Student Post #1
The student post sheds light on the process of subcontracting, where a subcontractor is defined as a person or a company that is hired by a contractor that bids and accepts a contract for a project that is needed in that particular skill-set endowed to a subcontractor. I have learned about the process of subcontracting and the benefits of hiring a subcontractor, where the student clearly indicates that the process saves on the costs such as insurance. I have also learned that becoming a subcontractor involves meeting specific requirements needed in the application process, while the information is readily available on the websites of the company that requires the services. I have also learned that the contractors are responsible for the actions of the subcontractors and that the contractor has to inspect the quality of the product and ensure that it complies with the required specifications.
I have additional questions regarding the initial post. The first question is the nature of the relationship that exists between the contractor and subcontractor. Does the nature of their contractual relationship make them independent contractors, partners, or joint ventures? Moreover, is a subcontractor an employee of the contractor? The other question that arises is that does the subcontractor owe a fiduciary duty to the contractor? The article also shows that the government can cancel a contract for non-performance or for its convenience. In such cases, does the subcontractor suffer the loss especially when the contract is canceled due to convenience considering that the subcontractor would have played his part?
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Different areas require different forms of clarification to enable a novice in the field of contracting to understand what the student post means. For instance, the student should clearly show the circumstances under which the subcontractor needs a license and those which the subcontractor may perform work without a license. Moreover, the student should clarify the relationship that exists between a contractor and a subcontractor. It is evident that a subcontractor is a worker, but is he an employee of a contractor? He should also indicate whether the subcontractor is responsible for keeping his or her records and paying his income and self-employment taxes.
The initial post is different from the second post in the sense that it explains the nature of work that exists between a contractor and a subcontractor, while the latter explains the reasons why it is good to seek government contracts for small businesses. The post is also different as it shows the basic requirements that must be met for once to become a subcontractor, while the second post emphasizes the phases that one undergoes to through when subcontracting. The major similarity between the two posts is that they support the ideology that most of the government contracts are worthy ventures as they provide more jobs and more incentives, especially for small business firms.
Student Post #2
The second post sheds light on the process of contract management. I have gained a lot of information regarding the benefits of government contracts, especially for small businesses. For instance, the Small Business Set-Aside Program has been used by the government to assure that small business are awarded a fair proportion of the government contracts as it reserves certain government purchases. I have also learned on the phases of management of contracts from the pre-award phase to the contract close-out phase. The post is also useful as it shows the importance of evaluating the costs in terms of individual parts as this helps in the accurate estimation of the costs.
There are different questions that arise while reading the post. The student compares the process of managing contracts to what he does in his workplace. He correctly identifies the tasks and shows that the major role is evaluating how much it would cost including the costs of the parts and that of labor. The problem he identifies is that of having to make up to the part that is not included in the total cost. The question that arises is that how does he make up for this cost? Moreover, how does the pilot program of R-funding help in encouraging the small businesses to explore their technological potential?
There are also different areas that need clarification from the initial post. The post shows that the Small Business Set-Aside Program reserves certain government purchases to the small businesses. The post, however, should clarify the criteria used to ensure that there is the minimal monopoly in the process of acquisition of such projects as it is evident that there are small businesses that have an advantage of acquiring more contracts as compared to others. He should also clarify how to manage time while carrying out a project to ensure that time constraints do not contribute to the failure of the project as this may lead to higher costs. Moreover, he should show the ways of making up for the extra costs once the final cost is higher than the initial estimates.
The major difference between the second post and the first post is that this post shows the process undertaken while managing a project. The post compares the process of managing contracts to that of managing an undertaking in the normal place of work. It is also different as it gives a clear process of figuring up the costs and determining other inputs in the course of managing projects as opposed to the first post which concentrated on explaining the relationship between a contractor and a subcontractor. However, both posts are similar as they try to show that it is more beneficial to reach out to government contracts as they offer more work and more incentives in the long-run.
