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Nearly $200 billion a year is funneled through the federal procurement system to buy everything from paper clips to stealth fighters. This procurement system can be thought of as an oscillating pendulum as it swings from one extreme of unresponsiveness to mission needs to the other extreme of hypersensitivity to mission. Out of a sense that the procurement pendulum had swung too far towards overregulation, two major procurement reform laws were passed: the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. Many observers suggest that these two laws have led to a revolution in the way the government buys. Are these reforms permanent? The view here is they are not because of various political forces.

The purpose of this article is to investigate how organization retain the knowledge of Contract Workforce (CWF) and to understand the associated challenges in this regard.

Adopting an inductive approach, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers, project heads and consultants working in leading oil and gas companies across eight countries (USA, Australia, UAE, KSA, Pakistan, UK, Thailand and Russia). Thematic analysis was carried out to analyze the data collected.

CWF appears to be a significant source of knowledge attrition and even knowledge loss in the oil and gas sector. There are various risks associated with hiring of CWF, such as hallowing of organizational memory, repeated training of contractors, no knowledge base, workforce shortage among others which can impede the knowledge retention capability of O&G companies in the context of contract workforce. Various knowledge retention strategies for CWF have been revealed, however, there is interplay of various factors such as proportion of CWF deployed, proper resource utilization, cross-functional multi-level teams' involvement and strength of transactional ties. Maintaining strong relationships (Transactional ties) is crucial to maintain a virtual organizational memory (partial knowledge retention) and to follow a adopting a rehired when required policy.

The knowledge retention issue in the context of CWF has not be addressed in past researches. This article attempts to fill this gap.

Looks at how the rise in the use of non‐permanent employees has stimulated much debate concerning the long‐term impact on the success of organizations and skill development at the organizational and national level. Draws on internationally comparable data from 12 countries to explore the relationship between non‐permanent work and organizational profitability, workforce expansion and investment in employee training and development. Argues that national contextual conditions, in terms of employment legislation and training traditions, and the management of non‐permanent workers are important factors affecting the efficiency outcomes associated with using this particular flexible employment option.

This paper examines the notion of work commitment within the professional contractor workforce – a working relationship that typifies the growing number falling outside that of the traditional and ongoing employer/employee relationship. In particular, attention is given to the commitment‐related implications associated with the contracting relationship where both an employing organisation and a contracting agency are involved as both have a vested interest in managing the contractor within this construct. A specific focus of this research is the ability of a contractor to hold dual commitment and to investigate the factors that influence the levels of commitment to each party. The limited nature of data available within Australia means this study is supplemented with the much larger body of data and research from the USA. Implications from the findings of this study for human resource management practices in both contracting agencies and host organisations as well as future research needs are discussed.

This paper aims to explore selected real-world procurement fraud incidents in the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the implications of these incidents to the DoD’s contracting processes and internal controls.

This paper analyzes actual procurement fraud incidents and identifies in which phase of the contract management process the fraud occurred and which internal control component was associated with the fraud scheme.

The fraud incidents generally occurred during the source selection and the contract administration phases and involved the control activities, monitoring and control environment components of internal control.

The fraud incidents are analyzed using contract management and internal control frameworks adopted by the US Government. Recommendations are developed for improving contracting processes and internal controls as an approach to deterring and detecting procurement fraud and may be applicable to other international public procurement bodies.

Governments are ensuring auditability in public procurement as a means of improving agency governance. The research findings suggest that an emphasis on capable contracting processes and effective internal controls should be adopted for fighting procurement fraud.

Ensuring auditability in public procurement has a far-reaching effect in society. The value of capable processes and effective internal controls is gaining much attention in public agencies, as they strive for accountability, integrity and transparency in their governance processes.

By emphasizing capable processes and effective internal controls, governments can apply a strategic approach to detecting and deterring fraud and thus ensure that government monies are spent in the most effective and efficient ways.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of contract management process maturity assessments in the US Navy using a process capability maturity model. The maturity model is used to benchmark an organization’s contract management process maturity and to use the assessment results to develop a road map for implementing process improvement as well as knowledge-sharing initiatives.

This is survey-based research on benchmarking contract management processes in the US Navy. A web-based assessment tool was deployed to US Navy contracting officers located at aeronautical systems, sea systems, and logistics support contracting agencies. The assessment tool consists of survey items related to the use of contracting best practices. The survey responses are then used to calculate the agency’s contract management process maturity level.

The benchmarking results reflected higher maturity levels in the pre-award contracting processes (Procurement Planning, Solicitation Planning, and Source Selection), while lower maturity levels were reflected in the post-award contracting processes (Contract Administration and Contract Closeout). The research findings related to process capability enablers also reflected higher mean scores for the pre-award processes and lower mean scores for the post-award processes. These maturity levels and process capability enabler scores reflect the extent of the implementation of contracting best practices within the Navy contracting agencies.

This research uses a purposeful sampling approach designed to acquire data on organizational contract management processes. The assessment survey was administered only to qualified Navy contracting officers. The Navy contracting agencies are responsible for procuring billions of dollars in supplies and services in support of the Navy mission. Although the assessed contracting agencies procure different types of systems, supplies, and services, the contract management processes used are common to all Navy, Army, Air Force, and other US federal government agencies. The conclusions based on the analysis of these benchmarking assessments may be applicable to Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies.

The findings suggest that benchmarking can be effective in measuring and improving contracting process capability within the Navy. Benchmarking contracting processes can have far-reaching effects throughout the DoD. The Under Secretary of Defense’s has mandated initiatives related to improving both pre- and post-award contracting processes. The use of these benchmarking assessments can be instrumental in tracking the achievements of these process improvement initiatives. Additionally, the US Congress is leading the push for auditability in procurement operations. By benchmarking and improving its contracting processes, the DoD will be winning the battle toward integrity, accountability, and transparency of its financial operations.

Benchmarking contracting processes can also have far-reaching effects in society. Many governments are focussing on integrity, accountability, and transparency in public procurement. International organizations such as Transparency International (TI) have identified process capability and process integrity as key for reducing the potential for procurement-related fraud, waste, and abuse. Additionally, NATO member countries and partner nations are focussing on the value of assessing and improving procurement processes for strengthening transparency and accountability. The value of benchmarking and improving contracting processes is gaining much attention in global public procurement agencies as they strive for accountability, integrity, and transparency in their governance processes.

There are multiple reports on deficiencies in DoD’s contract management processes, identifying poor contract planning, and Contract Administration as just some of the critically deficient areas. In response, the DoD is increasing its emphasis on developing its workforce competence through education initiatives. However, very little attention is being paid to benchmarking contract management processes. This research reflects the value of benchmarking DoD’s contract management process maturity and using the results for implementing process improvement initiatives. Using process benchmarking data, agencies can identify process improvement initiatives that will ensure government tax dollars are spent in the most effective and efficient ways.

This case study aims to expect the following learning outcomes. A better understanding of the nature of a psychological contract being developed by employees in non-profit organizations, especially working in the areas of social development and the impact of this contract on employee commitment. Enhanced understanding of conflict of interest (personal versus public) in social development organizations and its implications. Identification of issues of task conflict versus interpersonal conflict and its impact on organizational functions. Identification of dynamics of exclusion of internal stakeholders from organizational strategic decision-making process along with its impact on organizational performance and sustainability. Devising a mechanism to avoid such conflicts in social development organizations, in particular, and organizations in general.

This case highlights five issues as follows: it identifies and discusses conflict of interest between privileged class possessing decision-making positions in the board of directors and implementers working at the grassroots level at ANMOL (a non-governmental organization working for poor girls education in Baluchistan-hub of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor); it discusses the basis for formulation of psychological contracts and impact of its violation on stakeholder’s commitment and motivation; it discusses the implications of difference of opinion of both stakeholders regarding organizational vision and possible drawbacks of converting task conflict into interpersonal conflict on individuals, organization and end-users; it explores implications of exclusion of key stakeholders from organizational decision-making and its impact on organizational smooth working and sustainability; and it suggests a mechanism to avoid conversion of task conflict into interpersonal conflict and smooth functioning of an organization. Hence, this case discusses theories of conflict of interest between top-leadership and workforce, psychological contract and implications of its breach on employee motivation and organizational sustainability in the context of social development organizations.

This case provides sufficient material to be discussed at master level courses (management sciences – master of business administration (MBA) level) such as human resource management (dynamics of psychological contract and conflict resolution), leadership and change management in social development organizations (social enterprises).

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management Science.

The fear of receiving a bid protest is said to affect acquisition strategies, yet it has not been empirically explored. Based on the Public Value Framework and interviews with contracting personnel, this research tests a model of antecedents to and consequences of the fear of a protest. Survey data was obtained from a sample of 350 contracting personnel. The fear of protest is mitigated by having sufficient procurement lead time and by source selection experience, and increased by protest risk. Fear of protest increases compromised technical evaluations, added procurement lead time, and transaction costs, while it decreases contracting officer authority and is associated with source selection method inappropriateness. Compromised technical evaluations, in turn, decrease contractor performance while contracting officer authority increases contractor performance. Thus, findings suggest that, indeed, the tail is wagging the dog. The research concludes with several managerial implications, study limitations and future research directions.

Public procurement officials are bound by extensive policies, procedures, and laws. However, procurement professionals perpetually struggle to comply with these vast requirements — particularly in the acquisition of services. The purpose of this research is to explore knowledge-based factors affecting compliance of service contracts. A regression model using data acquired via survey from 219 U.S. Government procurement professionals reveals that the extent of compliance is affected by buyer experience, personnel turnover, the sufficiency with which service requirements are defined, post-award buyer-supplier communication, and the sufficiency of procurement lead time. From these results, implications for practice and theory are drawn. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations and directions for future research.

This paper presents the findings of a small scale research project exploring mentorship programme participants experiences and learning about their managerial role in an adult social care service seeking to build management practice, resilience and well-being in the context of transformation.

A case study of one public sector workforce development project is presented. The programme involved the use of an individual social care mentorship model and continuing professional development framework to support and engage 60 social care managers in the facilitation of workforce practice transformation. A small scale research study of 15 managers was undertaken. Participants provided a written reflective review and narrative of their individual experience and of learning. The narrative of a purposive sample of 15 managers was analysed using a work by Tamboukou and informed by a work byLabov and Waletzky as a guide.

Thematic analysis of managers' reflective accounts, identified the adaption of coaching methods and the used of role modelling skills in the workplace. Emotional well being and resilience was maintained during the mentorship programme. Structural analysis emphasised sequences or messages in the narrative indicating manager's cooperation with the organisation in achieving its' transformational goals and gaining employee engagement.

This is a small scale study exploring one aspect of the project's goals.

The project delivery and research findings will be of interest to other organisations considering the implementation of mentorship to support transformation and change.

There are very few evaluations and research studies of social care mentorship in the literature and this paper and the case study presented provides interesting new insights into the process and its possible outcomes.