Strayer BUS330 All Discussions Latest 2024

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 1 Discussion

- Why Sell to the Government

Please respond to the following:

Introduce yourself to your peers by sharing something unique about your background. Explain how you expect this course to help you move forward in your current or future career.

Describe what you feel are key advantages of selling goods and services to the U.S. government. What do you feel are the disadvantages?

Select a small business in your community and use it as an example. If you were contemplating a business target to government contract, what would that business be? Why did you select it?

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 2 Discussion

- Buy American Act

Please respond to the following:

Specify what you feel are the main advantages of the Buy American Act to small businesses. Then specify what you feel are the disadvantages of the Buy American Act.

Apply this act to the business you selected in the Week 1 Discussion. Explain why you would be willing to deal with the disadvantages you might encounter.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 3 Discussion

 - Small Business Preference Programs Read the following:

Set-Asides and Special Interest GroupsLinks to an external site..

Set-aside procurementLinks to an external site..

Respond

Please respond to the following:

There are many ways a company can qualify for small-business preference programs. Select one program you believe would be best for a small business of your choice in your community. Explain your selection.

Identify some problems the small business might encounter and identify several ways they could manage these issues.

Describe whether you feel there are enough suitable programs or if you feel there are too many barriers for businesses to qualify for programs targeted to small businesses.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 4 Discussion

 - SBA Resources and Special Programs

Prepare

Select a business in your community and research the U.S. Small Business AdministrationLinks to an external site. website to find useful resources. Also, review the benefits available through the SBA Mentor-Protégé ProgramLinks to an external site..

Respond

Please respond to the following:

Evaluate how the Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé program is useful for a small-business owner contracting with the federal government for the first time. Select a small business in your community and describe how this program would help.

If you owned the business you selected, describe what other resources provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) would be useful for your purposes.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 5 Discussion

- Support Programs and the GSA

Go to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)Links to an external site. website and research how to sell to the federal government.

Respond

Please respond to the following:

Explain the purpose of the GSA schedules and the importance of using GSA schedules in the process of pursuing government contracts. What factors are necessary to get on the GSA schedule?

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 6 Discussion

- Responding to Solicitations

Prepare

Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on how to respond to a solicitation opportunity with the federal government.

Respond

Please respond to the following:

Put yourself in the position of a purchasing agency contract officer. When accepting bid submissions or responses to a request for quote that you have issued, what would you look for in the responses that would be factors for issuing a contract award? Select a company in your community and provide a hypothetical example.

Explain the benefits that simplified acquisition methods (SAMs) provide to the small-business owner.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 7 Discussion

- Pre-Solicitation Notices and Proposal Weaknesses

Prepare

Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on government contracting, focusing on the steps of the contracting process from pre-solicitation to contract closeout.

Respond

Please respond to the following:

Specify the importance of the pre-solicitation notice to the contracting process. What are the advantages of utilizing a pre-solicitation notice for both the potential contractor and purchasing agency?

From the position of a government contracting officer, where do you think most companies fall short in the proposal process? What suggestions would you make to a business owner to reduce proposal weaknesses? Choose a business in your community and take the perspective of the contracting officer.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 8 Discussion

 - Fixed-Price Contracting

Prepare

Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on government contracting for small businesses, focusing on the steps of setting up a bid and fixed-price contractingLinks to an external site..

Respond

Please respond to the following:

When setting up a bid, what important steps would you initiate and regard as the most important to assure your bid was competitive? Select a business in your community and provide an example.

When evaluating the different forms of fixed-price contracting, determine the single most significant form that you believe would benefit the small-business owner the most. Explain why.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 9 Discussion

- Forms of Contracting

Prepare

Review the following resources:

PMP Study: Types of ContractsLinks to an external site..

Government Contracting: The Basics [PDF] Download Government Contracting: The Basics [PDF]. Read the sections on basic small-business programs.

Respond

Please respond to the following:

Among all the forms of contracting described in Chapter 16, determine which one you believe would benefit the small-business owner the most. Apply this to a small business in your community.

What would you consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of fixed-price contracts and cost-reimbursement contracts for both the contractor and the government purchasing agency? Use the same business you chose in the first part of this discussion.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 10 Discussion

- Contract Administration Office Roles and Responsibilities

Prepare

Read A Guide to Best Practices for Contract Administration [PDF]Links to an external site. and take note of "The Do's and Don'ts of Contract Administration."

Respond

Please respond to the following:

Consider the five roles and responsibilities of the contract administration office as a contract administrator. What do you feel would be the most difficult role and what would you do to assure that you performed this role successfully?

Of the major activities of contract administration, suggest what you think would be the major do's and don'ts. Apply this to a real-life business of your choosing.

Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.

BUS330  Contract Admin and Management

Week 11 Discussion

- Return on Investment Reflection

Every course you take is an investment in the "Business of You." Take a moment to reflect on what you've learned over the last 10 weeks and answer the following:

How will you apply what you have learned in this course in your professional and personal life?

What challenges did you have in this course, and how did you grow from them?