company will use standard procedures in its closeout. This mechanism has various issues that the constructor and the Navy must agree before the final certificate of completion is granted. Various reasons explain the decision to use this close out mechanism. One of the reasons explaining the rationale for selecting this mechanism is that it allows the close out to receive adequate evidence about completion of delivery of the services.  The contractor requests for contracting officer representative certification of contract completion to ascertain whether in deed the contract is complete to the satisfactory level or not. This therefore, allows the Navy enough time to inspect the services and to provide a feedback. The contract can be terminated or can be extended to   ensure that it meets the expected threshold.  Therefore, this gives an opportunity for the Navy to investigate whether it meets the terms and conditions as agreed.  The Navy therefore gets an opportunity to express whether they are satisfied with the services or not. Standard procedures is as well preferred because, it is documented and is official.  All the documents are provided and filled hence, can be used as a source of evidence.  Using this mechanism is also supported because it helps to reduce instances of payment deficits. To offer close out, evidence of all final payments must be provided to ensure that the contractor has up to date payment.  This mechanism is therefore, essential as it ensure transparency. The mechanism furthermore, allows the contractor and the Navy to have a positive sustained relationship even after the completion of the contract. This is because, the process are open and transparent. The mechanism as well has provisions that requires that subcontractors re settled by the major contractor putting in mind that the company has sub contractors that are assisting to provide the services. This therefore, ensures that the subcontractors are given their rightful dues hence reducing conflicts relating to their payment (HHS.gov. 2015).  The mechanism as well allows for the filing of contract completion form that gives the contractor an assurance whether or not the contract has met the objective. This gesture ensures that the contractor gets their dues as the Navy enjoys the services provided. Furthermore, the mechanisms adopted in this closeout as well considered the past performance assessment of the contractor (HHS.gov. 2015). This is essential as it ensures that the contractor remains steadfast and is motivated.  For the contractor, this is important especially if the contractor has a good performance record as the probability of such contractor getting more a contracts in other government entities increases.  Therefore, using this close up mechanism for the Navy contract is essential as it indicates the level of confidence in the service delivery. It gives Navy enough time to evaluate and inspect the work to ensure that it meets the threshold (HHS.gov. 2015). Therefore, this mechanism as well enhances the relationship between the contractor and the Navy and as well gives the contractor an upper hand to get other related contracts in future if the work done is superb and meets the threshold of Navy.

In conclusion, it is apparent that contracting is a length process and sometimes can be tiresome. Contractors must put into consideration after getting an opportunity to provide services. In this case, some changes may happen which might require alteration of the plan.    It is apparent that the company had to make adjustments the moment some of its competitors opted to become subcontractors as well as when the company learned that the Navy had floor equipment was not in use.  The company therefore must be able to enter into negotiation   to request the Navy to use its floor equipment. The negotiations must be free and fair and may result into a decision that may be binding.  The Navy may decide to lease the equipment or request for reduction of the period of repair and costs of the contract.  The company as well used performance-based payment because of its advantages compared to other methods.  Quality control and inspection procedures, patent infringement objection and closeout aspects are as well important in contracts as they contribute to successful implementation and completion of the contract.

References

Acquisition. gov. (2014). Subpart 15.2—Solicitation and Receipt of Proposals and Information.   Retrieved from: https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%2015_2.html

Acquisition. gov. (2014). Subpart 32.10—Performance-Based Payments. Retrieved from:             https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%2032_10.html

Cornell University Law School. (2015). Patent. Retrieved from:      http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Patent

HHS.gov. (2015). Contract closeout guide chapter 3- Closeout procedures. Retrieved from:             http://www.hhs.gov/asfr/ogapa/acquisition/contract-closeout-chapter3.html

U.S Department of Transportation. (2012). Contractor Quality Control Plans . Retrieved from:             http://www.cflhd.gov/resources/construction/documents/qc_plans.pdf

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Negotiating a Contract with Navy Assignment

Negotiating a Contract with Navy
Negotiating a Contract with Navy

Negotiating a Contract with Navy

Order Instructions:

Assignment 4: Negotiating a Contract with the Navy

Due Week 8 and worth 150 points

Based on the same scenario as in Assignments 1, 2, and 3, you are now considering additional factors needed for your proposal based on RFP #123456789, dated 07/14/2014, where another local competitor intends to submit a proposal.

Additional factors to consider are:

1. Although you have always built in a profit margin of ten percent (10%) for commercial flooring jobs, you are willing to consider a lesser profit margin in this case in order to win the contract.

2. The Navy’s Contract Administration Officer is known to be a smart, tough negotiator.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

1. Determine two (2) potential profit objectives that you will consider for accepting a less than normal profit margin if you win the contract. Provide a rationale for your response.

2. Determine two to three (2-3) negotiation strategies or tactics that you feel would be effective for winning the contract. Provide a rationale for your response.

3. Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • Explain the government acquisition process using sealed bidding, negotiations, and alternative contracting methods.
  • Outline and explain the process for developing competitive proposals and source selection.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in federal acquisition and contract management.

· Write clearly and concisely about federal acquisition and contract management using proper writing mechanics.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Negotiating a Contract with Navy

Introduction

Negotiating and getting government contracts, especially from a Navy’s Contract Administration Officer is normally a hectic process. The problem persists because even after acquiring the contract, competitors will also do their best to send their proposals to win the contract next time. Therefore, when a company is given a contract, a rival company will do its best to ensure it maintains its trust to the government up to another time when it will be awarded another contract based on the trust built between the two parties (Smotrova-Taylor, 2012). The following discussion, therefore, will engage in discussing some of the profit objectives a company will consider for accepting a lower than normal profit margin after winning a contract. The discussion will also address some of the negotiation strategies that a company would use to win the contract.

Discussion

There are certain profit objectives a company would consider for accepting a lower than normal profit margin to win a contract. One of these profit objectives is elimination of competition. Rival companies will themselves be motivated to outdo the others in terms of competition on a specific item the Navy is requiring or wanting to sell. Therefore, in order to have future acquisitions, a specific firm who wishes to win the contract will be in a dominant position in winning the contract (Smotrova-Taylor, 2012). In this case, companies will be seeing themselves giving the government favorable processes and costs at their own expense just to win the contract before the other firms get it. In this type of scenario, the organization is more likely to accept reduced profit margins in the short term so that the firm or the bidder could realize extreme profits in the future.

Another profit objective that a company would employ to win the contract is survivability. According to Rumbaugh (2010), a company is said to be alive if there is cash from sales flowing through it. The normal assets of a company are usually reduced if sales are not made to make enable the company to survive and adapt in the short run. For instance, a reduction in labor force is the first phase of production that is seen after lack of sales. The negative effects are reflected in the company’s assets, recruitment and hiring, morale, and overall capabilities (Rumbaugh, 2010). Therefore, the bidder is forced to perform under these given contacts at negative profits in order for them to get and maintain cash flow. Working under this constraint makes the company to survive up to the near team maintaining that it is preparing itself for more sales in the near future. The company will also go into debts for a short period in order to cater for the continuing operations before it stabilizes first on the awarded contract.

There are various negotiation strategies or tactics that a company may deem effective for winning the contract. All of these negotiation strategies are what are referred in business terms to as win/win negotiation styles. Under this win/win negotiation style, as Roberts, Michael and Amir (2009) argue, both parties strive for the merits of the situation to get satisfactory results. Therefore, in order for a company to win the contact under a win/win strategy, the bidder is supposed to concentrate on positive tactics to resolve differences especially during the negotiations. These strategies should focus on the long-term benefits rather than on the short-term benefits (Roberts, Michael & Amir, 2009). This is where the pricing strategy comes in. The contract will be given to the company that affirms that it will provide the highest price for the government goods. A company should ensure that the price quoted should be equal to the highest fair and reasonable price.

Another negotiation tactic that a bidder might use to win a contract is cost strategy. The contract will award a contract to a bidder who shows that there will be a reduction of cost once a contract is awarded. This is mainly due to the government stand on maximizing profits. This type of negotiation tactic, in other words, is known as cooperative negotiation. This is because, both the government contractor and bidders engage in creating a good correlation between them than could be created in competitive negotiations. A company in cooperative negotiation using cost strategy aims at getting the most they can get for the organization (Osborne, 2011). The government will find itself changing its rules upon the contract after finding that the cost of production has changed drastically after the contract has been awarded. Offering the low cost incurring scenario will cajole the government to award the contract to the company that exhibit that it will be able to sustain that cost.

Summary

In conclusion, companies do their best to win government contracts. In case the competition is intense, companies will be forced to use price objectives to win the contract. On top of winning the contract, the companies will engage in negotiation tactics that see the company enticing the government to award them the contract.

References

Osborne, S. R. (2011). Winning government business: Gaining the competitive advantage with effective proposals. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.

Roberts, K., Michael, R., & Amir, S. (2009). Renegotiation of financial contracts: Evidence          from private credit agreements. Journal of Financial Economics 93(2):159-84.

Rumbaugh, M. G. (2010). Understanding government contract source selection. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.

Smotrova-Taylor, O. (2012). How to get government contracts: Have a slice of the $1 trillion pie. Place of publication not identified: Apress.

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Acquiring a Contract with the Navy Assignment

Acquiring a Contract with the Navy
Acquiring a Contract with the Navy

Acquiring a Contract with the Navy

Order Instructions:

Assignment 3: Acquiring a Contract with the Navy

Due Week 6 and worth 300 points

Based on the same scenario as in Assignments 1 and 2, you are ready to begin considering the factors needed for your proposal based on RFP #123456789, dated 07/14/2014. Remember that another local competitor intends to submit a proposal as well.

Before beginning this assignment, review FAR Subpart 19.5—Set-Asides for Small Business, located at http://www.acquisition.gov/far/html/Subpart%2019_5.html

Additional factors to consider are:

Both your company and your competitor’s company will qualify under the HUBZone Act
(FAR 19.5).
Based upon the scope of work required, your initial estimates for the contract will exceed $150,000. Therefore, you are willing to offer incentives to the Navy.
Your competitor intends to submit a proposal for a one (1) year contract.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

  • Examine two (2) reasons why your business would qualify under the basic concepts of the HUBZone Set-Aside Procedures. Provide a rationale for your response.
  • Analyze the primary way(s) in which a multiyear contract would benefit both the Navy and your business.
  • Determine whether your bid proposal should be based on a fixed-price, a cost-reimbursement, or a time-and-materials type of contract. Provide a rationale for your response.
  • Determine the category of incentives that you are willing to offer (i.e., cost, schedule, or performance). Provide a rationale for your response.
  • Determine whether your bid proposal should be a technical, management, or cost proposal. Provide a rationale for your response.
  • Speculate on five (5) potential risk factors that you will need to consider if your company is awarded the contract. Provide a rationale for your response.

Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • · Interpret the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as it relates to small-business programs.
  • Describe the various types of contracts and considerations for their use.
  • Outline and explain the process for developing competitive proposals and source selection.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in federal acquisition and contract management.
  • Write clearly and concisely about federal acquisition and contract management using proper writing mechanics.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Assignment 3: Acquiring a Contract with the Navy

Some provisions in the FAR such as Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program (FAR 19.5) require that certain contracts are set aside for small businesses. This is a government initiative to help foster economic development in these companies.  In this scenario, a local competitor has submitted a proposal for the same contract and therefore both my company and that of competitors will qualify for the contract under HUBZone Act (FAR 19.5).   Based on my company scope of work, my initial estimates for the contract will exceed $150,000 hence I will offer incentives to the Navy. Competitors wish to provide a proposal for the contract for 1 year. The paper delineates on various aspects that relate to acquisition of a contract in the Navy in reference to the RFP#123456789, dated 07/14/2014.

Various reasons explain why my small business will qualify under the concept of HUBZone set-aside procedures. One of the reasons is that the contracting officer is certain that my company and my competitors are going to tender their proposal for the contract (Navy Air, 2015). The business belongs to the category of small businesses and therefore it has higher chances of qualifying. The second reason why my company would qualify under the concepts of HUBZone set-aside procedures is that the award is expected to be made at a fair market price and that this award will be restricted for competition amongst small businesses (Acquisition. gov. 2015).  My company is considered small and will help increase employment opportunities among the population. It will also help increase investments and trigger economic development in my location as it is located in underutilized business zones (HHS. Gov. 2015).

Multiyear contracts have benefits to both the Navy and my business. In a multiyear contract, the contractor acquires a more than one year tender to render certain services to the contracting party under a single contract award without necessarily having to exercise an option for every program year in year out (Gao. Gov. (2015). Therefore, under this arrangement, the contractor can contract for more than 2 years even though funding will still be appropriated on an annual basis. One of the primary ways multiyear contracts benefit the contractor and the Navy is that it helps in saving the costs and it ensures that there is improvement when it comes to use of the contractors resources. Through these contracts, unit cost is expected to be lower compared to annual contracts through various ways. One of the ways that these unit costs reduce is through purchase of parts and materials in economic order quantities, improved efficacy and production processes, limited changes in the designs and stability in designs, better utility of the facilities and cost avoidance as the burden of placing and administering annual contracts diminishes (Gao. Gov. (2015).  Administration challenges reduce with decreased paperwork. The Navy and the company will not have many renewals when rolling out over the contract every year and this is expected. Multiyear contracts as well help in stabilizing the services and contractor relationships. The company is in a better position to ensure that they render quality services in long term to meet the performance expectations. The company will have an ability to focus on long term programs through planning to ensure that better quality services are provided.  Contractor relationships are also developed and improved through multiyear contracts. The contractor and the Navy will get to know each other through these relationships. They can develop good communication that is a roadmap to achieving success in the future. Multiyear contracts as well help to improve management as it is easy to achieve a timely initial data as it requires the authority of the contracting officer’s signature to renew the contract.  A multiyear contract is also beneficial as it encourages a shift to more flexible contracts and budget terms between the company and the Navy. Furthermore, the long and stable time horizons provide an opportunity for the contractor and the Navy to plan, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services.

Contracts are classified into various groups such as fixed price, time and materials, and cost-reimbursement. Selecting the appropriate type of contract is important and requires in depth evaluation of the contractor situation. In this bid, the most appropriate type of contract that my company will select is a fixed price contract. This is because this contract type has various options that I can select to suit me. The fixed price types of contracts usually provide the contractor with a fixed cost and in other occasions, the price may be adjusted.  The fixed price contract that provides an opportunity to adjust price is the preferred one and it includes a target price and ceiling price or even both.  Under this arrangement, the target and ceiling price are subjected to a revision or adjustment under the circumstances stated. Even though firm fixed prices provide a price not adjustable, the contractor bears maximum risk, it is the best as it is possible to understand the projection of the profit (John, 2010). Furthermore, because of the experience my company has had in contracting, firm fixed price is the best. Firm fixed price is also appropriate because   my company will be able to minimize on the costs to accrue huge profits. The company can manage costs by ensuring that the project begins earlier and the time for completing the contract is minimized.

Various types of incentives are available to contractors. Some of these incentives are the cost, performance and cost incentives.  For the sake of this project, I will use cost incentives. These are the most common form of incentive contracts. They allow an estimation of the target fee or profit when the contract starts (Acquisition. gov. (2015). The full profit or fees is usually paid when the actual cost meets the target cost.  This form of incentives as well motivates the contractor to manage the costs effectively and this will ensure that the contract costs are minimized for the contractor to accrue some profits. Furthermore, using this incentive provides an opportunity for the contractor to provide other incentives without necessarily having to provide a constraint (Randall & Lynn, 2007).  Furthermore, using cost incentives is flexible as it can be adjusted within constraints of price ceiling or maximum or minimum fees. The contractor is deemed to accrue target profits or fees when the actual cost meets the target.  When the actual cost is below the target, the contractor will enjoy upward adjustment of the target profit or fee hence beneficial to the contractor. Therefore, using cost incentives will enable the contractor to deliver efficient services at reduced cost hence accruing more profit.

Proposals can either be technical, cost or management depending on the way the contractor deems appropriate.  My proposal will be technical to be able to compete favorably with the rest.  The rationale of using a technical proposal is to ensure that my chances of getting the contract are higher. With a technical proposal, the focus is not only on the price but it ensures that all the important aspects are captured to attract the attention and to persuade the contracting officer to award the contract to me. Nowadays, the government contracts entities that have the capability to deliver the services effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the only way that I can emerge victorious and win the contract is by ensuring that the contract is clear and precise as well as detailed.  The proposal must provide the best value and therefore it will focus on technical aspects such as proficiency, manpower, clarity of approach, past performance, and though leadership.  The process should also highlight on the management approach and quality control approaches that I will be able to use to ensure that the project is successful. The proposal will be able to show the plan to follow to conduct the project to be in a position to meet the requirements set in the solicitation. By illustrating that I do understand the work statement in the proposal, this will give me an upper hand and will increase the chances of winning over the contract. By  also providing information on my past performance,  I will  be able to reflect my business performance risks by telling the Navy about my experience and how well I did  previous works (Rumbaugh, 2010).  Looking at my past performance information will increase my level of rating especially if my track record has been good. This will as well give me an upper hand in this bid. I will also include a section on my management approach to illustrate to the contracting officer my clear undersigning of the project deliverables and tasks (Smotrova-Taylor, 2012). This will allow me to provide information on the project teams that will deliver the services, how the project will be managed, executed, monitored and controlled. The strategies that the project will adopt to ensure that the project is completed successfully will also surface at this juncture. This information provides the contracting officer an opportunity to acknowledge and experience my management skills and my competence in managing contracts. A technical proposal will as well enable me to showcase my level of understanding about the quality control approach, something that will also increase my chances of being selected. I will be able to identify the procedures, processes and metrics likely to predict successful costs and schedule outcomes. This opportunity will also give me a chance to show that I have put in place quality control metrics for gathering reliable data to show how the project is   running (Osborne, 2011).  One of the tools that will assist in measuring quality is Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) a four stage cycle that will help to move from problem faced to problem solved as the company still focuses on continuous improvement. Therefore, among these proposal types, a technical proposal is the best as it detailed but precise. This proposal allows me to furnish all the information in depth which will increase my chances of winning the bid and getting the contract. The Navy will require enough proof of my capabilities to render high quality services and this can only be proved  through this proposal.

Contractors are exposed to different kinds of risks and it is important that they put in place a risk mitigation plan to manage the risks. Risks if not well managed well can deter achievement of the goals and objectives of a contractor. Therefore, ensuring that appropriate plans to contain or prevent the risk are in place will go a greater magnitude to help control these risks (Smith, 2003). Therefore, in case my company is awarded the contract, the potential risk factors that I will consider include cost related risks, time related risks, quality related risks, environment related risks and safety related risks. Costs related risks may lead to increased costs reducing my profit margin and therefore, it will be noble to ensure that they are mitigated (Ward & Chapman, 1995).  Some of these cost-related risks that I will face will include variations in designs, occurrence of disputes when work is on progress, price inflations on the construction materials, many or excessive or lengthy procedures in approving the projects, incomplete or inaccurate cost estimate and inadequate program scheduling among others (Schuyler, 2001).  Some of the risks are intolerable but can be minimized. Time-related risks include, tight project schedule, bureaucracy in government that may delay the start of the project, incomplete approval of other documents among many others (Patrick et al., 2007). Quality-related risks that I will encounter may include, tight project schedules that may compromise on the quality of work, inaccurate cost estimates, high performance or quality expectations that may not be realistic, variations in designs, and lack of coordination between project participants (Baker &  Reid, 2005). The environmental related risks that I will be exposed to may include, serious noise pollution caused by the work underway, air pollution caused by chemical mixtures,  and lack of sufficient professionals and managers (Nerija & Audrius, 2010).  Safety related risks that the company is likely to be exposed include low management competency of the subcontractors, lack of fire extinguishers, general safety accident occurrence, poor or low quality of materials, and lack of coordination between the project participants. These  potential risks are very important to the success of the contract and they should be well managed to ensure that the project does not stall.

In conclusion, contracting is a process that requires consideration of various issues. The interested parties must submit their proposal for consideration. They must demonstrate their capability to provide the services required as well. To ensure that small businesses and people from historically excluded areas get the opportunity to grow and invest, various legislation such as HUBZone set-aside procedures are very instrumental.  Qualifying under this concept requires the bidder to demonstrate that they have the capability to execute the contract and that they are in the category of small business. The contractor may opt to get a contract for one year or for various years. Multiyear contracts have various benefits compared to one year contracts. This proposal as well is based on fixed price and the category of incentive offered was cost. The proposal selected was technical because it gives more opportunity for the bid to be selected. In contracts, it is as well very important to consider various potential risks. These risks may hamper achievement of the goals and mission of the contracts. The risks include quality, cost, environmental, safety and time related.

References

Acquisition. gov. (2015). Subpart 19.5—Set-Asides for Small Business

Retrieved from: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/html/Subpart%2019_5.html

Acquisition. gov. (2015). Subpart 16.4—Incentive Contracts . Retrieved from:             http://acquisition.gov/far/html/Subpart%2016_4.html

Baker, W., &  Reid, H. (2005). Identifying and Managing Risk , Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson  Education.

HHS. GOV. (2015). Chapter 11: Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program (HUBZone) Program. Retrieved from:           http://www.hhs.gov/about/smallbusiness/Small%20Business%20Program%20Manual/ch  apter11.html

Gao. Gov. (2015). Multiyear contracts. Retrieved from: http://www.gao.gov/htext/d08298.html

John, E. (2010). Government contracting. Retrieved from:             http://www.ncmahq.org/files/Articles/847BD_cm_July04_44.pdf

Navy air. (2015). HUBZone program. Retrieved from:             http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawctsd/Resources/Library/Acqguide/hubzone-program.htm

Nerija, B., & Audrius, B. (2010). Risk management in construction projects. Retrieved from:             http://www.intechopen.com/books/risk-management-current-issues-and-challenges/risk-            management-in-construction-projects

Osborne, S. R. (2011). Winning government business: Gaining the competitive advantage with effective proposals. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.

Patrick, X.W et al., (2007). Identifying Key Risks in ConstructionProjects: Life Cycle  and           Stakeholder Perspectives, 1-14.

Randall, B., & Lynn, W. (2007). Incentives contracts. Contract management, 19-21.

Rumbaugh, M. G. (2010). Understanding government contract source selection. Vienna, VA:Management Concepts.

Schuyler, J. (2001).  Risk and Decision Analysis in Projects (second edition), Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc, USA.

Smith, N.J. (2003).  Appraisal, Risk and Uncertainty (Construction Management Series),  London: Thomas TelfordLtd, UK.

Smotrova-Taylor, O. (2012). How to get government contracts: Have a slice of the $1 trillion pie. Place of publication not identified: A press.

Ward, S.C., & Chapman, C.B. (1995). Risk- Management Perspective on the Project Lifecycle,    International Journal of Project Management, 13(3), 145- 149.

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Bidding on a Contract with the Navy Assignment

Bidding on a Contract with the Navy
Bidding on a Contract with the Navy

Bidding on a Contract with the Navy

Order Instructions:

Assignment 2: Bidding on a Contract with the Navy

Due Week 4 and worth 150 points

Based on the same scenario as in Assignment 1, imagine that you have received a Request for Proposal (RFP) #123456789, dated 07/14/2014. You also find out through a reliable source that a local competitor has also received an RFP for a similar type of product and service. Due to this, you will be required to negotiate the contract, and will need to consider the contract specifics.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

  • Suggest three (3) ways in which the basic concepts of the FAR Policy would mutually benefit your small business and the Navy.
  • Determine the method that you will use for solicitation of a bid. Next, explain why the Navy is likely to choose your company in the sealed-bidding process.
  • Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Interpret the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to determine requirements and resolve issues.

· Explain the government acquisition process using sealed bidding, negotiations, and alternative contracting methods.

· Describe the various types of contracts and considerations for their use.

· Outline and explain the process for developing competitive proposals and source selection.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in federal acquisition and contract management.

· Write clearly and concisely about federal acquisition and contract management using proper writing mechanics.

Attached see the rubric

SAMPLE ANSWER

Bidding on a Contract with the Navy

Having received a Request for Proposal (RFP) #123456789, dated 07/14/2014, is not an assurance that the company will be awarded this contract. This is because; other local competitor has as well received the RFP for similar services like mine. This therefore will require that the contract is negotiated so that the company found eligible and suitable is awarded the contract. This paper therefore, deliberates on the benefits of FAR policy to my own company as well as to the Navy, determines the method to use for solicitation of a bid, and provides and explanation why navy will choose my company in the sealed bidding process.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) policy has various clauses that require parties to any contract to adhere to when negotiating contracts. The FAR policy provide sufficient explanation and description of the steps and regulations requiring adhering when  negotiating FAR policy  therefore, have various benefits to  my small business as well as  the Navy (Acquisition. gov. 2014). The concept on negotiated contracts  vs. Sealed  bidding as stipulated in the FAR 14.101 (d) 12.000, and FAR 52.215-1 states that contracts awarded using other methods  rather than sealed bidding procedures is considered  as negotiated contract (Easc.noaa. gov. 2014). This concept therefore will allow me to understand the requirements and prepare   for the negotiations or for the approval by the Navy.  This concept is beneficial to me as it enlighten me on what I will expect during the negotiation process.  The concept is as well advantageous to Navy in the sense that it will enable the company to make adequate preparation to ensure that the method selected enable them select the best and qualified contractor that will be able to deliver quality services.

FAR policy as well allows negotiation of initial offers without discussions or negotiations.  This policy has an advantage to the company as it has the chances of being selected without having to undertake any discussions. This will be as well advantageous to the Navy as it will have to save on costs and time. The company will not have to spent money to recruit for the parties to negotiate.  The other advantage of FAR policy is that it provides an opportunity to make proposal revisions hence increasing my chances of getting the opportunity to take over the contract.  This opportunity is also beneficial to the company as it enable the company to select the contractor that has the highest level of qualification that impacts on the project.

The method that I will use for solicitation of a bid is the Request for Proposal as it is used in the negotiated purchase. This proposal identifies a particular problem that my company wants to provided/solve (Lansing Community College, 2014).  This RFP has various sections such as Statement of Work (sow), terms of conditions, information required from the agency and the bidding information (Vernon, 2003). It also has samples, exhibits that have been done elsewhere. This aims at making the proposal more appealing to enhance or promote its acceptance by the Navy.

If the winning contract is selected through sealed bidding process, the Navy is likely to choose my company because of various reasons. This kind of procedures allows the Navy to evaluate the bids without carrying out any discussions. The Navy goes through the proposals and awards the contract to the responsible bidder whose bid is in conformity to the enlisted services or bids.   Because of this reasons, I believe that, the Navy will be motivated and obliged to   select me because of the way I have written and presented the bid. Some of the things that the Navy will  look or evaluate to  determine if  my proposal has meet the threshold  have all  been provided and satisfied. I have provided a competitive price offer for the services and this will play a critical role in selection of my company (Easc.noaa. gov. 2014). I have enough experience in the area having worked in the sector for various years. My past performance has been superb, as most of my clients have approved my services. The proposal is as well explained and detailed; this will enhance understanding. This strategy will help persuade the Navy to consider my company because this will portray me as an organized and a person that pays attention to detailed. By the virtue of being  a small size company,  I believe that  I will have an upper hand in this bidding  as this will be one away of uplifting  small size business to  medium and large scale business.

Negotiation is therefore one of the important stage in any contract.  The FAR policy has provided clear provisions on how this process should be carried out to ensure fairness to all the parties. The policy requires the contract to be given through negotiation or sealed bidding. In sealed bidding, the agency reviews the bids and makes their own selection based on the information provided by the bidder. On the other hand, negotiation or discussions require the bidder to avail himself or herself and defend their capabilities to provide or meet the requirement of the bid. I do believe that my business will be selected if sealed bidding is used as I have satisfied all the requirements. I have expressed my capabilities to deliver beyond expectation if the contract is awarded to me. The evidence provided is a clear indication of my capability.

References

Acquisition. gov. (2014). Subpart 15.2—Solicitation and Receipt of Proposals and Information.   Retrieved from: https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%2015_2.html

Easc.noaa. gov. (2014). Introduction to negotiations. Retrieved from:             https://www.easc.noaa.gov/APG/BCM/BCM_Docs/vol5%20Federal%20Contract%20Negotiation%20Techniques.pdf

Lansing Community College. (2014). Solicitation Types. Retrieved from:             http://www.lcc.edu/purchasing/supplier_information/solicitation_types.aspx

Vernon, E. (2003). Federal contracting. Retrieved from:       http://www.wifcon.com/anal/analcomproc.htm

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Small-Business Opportunities with the Navy

Small-Business Opportunities with the Navy
Small-Business Opportunities with the Navy

Small-Business Opportunities with the Navy

Order Instructions:

Assignment 1: Small-Business Opportunities with the Navy

Due Week 3 and worth 150 points

Imagine that you are the owner of a small floor refinishing business that provides a specialty coating product for ceramic tile and marble floors. There is no other local flooring business that provides this service. Having recently received a patent on your product, you are ready to expand your business by competing for Navy contracts at the local base, which is located a few miles away. The service you want to sell is the specialty coating, the application of the coating, and a regular maintenance schedule. Your company consists of you, one office assistant, and two production employees.

Note: You will be referencing this business throughout all five assignments for this course. Please use “First Name, Last Name, Inc.” as the name of your company throughout these assignments.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

  • Develop your company’s acquisition and planning strategy for obtaining a contract.
  • Analyze the manner in which utilizing SmartPay or a similar program in electronic contracting will assist your company and the Navy. Provide a rationale for your response.
  • Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

  1. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  2. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Describe the nature of government contracting, including authority, responsibilities, and legal considerations.

· Explain the government acquisition process using sealed bidding, negotiations, and alternative contracting methods.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in federal acquisition and contract management.

· Write clearly and concisely about federal acquisition and contract management using proper writing mechanics.

See the rubric attached

SAMPLE ANSWER

Assignment 1: Small-Business Opportunities with the Navy

Ben Rose Inc., is a small business dealing in small floor refinishing and provides specialty-coating products for marble floors and ceramic tile.  The company strives to expand and therefore, competes for Navy contracts at the local base. The company wants to sell specialty coating, the application of the coating and regular maintenance schedule service to the Naval. This paper provides the acquisition and planning strategy to obtain the contract and provide analysis on how utilizing Smart Pay will assist the company and the Navy.

Acquisition planning is very important at it will allow the company to come up with appropriate documentations that will enable the company to compete favorably. It is a process   where concerned personnel coordinate comprehensively to meet the agency need in a timely manner and at reasonable cost (Acquisition. Gov. 2014). This process as well includes development of overall strategy for managing the acquisition.

The moment Navy identifies the need of these services, planning shall commence. I will inform the team that will be responsible for various aspects of the acquisition.  Since we are only four individuals’ one-office assistant, two production employees, and I. Everyone will be assigned with their duties (Acquisition. Gov. 2014).  I will handle contracting responsibilities myself while technical duties will be assigned to the office assistant.  I will therefore reveiew previous plans for similar acquisitions and discuss them with the key personnel in charge of the acquisitions.   At this stage, some revisions may be made to ensure that the right and relevant information is provided. I will then consult with the logistics personals to determine the type, quality and quantity and delivery requirements (Mueller, 2012).  I will then coordinate  with the contracting officer and secure his concurrence in all the acquisition planning. Having collected this information, I will them write an acquisition plan by providing all the required information. The plan shall address all the technical, business management and other important consideration that will control the acquisition. In this plan, specific contents will vary depending on the nature, circumstances and the stage of the acquisition process. Applicable instructors that are in tandem with the Naval implementing procedure will be followed to the later. This acquisition plan since it is for services contract, strategies for implementing performance based contracting methods will be described or if not used, then rationale will be provided (Acquisition. Gov. 2014).   Once this acquisition plan if filled, it will then be presented to the contracting officer of the Naval.  The process must be in line with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 7 that requires any agency to carry out acquisition planning as well as market research for all the acquisitions (Energy. Gov. 2011). This is aimed at promoting and providing acquisition of some items as well as to obtain full and open competition whenever possible. Therefore, once the acquisition template is filled, I will wait to receive feedback from the contracting officer from the Naval on whether I qualified or not.

SmartPay is one of the new ways of making payment in this age of electronic contracting. SmartPay is a lease to own payment plan that individuals and companies use (SmartPay, 2014). The payment system allows the customers to get the products they want and are allowed to make payment over a given period as agreed. This program will assist my company and the Navy in various ways (SmartPay, 2014). This electronic form of contracting will help my company to offer its services at competitive prices hence this will benefit the company from high accrued fees. The method is as well convenient as the company will be assured of getting its payment.  It is as well secure way of making payment. The company that is the naval that is buying the services will benefit because it will have some period to make payment. This therefore enable the company to prepare in advance and make the payment. The company can as well request our services as per the contract agreements and make their payments automatically with the debit card. This therefore, avoids time wastage and heavy paperwork and transactions are made easily. The company as well takes over the ownership of the value of the services provided once they make the payment in their lease plan. In overall, using SmartPay is beneficial to both the contracting party and the agencies and in this case the Naval because it is secure and safe and it is also convenient form of making payments.

In conclusion, it is very important to take time to go through contract requirements to acquaint with the requirements. This is why acquisition and planning stages are very critical.  These stages provide an opportunity to understand the contract and its requirements. Therefore as one of the parties interested in this contract, I have opportunity to be granted if I will be able to meet the requirements and meet the laws pertaining to contracts. Embracing SmartPay programs is essential, as it will increase my chances of winning this contract. Smart Pay has numerous advantages to both the company and me.

References

Acquisition. Gov. (2014). Part 7- Acquisition planning. Retrieved from:      https://acquisition.gov/far/97-03/pdf/07.pdf

Energy. Gov. (2011). Acquisition planning. Retrieved from:             http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/7.1_Acquisition_Planning_0.pdf

Mueller, J. (2012). The Acquisition Strategy.  Defense AT&L, 41(3):2-5

SmartPay. (2014). SmartPay=Smart sale. Retrieved from: http://getsmartpay.com/

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Good Grocers, Inc. Case Study Assignment

Good Grocers, Inc.
Good Grocers, Inc.

Good Grocers, Inc.

Order Instructions:

Assignment 1 Case study: Good Grocers, Inc.
Due Week 6 and worth 150 points
Note: The company mentioned herein is merely a hypothetical organization with characteristics developed to enable students to respond to the assignment. You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

After Good Grocers, Inc. expanded its organic produce section and adopted a “buy local” policy, sales increased. The Virginia-based chain expanded its retail locations from seven to twelve (7 to 12) over the last three (3) years.

As the Assistant Human Resources Manager, your job is to advise store managers about legal and personnel matters. The leadership at Good Grocers, Inc. considers you to be a legally astute manager, who consults with the corporation’s attorney, as necessary. The corporation’s leadership has tasked you with managing two (2) situations have come across your desk. Please respond with support that is backed by the law.

Write a three to four (3-4) page paper which addresses the two (2) situations from two (2) store managers.

Situation 1
Last week, my produce manager reported the following incident:
As I came out from the bakery, I saw a woman lying on the floor of the produce department. Her husband started yelling at me, saying, “She slipped on a banana peel and fell. My wife is the anchorwoman for NEWSNOW, and we are going to sue you!”
She didn’t look hurt, but I called 911 and filed an incident report that contained the facts of the situation. When viewing the area, I did, in fact, see a banana peel on the floor, but it was still yellow and lying on top of a ribbed rubber mat. The woman in question was wearing five-inch high heels. But I wasn’t sure what to say, other than the woman would be hearing from us.
1. Explain whether this situation is best handled by litigation or by a particular form of alternative dispute resolution.
2. Based on how you would handle this situation, either through litigation or a particular form of alternative dispute resolution, outline the key next steps involved in seeking a resolution. Justify your response.

Situation 2
Last week, my bakery manager was short an employee over Mother’s Day weekend when the bakery is always busy. To make up for being shorthanded, the bakery manager called in Ms. Greene, an independent contractor. Generally, Ms. Greene comes in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights between 6 to 9 p.m. just to decorate cakes; she has her own bakery business. We furnish all of her equipment, and we pay her by the cake.
Ms. Greene worked eight (8) hours on Saturday and another eight (8) hours on Sunday over Mother’s Day weekend. We paid her $15.00 per hour. On the following Monday when Ms. Greene came in, she told me that she wanted to receive the same benefits as the other Good Grocers part-time employees, such as paid time off and employee discounts. Ms. Greene asserted that she really is a part-time employee who deserves the usual employee benefits.
3. Determine whether Ms. Greene is an independent contractor or a part-time employee. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Explain the reasoning supporting whether or not Ms. Greene should receive the same benefits as part-time employees.

Suggested resources for this assignment:
1. Access your Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the top of your iCampus screen. Search by keyword for business articles on arbitration, mediation, or independent contractors. You may also use your LRC to access legal topics and articles through the Lexis Nexis database.
2. At FindLaw, located at http://www.findlaw.com/, you may search by legal topic or enter a keyword(s) into a search box to find relevant information and articles.
3. You may use the following additional resources:

o Internal Revenue Service (IRS): http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Self-Employed-or-Employee

o The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry: http://www.doli.virginia.gov/laborlaw/laborlaw.html
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Use at least two (2) quality academic resources in this assignment, such as a government Website, and include internal citations. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Describe the legal environment of business, the sources of American law, and the basis of authority for government to regulate business.
• Explain basic court procedures, types of courts, and alternative dispute resolution methods.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in business law.
• Write clearly and concisely about business law using proper writing mechanics.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Introduction

There are several methods in which legal responsibility in tort may arise;

Legal responsibility may be forced as a legal consequence of a person’s deed, or of his omission if he is under a lawful obligation to act. Legal responsibility may also be forced upon one person as a legal consequence of the action or inadvertence of another individual with whom he stands in any distinct association, such as that of a servant and his master (vicarious liability).

In selected cases, legal responsibility is founded upon a mistake, sometimes intention to cause harm, is required but more often laxity or negligence is sufficient. In circumstances of strict liability, however legal responsibility is in capricious degrees independent of the liability.

Most torts necessitate damage or loss resulting to the plaintiff as a consequence of the perpetrator’s demeanor. However, in some circumstances as trespass to land and to persons, the burden of proof of actual damage is not essential.

Intention or negligence or the breach of statutory

Intention

Some wrongdoing requires intention on the part of the wrongdoer. Intention can be inferred from the conduct of the wrongdoer. Whatever a man thinks must be deduced from what he says and does. A person intents a consequence if it is his/her motives to bring it about.

Negligence

‘Negligence’ may signify full advertence to one’s conduct and its consequences. More usually, however, it means inadvertence by the defendant, but the defendant cannot escape liability because he adverted to the risk if the case is one where even inadvertence would saddle him with liability. An illustration of full advertence is the case of Vaughan – v – (Menlove 1937) 3 Bing N.C. 468

(This case was followed in Ward v Jesco Stores, (1976). AllE.R.219, where the Court of Appeal held that an accident which occurred due to spillage of yoghurt on a shop floor, put an evidential burden on the defendant store owner to prove that the accident did not take place through any lapse of care on their part. They were not able to satisfy that burden, and the plaintiff succeeded.)

The appropriate procedure to resolve the conflict.

Considering the circumstances of the case the company is facing I believe the best option for resolving the issue is through negotiation. In my opinion since we actually have no clear evidence of what really transpired in that juncture. It is the woman’s word against our production manager’s word. On solving conflicts the method to apply in resolving, the dispute usually will depend upon the nature of your particular argument and personal needs of the participants. In our case, we have to put consideration on the following issues as that is necessary (Goldberg, Frank & Rogers, 1992).

Firstly, we have to figure it out whether the case should be a Private and confidential or in a public court setting. Secondly, we should consider the Informal settings, which are considerably flexible processes or those that are formal and have specific rules to follow. Thirdly is whether we have Personal control or decision made by a judge or arbitrator. Fourthly is the Time factor. Fifthly, the Cost considerations.

The sixth, is whether we desire to uphold the mutual affiliations, bearing in mind the people involved in the discontent circumstances are our customers. Seventh, is whether the Disagreement ought to be judged on questions or matter of law. In that, be it resolved with business law principles or an alternate way out brought into being by other mechanisms that are fair, yet practical. Lastly, if the decision to be made finally will be binding, and readily enforceable Negotiation is a straight forward way of solving discontentments. It is a two-way communication channel among conflicting individuals in the disagreement bearing an objective of finding a solution (Goldberg, Frank & Rogers, 1992).

Negotiation with the client may be done directly, or we can use the company’s lawyer to handle negotiations directly with the client and her husband on the business’s behalf. Usually, there are no precise procedures to follow, but negotiation is fritful when all persons concerned come to a concesus to stay calm and talk one person at a time. In this circumstance, it is better to negotiate in the board room company or the office (Goldberg, Frank & Rogers, 1992).

The goodness of negotiation is that it permits us to take part directly in decisions that affect us. In successful negotiations, the needs of both parties usually taken into consideration. A favorable negotiated agreement can be used as a contract and is enforceable in the law.

Negotiation is the principal methods of choice for problem-solving and trying to influence an equally satisfactory settlement (Goldberg, Frank & Rogers, 1992). If no pact is reached, litigation may suffice. The negotiation process is versatile and may be employed at any point in tying to resolve the conflict. E.g In advance of a court case being filed, even when the court process is on going, or at the end of that trial, even at the point before or after filling an appeal (Goldberg, Frank & Rogers, 1992).

Characteristics of Negotiation:

  • Negotiations are usually Voluntary
  • They tend to be Confidential and Private
  • Negotiations are relatively inexpensive and may be Quick as compared to litigation.
  • Negotiations are mostly Informal and thus unstructured to a fault.

 

  • High chances of resulting in a win-win solution

Key steps involved in seeking a resolution. Justify your response.

The initial step, which is paramount to the resolution of the problem, is to find out whether one has the Command or capacity to talk and influence an agreement. In this step, one party must reach out to the other to find out if one is willing to settle. Also, it is prudent to know the Credibility of other parties concerned and the Ability to negotiate on equal terms. Also, it is at this step to point out the underlying alternatives to negotiation if negotiation fails (Thibaut & Walker, 1978).

The next step is to Contact the other person involved to confirm about the Programme, Place (Neutral), and Contributing parties to the conflict resolution process (Thibaut & Walker, 1978).

The third step in the negotiation is the Ground work of a plan and interest valuation. Here one should Study the issues, resolve opposing interests inside the group, Evaluate the Best Alternate to a Negotiated Agreement and Fashion choices for common gain “win-win” (Thibaut & Walker, 1978).

Determine whether Ms Green is an independent contractor or a part-time employee

In my opinion, Ms Green does not qualify to be a part-time employee, according to equity law principles that define independent service provider position by structure of payment. If an individual is on a company’s payroll and collects stable salaries, evidently, he or she is a member of staff rather than an independent service provider, who probably receives compensation a total varying custom. In this case scenario, the Ms Green has been receiving payment on a commission, based on the number of cakes she produces (Miller, 1991)

The general principal rule is that a person is a independent service provider if his employer administer the result of the labour only. He is not involved in the ways and means in which the end result was achieved. In this case, the company has not been directly involved (Miller, 1991). Even though it furnished all the equipment’s she used in decorating the cakes the company did not control her schedule of work and how she produced the cakes.

Independent contractors are appointed to undertake a particular job. The affiliation between the hiring party and the independent contractor is predetermined (Wright, 1991). Ms Green was contracted on a contractual basis that stipulated explicitly on what she was supposed to do. There is verbal, written, or implied contract amid the parties about what will be completed and how much that service is worth (Sumutka, 1992).

The nature of the work will assist in describing the affiliation. When work is well thought-out central to the line of work, it is more likely that the worker is permanent employee. Otherwise, work, which is temporary and non-integral may point toward independent contractor standing. Ms Green work seems not to be integral as it only required her to perform it on particular days(Sumutka, 1992).

In an effort to construe the doctrine of the Fair Labour Standards Act and differentiate amid worker and an independent service provider status, several courts and federal government agencies did construct an “economic realities test.” It examines the dependence of the employee on the employement. If an individual gets a relative higher percentage of his remuneration from that business, likelihoods is that the person is an employee. The assessment factors in such things as cader of expertise, the essential structure of the work, the motive and interest the parties have and payment of benefits and government taxes (Oden, 1991).

Also used is the “right to administor” the assessment. When the “would be” employer regulates how work is carried out and a how the merchandise is distributed, then the relationship is of a servant-master relationship. If the would be employer relinquishes his duty and right over how the employees completes their work, and merely issue demands, then that association of is that of the master and independent contractor(Oden, 1991).

The reason supporting whether or not Ms Greene should receive the same benefits as part-time employees

Ms Green should not be issued the same kind of benefits as part-time employees because she was paid in full because the nature of the job was a one-time thing and not a permanent situation that would warrant such demands. Besides, she was paid in its entirety an actual figure that was more that her normal commission when she did her daily chores. For one to be considered a part-time, employee there is a stipulated period that should lapse, and the consistency of work should be flawless (Wright, 1991).

References

Goldberg, S.G., Frank, E. A and Rogers N.H.(1992). Dispute Resolution: Negotiation,      Mediation, and Other Processes, (2nd Ed.) (Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

http://www.irs.gov/govt/fslg/article/0,,id=110344,00.html

Miller, M. (1991). The IRS Finds Invisible Employees. Personnel Journal, pp. 56-60.

Oden, D.H. (1991). Independent Contractor: A Legitimate Classification with Reclassification Protection. In Taxes, pp. 319-325.

Sumutka, A. R. (1992). Employee or Independent Contractor? The CPA Journal. pp. 48-55.

Thibaut, J., & Walker, L. (1978). A theory of procedure. California law review, 541-566.

Wright, K.K. (1991). Determining Employee Status. Columbia, Mo.: MU.

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Human Resource Management and Business Strategy

Human Resource Management and Business Strategy
Human Resource Management and Business Strategy

Human Resource Management and Business Strategy

Order Instructions:

Dear Admin,

I need an essay in the following subject:

As an organisational leader with an interest in or responsibility for HR, knowing your organisation’s strategy is the first step to taking on a more strategic role. To become a true strategic business partner, you need to consider the value of aligning your HR management practices with your organisation’s strategy and weigh the many options for doing so.

This essay will introduce you to ways of thinking about strategic HRM, including some perspectives that call into question ideas that many leaders take as ‘given.’ One of the expectations of an HR professional who has completed an advanced degree is that you will be able to think critically about different ideas and perspectives and make an educated and informed choice, rather than simply accepting commonly-held notions. Use this opportunity to practice this kind of thinking.

To prepare for this essay:

Read the Required Learning Resources that are attached.

Reflect on what you have read about the nature of business strategy, the potential for alignment between HRM practices and business strategy, and the notion of an HR strategy. Consider to what extent you have experienced or observed aspects of these ideas in organisations.

Critically analyse the notion of aligning human resource management policies and practices with business strategy, including the benefits and challenges of different approaches HR leaders can take to achieve this alignment.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘best practice’ and ‘best fit’ approaches (Armstrong, 2003) as a means of linking business strategy and HRM?

How could using one of these approaches to the selection of HRM practices aid in the creation of an HR strategy for the organisation?

What other aims should HRM have in addition to aligning with business strategy?

What has been your experience in organisations regarding the alignment of HRM and business strategy?

What aspects of concepts presented in your readings have you observed or experienced?

The following conditions must meet in the essay:

1) I want a typical and a quality answer which should have about 830 words.

2) The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.

3) The answer must include examples from experience or the web with references from relevant examples from real companies.

4) Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System,

5) Please don’t use Wikipedia web site.

6) I need examples from peer reviewed articles or researchs.

Appreciate each single moment you spend in writing my paper

Best regards

SAMPLE ANSWER

Human Resource Management and Business Strategy

Organizations adapt to different business strategy they deem appropriate to enable them achieve their aims and goals. The concept of human resources strategy has as well become very essential in ensuring that businesses achieve their set goals and objectives. The paper deliberates on issues pertaining to business strategy, alignment between HRM practices and business strategy and HR strategy among many other aspects.

Various researchers define strategy differently however, it refers to the scope and direction on an entity over a longer term and must match the available resources to its changing environment, customers, and markets and should meet the expectations of the stakeholders. Strategy therefore provides a direction of a business (Chandan, Sitaram & Bijaya 2011).  Business strategy therefore focuses on achieving a competitive advantage in a certain environment.  Managers of an organization have the responsibility of developing an appropriate strategy that can propel the organization forward and towards achievement of their goals.   A business strategy must be in tandem or be aligned with the Human Resources management   practices to meet the set goals and aims. The interest of the employees and the organizations require strategic integration to ensure proper utilization of human resources to achieve the set goals (Dutch 2013).  Employer- employees’ relationships should remain strong for the organization to achieve its strategic business objectives.  The business strategies as well as human resource practices such as recruitment must be responsive to the changes in business environment coupled with changes in demographics of workforce, increased globalization, increase focus of profitability through technological change, growth, intellectual capital and many other changes organizations experience.

Human resource strategy is as well critical in achieving competitive advantage.  Organization is required to use planning to come up with consistent approaches that match HRM policies and activities for business strategy (Katou & Budhwar 2008). Employees must be viewed as strategic resources in achieving competitive advantage of an entity. Therefore, through HR strategy, appropriate modalities are generated to address issues pertaining to staffs to ensure that the entity has the right people that will promote goal achievement and increase productivity.

Many organizations have embraced the ideas of business strategy hence; align their HRM with their business strategies to achieve a competitive advantage. Example of these organizations includes Coca Cola, General Electric and Microsoft among many others. These entities have managed to remain competitive because of their commitment to their employees. They have cultivated positive relationships that have played a critical role in their success.

Aligning human resource management policies and practices with business strategy is a trend many organizations have adopted to enable them achieve their goals and achieve competitive advantage. Managers have a duty to adapt to appropriate strategies to be able to meet the needs of their entities. In recruiting their employees for instance, they need to recruit those capable of delivering high productivity. This integration should achieve strategic fit through vertical and horizontal integration.  It contributes to achievement of congruence between the business and human resource strategy and ensures that various elements of HR strategy fit together and support each other mutually. The alignment should as well be complacent with the organizational culture, as this will facilitate their achievement. Human resource strategies should focus on developing employee relations, management of talent, and provision of reward system, continuous improvement, resourcing, and learning and development of employees.

Achievement of these alignments requires HR leaders to adapt to various approaches such as resource based which have various frameworks including, high performance management, high commitment management and high involvement management (Chandan, Sitaram & Bijaya 2011). The advantage of resource-based approach is that it lays more emphasis on human capital. Effective deployment of resources allows an entity to obtain added value as is possible to have a strategic fit between resources and opportunities.   Challenges of the model are that it requires heavy investment in people through training and development, motivation among many others (Byars & Rue 2000).  Managers can as well adapt to high performance management approach where a number of interrelated processes are developed together to impact on the productivity of an entity. This helps an entity to trigger increased profitability. However, the challenge is that it requires leaders with vision, to create momentum and a sense of direction. Furthermore, the progress requires constant measurement. Another approach is high commitment management model that promote mutual commitment (Chandan, Sitaram & Bijaya, 2011).  Employees should self regulate themselves and need not to be controlled by pressures and sanctions but rather relationships need to be built on trust. This model therefore has advantage as it triggers innovation and commitment. The challenges are that, it requires a vision and a consistent leader to trigger the spirit of trust. The last approach is high involved where employees are treated as partners to the enterprise. The advantage is that, employee communication and involvement increases productivity. The challenges are that decision making process is likely to delay.

Best practices relate to the universal success of certain HR practices.  Its advantage to aligning business strategy and HRM is that it promotes overall organization productivity while disadvantage is that it may not provide growth indicators at various levels of an entity. On the other hand, best fit focuses on contextual factors. Its advantage is that it allows understanding of performance of a given sector while disadvantage is that it is not appropriate to assess the overall productivity of an organization (Armstrong, 2006).

For instance, selecting high involvement management approach can aid in creation of HR strategy, as it requires that certain issues be adhered. These issues include creation of good climate to promote dialogue between managers and staffs. Modalities to engage are required to help in definition of expectations, to share information about values, missions and objectives of an entity among many other issues. Through this process, it becomes easy to formulate HR strategies to trigger competitive advantage.

Apart from aligning with business strategy, HRM should as well aim at promoting other issues relating to environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibilities and ensure that they promote the welfare of the employees as they pursue growth and productivity (Cooke & Saini 2010).

I have experienced alignment of HRM and business strategy in various organizations I have worked. Most of the organizations have managed to achieve their goals and recorded increased productivity.  Employees’ motivation and positive relationships between the managers and employees played a key role in these organizations competitive advantage.

I have therefore experienced various concepts presented in this reading. Concepts such as resources based approaches, competitive advantage,  HRM strategies, business strategies are some of the common concepts that I have observed adopted in the  various organizations.  Organizations are investing more in competent human capital as the source of their competitive advantage.

References list

Armstrong, M 2006, Hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page limited,             Philadelphia.

Byars, L, & Rue, L 2000, Human resource management, Mc. Graw-Hill, Boston.

Chandan, K., Sitaram, D., & Bijaya, K. (2011). Strategic Human Resource Management: Exploring the Key Drivers’, Employment Relations Record, vol. 11 no. 2, pp. 18-34.

Cooke, F, & Saini, D 2010, ‘(How) Does the HR strategy support an innovation oriented business strategy? An investigation of institutional context and organizational practices in Indian firms’, Human Resource Management, Vol. 49 no.  3, pp. 377-400.

Dutch, M 2013, ‘A Symbiotic Framework of Human Resources, Organizational Strategy and Culture’,  Amity Global Business Review, Vol. 8, pp. 9-14.

Katou, A, & Budhwar, P 2008, ‘The effect of business strategies and HRM policies on     organizational performance: The Greek experience’, Global Business & Organizational Excellence, Vol. 27 no. 6, pp. 40-57.

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Ethical Principles in Wal-Mart Employment practices

Ethical Principles in Wal-Mart Employment practices
Ethical Principles in Wal-Mart Employment practices

Ethical Principles in Wal-Mart Employment practices

Order Instructions:

you must using 3 of 5 reading materials, i give .

and you must write 2 argument and 1 counter argument.
1 – Fiduciary Principle
•Is concerned with money and finances
•Each officer has a legal fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the stakeholders and other employees within the firm.
•An implied fiduciary duty for every employee to act in a way that generates positive benefits for the firm.
•Examples: conflicts of interest, good faith efforts for carrying out responsibilities. Prudence with the company’s resources, loyalty.

2 – Property Principle
•Based on the belief that every employee should respect property as well as the rights of the owners of the property.
•Expected that the employee should be a good steward to the resource that he/she has access to. •Examples: theft, misappropriation of funds, wasting resources, misappropriation of intellectual property

3 – Reliability Principle
•Based on the belief that it is the employee’s responsibility to honor the commitments he or she has made to the firm.
•Examples: breaching a promise or contract, not fulfilling a promised action, ensuring that suppliers and other business partners are paid in a timely manner

4 – Transparency Principle
•Based on the belief that every employee should conduct business in a truthful and open manner.
•Assumes that employees will not make decisions based on a personal agenda.
•Examples: keep accurate and current records of business obligations, fraudulent and deceptive actions of the employee, financial information is presented in a truthful and accurate way

5 – Dignity Principle
•Based on the belief that each employee needs to respect the dignity of all individuals.
•Encourages the enhancement of human development not only within the company and the marketplace, but also in the society at large.
•Examples: ensuring the human rights of health, safety and privacy.

6 – Fairness Principle
•Based on the belief that stakeholders who have a vested interest in the firm should be treated fairly.
•Reciprocal fairness
•Fair exchange – getting paid a fair wage for an honest days work.
•Distributive fairness
•Equity – all groups (sex, gender etc.) get paid the same for the same work)
•Wages are distributed fairly amongst the various positions in the organization
•Fair competition
•Avoiding price wars, bribery and collusion.
•Procedural fairness
•Stakeholders are treated fairly and whistleblowers are protected

7 – Citizenship Principle
•Based on the belief that every employee should act as a responsible citizen in the community.
•Expected that employees respect the laws of the community – criminal, competition, environmental, corporate social responsibility.
•Examples: Taking a universalist approach and doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

8 – Responsiveness Principle
• Based on the belief that employees have a responsibility to respond to the requests for information about the operations from various stakeholders.
• Expected to react in a timely manner.
• Examples: disclosing who your suppliers are or how your goods are being produced.

Assessment task
Based on the Learning Portfolio assessment, write a 1000 word academic essay addressing the question below. Students should include six (6) to ten (10) scholarly references which include at least three (3) of the Five Required Resources found on vUWS in the Assessment Tasks sub-folder called Essay – Week 14, as well as any other references that may help them support their arguments. That is, only references that have been cited in-text should be listed in the reference list.
The essay should have a clear structure which includes:
1. An introduction that:
a. Includes a few general statements about the topic to clarify your interpretation of the question;
b. Includes a thesis statement that presents your position on the topic; and
c. Outlines the main points that support your position.
2. A body that:
a. Includes a series of logically developed arguments that support your position and
b. Ensures that each argument and/or sub-argument is supported by descriptive, analytical and normative ethics which is elaborated upon.
3. A conclusion that:
a. Summarises the main points discussed in the body of the essay;
b. Restates the thesis statement; and
c. Includes a final comment that does not introduce any new ideas.
4. Cohesive text that aids with the logical flow of the arguments presented.
5. A reference list which is alphabetical order by authors last name and includes only the resources that are used in the body of the text (i.e. in-text citations)
Note: This assessment will evaluate what students have learnt throughout the semester.
You must use at least three (3) of the Five Required Resources and the Paine et al (2005) article.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Ethical Principles in Wal-Mart Employment practices

Ethical principles in business practices refer to the measure of relations (good or wrong) observed from adhering to the international business standards like employees’ rights protection. Notably, employees include direct and indirect employed population, which depends on direct wedges or pay such as Wal-Mart (international retailers) purchases. Following diverse businesses and organizations venturing into the market, Wal-Mart relation to labor force is guarded by the Global Business Standards (GBS), which observes the employer-employee relationship internationally. Therefore, ethical principles are usually monitored by GBS to the extent of its control. This implicates that some organizations and companies violate some ethical principles unnoticed, hence affecting the employment chain of dependency (direct and indirect employees) (Bielby 2003). Positive applications will be addressed on Reliability principle and Dignity principle application on Wal-Mart employments, while Negative argument will address Wal-Mart failures from applying Fairness principles in its operations. Therefore, this paper seeks to investigate some positive application of ethical principles in Wal-Mart, while reflecting on some negative aspects perceived in some ethical application.

First, Reliability principle has been positively applied in Wal-Mart operations as supported by Hemphill (2008). This has been evident on employees and suppliers commitment towards maximum output of Wal-Mart sales. Specifically, employees are paid an average salary compared to other retail competitors. In addition, Wal-Mart considers average benefits for its employees such as healthcare cover while ensuring punctuality in their payment achievements. This has been widely related to the current reliability on its 1.8 million employees for maximum performance (Hausman & Leibtag 2005). On the other hand, Wal-Mart relies on its Suppliers for every day to day business.

Suppliers have developed the reliability principles such that delivery of products and raw materials to Wal-Mart is mandate. Irrespective of location of the Wal-Mart store, suppliers fulfill their supply obligation at the negotiated prices. To ensure a simultaneous reliability of Wal-Mart to its suppliers, payments are accomplished as agreed (Hemphill 2008). This has led to long sustainability of supply chains, which have indirect related suppliers and producers depending on the supplies. Notably, punctuality in accomplishing payments of both suppliers and employees has developed Wal-Mart reliability principles, a concept transferred to customers. Wal-Mart customers have developed a notion that cheap and affordable items are acquired from Wal-Mart stores (Neumark et al 2005). Reliability on cheap items from Wal-Mart has also increased its competitiveness by making low class people depended on its cheap products.

Secondly, Dignity principle has been evident in Wal-Mart whereby, self-respect is practiced among individual employees. This principle enables sustainability measures among individuals, extending from the organization itself to its market grounds, while involving its environment too (Fishman 2006). Notably, dignity principles ensure good public relations through employee confidence and believe. This relates dignity principle application to transparency principles where employees keep organizational goal and objectives by avoiding centralism, internalization, and personal interests. Therefore, dignity through transparency principles keep employees fully informed while motivating them towards work under no supervision. Good public relations are therefore attained, reflecting more customer attraction.

As noted by Fishman (2006), Wal-Mart has realized employee satisfaction through transparency and dignity principles applied in financial information. Increased believe in employees performance under no supervision has been evident in Wal-Mart, while transparency in financial matters has motivated employee performance as supported by Neumark et al (2005). More so, employees get open and direct information on business obligations aligned on Wal-Mart’s business schedule. Employees get a free working atmosphere while applying dignity in performance following transparency in the organization programs.

Fairness principle makes the third GBS principle which has been applicable in Wal-Mart stores. However, this principle has not been perfectly working in the day to day operations of Wal-Mart, since failures have been evident in several fields. For instance, good public relations have been diminishing, sex segregation has been indirectly observed, suppliers have been pressurized to give low supply costs, and employee benefits have been widely reduced to the remaining healthcare cover only (Tilly 2007). These statements illustrate direct failure of the Fairness principle in Wal-Mart operations and employments.

Gender discrimination has been evident in most Wal-Mart stores in both women and men employees in different locations. For instance, women are discouraged from higher positions like managerial positions, a concept which is usually twisted to sound as health concern by the men leaders. As noted by Besen and Kimmel (2006), promotion of ladies in workplace is not materialistically achieved, even though it’s denoted in Wal-Mart principles. Therefore, ladies seeking for high wages are turned down smoothly but on gender bases of ladies incapability (Blau 1984). Men on the other hand are also oppressed under this Fairness principle in store duties. Women are never called in to off load tracks, even though on similar line of duty and payments as their counterpart men (Bendick 2003).

Also, Wal-Mart has practicing poor Fairness principles by putting pressure on suppliers to lower supply prices, even though it is not usually a consistent practice. From diverse perspectives, employment can be addressed from all relations, direct or indirect resulting to Wal-Mart being the end buyer. Therefore, all costs related to Wal-Mart purchases affect different dependents irrespective of the region, implicating that low purchase price reduces the producer chain salary and wages as a result. For instance, the stores were reported to lower their purchase prices on a few items, while rising purchase price for other commodities. For example, lowering of supply prices led Rubbermaid, one of the Wal-Mart’s initial suppliers to run bankrupt as noted by Tilly (2007). These practices have been affecting their suppliers respectively, even though such Wal-Mart’s practices have not been directed by their competitors’ prices (Basker 2005).

Lastly, Wal-Mart has been practicing negative Fairness principle in reducing the number of benefits it offers on its employees compared to other retailing organizations. This has reflected to low salaries with their employees suffering oppression in the denied employee benefits (Tilly 2007). In Mexico for instance, Walmex (Wal-Mart in Mexico) practices the fewest employee benefits strategy, a concept which has reduced average employees’ pays to low percentages when compared to other retail competitors.

From considering the three ethical principles in Wal-Mart practices, their viability effect can be deduced from the investigation addressed above. Therefore, Wal-Mart has successfully been practicing Reliability principle and dignity principles through transparency in its operations. These principles have motivated it employees to maximum production, while also motivating the suppliers through punctuality in payments. However, Wal-Mart has not been successful in implementing Fairness principle in its operation. This has led to gender segregation, low employee benefits and low price on suppliers leading to bankrupt of some suppliers like Rubbermaid. Amendments on Wal-Mart’s relations to employees, suppliers and customers would be critical for its future progress.

References

Basker, E 2005, Selling a cheaper mousetrap: Wal-Mart’s effect on retail prices, Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 203–229.

Bendick, MJ 2003, The representation of women in store management at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, January.

Besen, Y & Kimmel, MS 2006, At Sam’s Club, no girls allowed: the lived experience of sex discrimination, Equal Opportunities International, vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 172-187

Bielby,W.T. 2003, Expert Report, in Dukes et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores.

Blau, F. 1984, Occupational segregation and labor market discrimination, in Reskin, B. (Ed.), Sex Segregation in the Workplace: Trends, Explanations, Remedies, National Academy Press,Washington DC, pp. 117-43.

Fishman, C 2006, The Wal-Mart Effect and a Decent Society: Who Knew Shopping Was So Important?, Academy of Management Perspectives, The Wal-Mart Effect, Penguin Press

Hausman, J & Leibtag, E 2005, CPI bias from supercenters: Does the BLS know that Wal-Mart exists?, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 10712, August 2004 (revised June 2005).

Hemphill, TA 2008, Demonizing Wal-Mart: What Do the Facts Tell Us?, The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Autumn, 31, p. 26

Neumark, D, Zhang, J, & Ciccarella, S 2005, The effects of Wal-Mart on local labor markets, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 11782, November 2005.

Tilly, C 2007, Wal-Mart and Its Workers: Not the Same All over the World, Connecticut Law Review, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 1805-1824

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Introduction to Business Law Term Paper

Introduction to Business Law
Introduction to Business Law

Introduction to Business Law

Order Instructions:

It is a business law question. there is 3 questions, you must answer all of them.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Introduction to Business Law

Question One:

Would you consider a newspaper report which stated that Malcolm Somebody (his real name) had been charged with a sexual offence defamatory?  Explain your answer.

If all the four elements that qualify a statement to be defamatory are proved to be true, I can consider the newspaper report that states that Malcolm had been charged with a sexual offense defamatory. Defamation is a term used to refer to a statement that hurts an individual’s reputation. A libel refers to a written defamation while slander refers to a spoken defamation. Although the defamation law may vary with states, there are some rules that are generally accepted. If a person holds they have been defamed, they must prove the existence of a statement that is published, false, unprivileged and injurious (Kenyon 2013). Published in this case refers to the statement having been made public either through print, speech, or even television and therefore the above statement qualifies because it was published in a newspaper.

If the above statement is false in that Malcolm was not charged with sexual offence, then it can be considered defamatory. Since defamation law aims to deal with the injuries to reputation, a statement is considered defamatory if it is injurious. As a fact, the statement of Malcolm being charged with sexual offence is injurious as it dents his reputation. The statement is also unprivileged since it has not been stated that it was mentioned by a witness in a court of law or by any other person or institution deemed to be “privileged” (Baker 2011). From the analysis of defamation law, the only element that is not clear from the above statement is whether the information is false. If it is false, the newspaper report would be defamatory, but if the information is true the report cannot be considered to be defamatory.

Question Two

Peter as the manager of the liability to ensure that the toilets have enough water supplies. Moreover he has the duty to act or liability to make sure that there is hygiene in the washrooms and in the whole nightclub. Conversely, Julia and Wayne have the right to be provided with the best services in the nightclub and this includes being provided with water in the toilet. When Peter cut off the water supplies to the toilet handbasins, he was liable for his actions because he was denying Julia and Wayne their rights as customers to have access to water in the toilets (Miller 2014). By cutting off the water, Peter was being selfish because he was more interested in boosting bar sales at the expense of the customers’ rights to be comfortable while in the Bees nightclub.

Being the owner of the nightclub, Keith has the right to maximize sales. Similarly, Peter had the right to ensure sales are maximized because they were serving customers. Conversely, Julia and Wayne did not have any right to drink the water from the toilet because water in the nightclub was being sold at the bar at the price of $10 per bottle.

Keith, as the nightclub owner, was liable for the fault in the air conditioning that made the temperature on the dance floor to reach 43o. As a result, both Julia and Wayne became overheated and therefore visited the toilets to get some water. Wayne and Julia did not have any right to be provided with free water for drinking from the toilet hand basins since the nightclub did not have such an arrangement. Julia had a right to be assisted by the floor manager because she was feeling sick.

When Julia stumbled on a bucket, Peter was liable for the injuries she sustained since he had placed the bucket near the bar after removing it from the women’s toilets. Furthermore, Keith was also liable for the Julia’s injuries caused by the fall because Peter had cut the water supply from the toilets due to the pressure he had received from Keith to maximize profits. Therefore, the thought of cutting off the water from the handbasins was driven by the urge to stop customers from drinking the water from the toilet handbasins where they were refilling their water bottles and glasses. This was also supposed to make customers buy drinking water from the bar. Eventually, this had contributed to the placing of the water bucket near the bar where Julia tripped. Julia can therefore sue Peter for negligence for placing the bucket in the wrong place, and Keith for putting pressure on Peter.

In essence, Keith is also liable for any harm caused by Peter in the course of his duty because he had employed him (Miller & Cross 2012). The fractured ankle that Julia was diagnosed in the hospital was caused by the fall in the nightclub after tripping on the bucket. Peter was therefore liable for that injury. Keith was also liable for the injury that Julia sustained from the fall because the club was so dark and crowded and therefore Julia could not see the bucket. In relation to the extreme dehydration that Julia was suffering from, Keith was responsible as the bar owner since the dehydration was as a result of the high temperatures due to the faulty air conditioning. Even though Wayne developed hepatitis that he contracted from the ice he took from the bucket, Peter and Keith cannot be held liable because it was Wayne’s mistake to take the ice from the bucket since that water was not fit for consumption. In this case, Peter and Keith could argue that they had not indicated anywhere that the water from the bucket was for drinking since they were selling drinking water.

Question Three

In tort law negligence refers to the harm caused due to carelessness as opposed to intentional harm (Statsky 2011). The real estate agent had placed an advertisement for a house that stated that the Waterview House that was on sale was a luxury home situated on the harbor and includes mooring for a large boat. When the Brights purchased the house, they were sad because they realized that the mooring license had already been transferred to a third party by the time they were speaking to the solicitor and the agent. First, they can file a claim against the agent because he had given them a confirmation that the house had a suitable mooring. Indeed, the agent demonstrated carelessness because he had the responsiblity to find out whether moorland had a valid license. Moreover, the Brights can also make a claim against their solicitor, Mr Potters, because he confirmed to them that the mooring had a valid license. Therefore, the solicitor was careless because he did not find out about whether mooring license was valid or not. Negligence by the solicitor contributed in misleading the Brights into buying the house because they were convinced that the license was valid.

The fact that the agent informed the Brights that the house had a suitable mooring for a large yacht, it clearly shows that the agent was careless in giving his statement. If he was not more careful and cautious he would have checked then validity of the mooring license. Actually, both the agent and the solicitor were affected by the negligence law because they failed to assess the rules of the mooring license (Statsky 2011). If they did this, they would have found out that the license rights expire and could be transferred if the mooring was not used for a period of more than three months. By the time that Brights spoke to the solicitor and the agent, the mooring had not been used for four months. This implies that the license rights for the Mooring had already expired   and therefore the mooring license had already been transferred to a third party.

Brights can lay claim against the solicitors because he failed to exercise the duty of care because he was supposed to advise his client on whether the Mooring license was valid. As a person who understands law, the solicitor should have been at the forefront in verifying the rules related to the expiry of the license. This would have made him to know that the license was already transferred to a third party due to the fact that it had not been used for more than three months. The negligence for both the solicitor and the agent may have been caused by the lack of knowledge that the current owner of the mooring was sailing around the world and therefore had not used the mooring for a period exceeding three months as stated in the rules governing the mooring license. As such, the Brights only purchased the house after the confirmation that he received from both the solicitor and the agent and therefore have claims against both of them on the basis of negligence law.

Reference List

Baker, R 2011, Defamation Law and Social Attitudes: Ordinary Unreasonable People, Edward    Elgar Publishing, Michigan.

Kenyon, A 2013, Defamation: Comparative Law and Practice, CRC Press, New York.

Miller, R 2014, Cengage Advantage Books: Business Law: Texts and Cases-Commercial Law for Accountants, Cengage Learning, New York.

Miller, R. & Cross, F 2012, Business Law, Alternate Edition: Text and Summarized Cases, Cengage Learning, New York.

Statsky, W 2011, Essentials of Torts, Cengage Learning, New Jersey.

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Understanding Business Research

Understanding Business Research
Understanding Business Research

Understanding Business Research

Order Instructions:

Identify two articles in the University Library: one in which the business problem is researched using a qualitative design and the other using a quantitative design.

Summarize each of the research designs.

Write a 350- to 700-word paper in which you compare and contrast the two approaches:
•What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?
•How can they be used most effectively in a combined approach?
•Which method is more appropriate for research in your own business of youth ministry.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Understanding Business Research

Understanding business research allows the businessperson and researchers to adapt to appropriate strategies and designs.  Researchers have an option to choose from various research designs but the mostly used include qualitative and quantitative research as well as mixed design. Research allows business personality to find solution to various problems that face them as they transact their business. The paper compares and contrasts qualitative and quantitative research designs based on their strengths and weaknesses.  It also deliberates on their combination and provides a suggestion on the most appropriate design in conducting my business of youth ministry.

Example of an article that adopted qualitative research design is “Strategic communication and social media: An MBA course from a business communication perspective by Meredith (2012). In this qualitative article, the author found out social media is producing content that is getting used in pedagogy.  The content is highly demanded by the student body, industry constituents’ as well as other discipline area.  An MBA from a business perspective is also under development from social media strategy.  This therefore presents a challenge of integrating various communication approaches to create social media content. On the other hand,   a study, “Quantitative Research in American Economic History” by North (1963) adopted a quantitative research design. The study incorporated various studies quantitatively analyzed.

Each of this approach has advantages as well as disadvantages.  Some of the advantages of qualitative research design include; it is appropriate in early stages of conducting a research especially when the researcher does not know or is not sure about what the study is not all about the study as well requires a researcher to have a strict design plan before commencing it or the area of focus. It also gives the researcher freedom allow the study unfold in more unnatural. The design further allows the researcher an opportunity to again detailed information   comprehensively in written description or in visual form.  The study is done in real situations hence it affects individuals, as data obtained is realistic and representation of what is going in the field.  Disadvantage of this design is that it is prone to biasness as researcher may heavily be involved in the process hence subjective. Researcher may also interpret data according to the biased view leading to skeweness. It is also time consuming and takes long period.

Quantitative research design has as well a number of advantages. This design also the researcher to measure and analyze data hence ensures detailed relationships between dependent and independent variable. It is therefore more objective about findings. The design is also applicable in testing hypotheses as data is measured through statistics. Disadvantage of the design is that it fails or ignores the context of the study. Events are not studied in natural setting, it also requires large sample of population as higher population leads to accurate results.

These two designs can be used in combination as mixed design. This therefore, means that aspects of qualitative and quantitative are incorporated in the data. This makes the study findings more objective.

In my business of youth ministry, the best method is qualitative research design. This method will provide descriptive information that will enable me to understand the business situation.  This design is also important because it is done in real environment hence its predictions are highly reliable

References

Meredith, M. (2012). Strategic communication and social media: An MBA course from a business communication perspective. Business Communication Quarterly, i75(1): 89-95.
North, D. (1963). Quantitative Research in American Economic History. American Economic Review, 53(1):128

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