The Acquisition Team

The Acquisition Team is an information-based organization that is composed of more specialists than in the traditional command-and-control organization. Members of an acquisition team consist of multi-organizational as well as cross-functional, i. e. contractors, suppliers, acquisition professionals (Engelbeck, 2002). The focus of this paper is to present the students selection of a business opportunity offered by the Department of Energy and found at http://www. fbo. org/. This student will analyse the posting and then â€Å"reverse engineer† the notice to create the ideal agency’s acquisition team that could have prepared this solicitation. This student will also cite and summarize the FAR provisions for the formation of the acquisition team, describe the nature and specifications of the project, identify every area of expertise needed on the acquisition team, using the â€Å"Bodies of Knowledge† diagram in Engelbeck, Chapter 2, as a basis, and justify the involvement of each team member by describing his or her specific contribution to the solicitation/ request for proposal and later steps of the procurement process. Finally, the student will describe the steps to follow and ensure that the solicitation notice is complete, clear, and accurate before submitting it for posting on the FedBizOpps. gov Website. FAR Provisions for the formation of the acquisition team. The dissemination of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in 1984 replicated the Congress' intention to create a structure that was uniform for Executive Branch federal contracting. Prior to the introduction of the FAR, civilian agencies and the defence services had different and self owned set of regulations. The FAR is codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It consists of regulations and rules as articulated by the United States federal government that governs the procurement processes for the government. The FAR contains the standardized procedures and policies for acquisitions by any and all federal government agencies. After the circulation of the FAR, the standardization goal was destabilized by the diverse agency-specific supplements (Vacketta, 1999). The FAR enforces the implementation of nearly every decision-making plan related to procurement. It is also within the FAR mandate to accomplish every stage of the process of acquisition. FAR 1. 102 (d) stipulates that: The function of every member of the Acquisition Team is to ensure the exercise of individual initiative and effective business decision while providing the best value product and service that meet the needs of the customers (Acquipedia, 2012). It further explains the scope and procedure of the acquisition team. This consists of the federal government team members responsible for integration tasks constraint and contracting negotiations including the requiring activity, the paying agent team, the contracting officer, financial management and others. Summary of the FAR Provisions for Acquisition Team Opportunity: Supply of Silicon Drift Detector Summary of Opportunity Opportunity is typically defined as the occasion and time that present favourable circumstance to attain precise goals. The details of opportunity identified on http://www. fbo. org/ are as presented below: a. Opportunity title / project location: Supply of Silicon Drift Detector b. Solicitation Number: RC238923 c. Agency: Department of Energy d. Office: Brookhaven National Laboratory (DOE Contractor) e. [Office] Location: Brookhaven f. URL: https://www. fbo. gov/? s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a95ff19f0cbf7a7448fbd5503527130b&tab=core&_cview=0 Nature and Specifications of the Project This is a short-term project in which a federal government body requires the supply of Silicon Drift Detectors. The Contractor is required to deliver 1 Silicon Drift Detector to the US Department of Energy. The project requires fixed pricing terms. The Silicon Drift Detector should be delivered within 180 days upon the signing of the contract at the Department of Energy office, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven. The timings are required to be identified by the COR Feb 01, 2013 11:59 pm Eastern: Provision 333 — Machinery Manufacturing/333999 — All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing, many others as stipulated in AMS – Form – 010, rev. 5, should be considered for the entire process involved in the solicitation and acquisition. Technical specifications of the Hitachi Vortex Silicon Drift Detectors are that it must have a cylindrical Snout. The length of the snout should be 638 millimetres. The detector must be Ultra High Vacuum compatible with active detection area of not less than 500mm2. The unit must be usable indoor/outdoor with 12. 5 ?m window. The detector must operate with power supplies operating at 220-240 volts. Area of Expertise Required The â€Å"bodies of knowledge†, for this project consists of contracting, finance, engineering, logistics, legal, test and evaluation and cost estimates as identified by Engelbeck (2002). The areas of expertise are as outlined below: Contracting expertise will be required since it will facilitate the selection process of a contractor or vendor of Silicon Drift Detectors. The expertise includes communication skills that will enhance the process of dealing with the customer and the supplier. This will help develop trust among the acquisition team. The drafting of the contract will become easy relative to the project priorities. Risk allocation will be easily identified in managing beforehand to make the deal successful. Financial expertise will be required for the project in establishing the financing terms and budgets related to the project. This expertise will facilitate the valuation of the project for the valuable price to be considered for solicitation. Engineering expertise will be required since it will facilitate the classification of technical stipulations required for the project at hand. References for at least three successfully-manufactured, assembled, tested and delivered single-element detectors with similar complexities as the quoted product must be provided. Logistics is a central part of the project since it specifies the items and timings for the project delivery. It will also facilitate the control of the inventory and related costs to be effective in controlling extra costs. Any project under FAR should be incorporated to the law governing the situation hence Legal considerations will be critical as the terms and conditions must be aligned to FAR. Test and evaluation are as important as any other consideration because failure to create standards for the project will make it impossible to create effectiveness in the project. Evaluation is important to be considered as it will facilitate the future course of actions. Cost estimates are critical as they present the bottom-line of project. All the financials related to this project are based on cost estimates. The cost estimates are an underlying factor to the evaluation of the quality standards. Involvement of Team Members Contemporary, the integration of team members is fundamental to acquire the quoted product with the required specifications to effectively complete the processes and projects on time. The contribution of each member in the team will create synergy. Their presence during the project will act as a positive energy for team success. The involvement of each team member is based on their area of expertise: The end user is the definitive team member. In this case, the end user is the staff at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The staffs represent the Department of Energy which offers valuable resource for the Silicon Drift Detectors being procured. The Program Manager will make sure that the ensuing agreement meets the long- and short-range requirements of the project’s mission and that the design produce the intended results. The contracting officers will make sure that all contract activities comply with relevant laws, regulations, executive orders, and other applicable measures including approvals and clearances. Financial managers will ensure the provision of information needed by the team to make decisions on the amount of money available. The legal counsel will ensure continuous provision of guidance related to legal compliance and interpretation of regulations and laws. All team members will provide necessary and continuous support throughout the project lifecycle. Steps for Solicitation Completion There are a number of steps that will be applied to make sure that the solicitation notice is clear, complete, and accurate prior to submission for posting on the FedBizOpps. gov Website. Prior to finalization of the draft solicitation, the officer in charge of contracting may issue a draft solicitation to obtain questions and comments from a group of potential (but not eligible) candidates before releasing the final solicitation. This will help to better refine the solicitation and clarify any vagueness. Posting the draft solicitation will allow exchange with industry in the form of questions, suggestions, corrections and comments that can improve the final solicitation. The contracting officer will also make a request for a review of the draft solicitation by the counsel and project officer in harmony with procedures prior to release. Upon review, the contracting officers should then seek and obtain the concluding approval from the agency leadership (Gouder, 2007).

The Merger of Ranbaxy and Daiichi

A REPORT ON Ranbaxy-Daiichi Deal 1/26/2012 Ranbaxy-Daiichi Deal Introduction: Daiichi Sankyo bought Ranbaxy for $4. 6 billion in June 2008. This report studies the implications of the merger between Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo, from an intellectual property as well as a market point of view. There are many critical events happening in international pharma market including the growing preference for generics, increasing dominance of emerging markets such as India, fast approaching patent expiry etc. Also, this deal involves 2 major players who are the largest among their respective markets. Background: Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. acquired 34. 8% of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. from its promoters and increased its stake through preferential allotment, public offer and preferential issue of warrants to acquire a majority in Ranbaxy, i. e. at least 50. 1%. After the acquisition, Ranbaxy operates as Daiichi Sankyo’s subsidiary but supposed to manage independently under the leadership of its current CEO & Managing Director Malvinder Singh. Mr. Singh left the company in 2009 with a 4. 5 billion rupees severance package. Why: Daiichi Sankyo wanted to acquire a drug maker that specialized in generics after Japan eased its laws allowing sales of these cheaper versions of expensive drugs. The deal was a trendsetter in Indian market for future M&A deals. India's family-owned companies realized that it was not shameful to sell and profit from their businesses. Benefits Expected: Operational: The main benefit for Daiichi Sankyo from the merger was Ranbaxy’s low-cost manufacturing infrastructure and supply chain strengths. Ranbaxy gained access to Daiichi Sankyo’s research and development expertise to advance its branded drugs business. Expansion: Daiichi Sankyo’s strength in proprietary medicine complements Ranbaxy’s leadership in the generics segment and both companies acquire a broader product base, therapeutic focus areas and well distributed risks. Ranbaxy gains smoother access to and a strong foothold in the Japanese drug market. Financial: The immediate benefit for Ranbaxy was that the deal freed up its debt. Also, Ranbaxy’s addition elevated Daiichi Sankyo’s position from #22 to #15 by market capitalization in the global pharmaceutical market. Synergies: . A complementary business combination that provides sustainable growth by diversification that spans the full spectrum of the pharmaceutica l business. 2. An expanded global reach that enables leading market positions in both mature and emerging markets with proprietary and non-proprietary products. 3. Strong growth potential by effectively managing opportunities across the full pharmaceutical life-cycle. 4. Cost competitiveness by optimizing usage of R and manufacturing facilities of both companies, especially in India. † 5. Respective presence of Daiichi Sankyo and Ranbaxy in the developed and emerging markets 6. Ranbaxy’s strengths in the 21 emerging generic drug markets allow Daiichi Sankyo to tap the potential of the generics business. 7. Ranbaxy’s branded drug development initiatives for the developed markets significantly boosted through this relationship. 8. Daiichi Sankyo able to reduce its reliance on only branded drugs and margin risks in mature markets and benefit from Ranbaxy’s strengths in generics to introduce generic versions of patent expired drugs, particularly in the Japanese market. Post-acquisition objectives: Daiichi Sankyo’s focus was to develop new drugs to fill the gaps and take advantage of Ranbaxy’s strong areas ? To overcome its current challenges in cost structure and supply chain ? To establish a management framework that would expedite synergies ? To reduce its exposure to branded drugs in a way that it can cover the impact of margin pressu res on the business, especially in Japan ? In a global pharmaceutical industry making a shift towards generics and emerging market opportunities, Daiichi Sankyo’s acquisition of Ranbaxy signalled a move on the lines of its global counterparts Novartis and local competitors Astellas Pharma. Post acquisition challenges: Post acquisition challenges included managing the different working and business cultures of the two organizations, undertaking minimal and essential integration and retaining the management independence of Ranbaxy without hampering synergies. Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo also needed to consolidate their intellectual capital and acquire an edge over their foreign counterparts. What went wrong? A lack of proper due diligence In its eagerness to tap the expertise of a generic drug maker, Daiichi took the risk of buying Ranbaxy for top dollar. Three weeks later, the US Food and Drug Administration banned imports of 30 of Ranbaxy's generic drugs, and later determined that the company was selling adulterated or misbranded medicine. It blacklisted two of the company's manufacturing units, limiting the company's ability to sell drugs made in those facilities. Ranbaxy then reported currency-exchange losses of nine billion rupees in 2008. This made Ranbaxy post losses in the same year. Ranbaxy Laboratories Cash Flow ——————- in Rs. Cr. ——————Dec '10 Dec '09 Dec '08 Dec '07 Dec '06 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths 12 mths Net Profit Before Tax Net Cash From Operating Activities Net Cash (used in)/from Investing Activities Net Cash (used in)/from Financing Activities Net (decrease)/increase In Cash and Cash Equivalents Opening Cash & Cash Equivalents Closing Cash & Cash Equivalents 1565. 25 1168. 89 -2067. 8 991. 48 92. 57 69. 26 161. 83 1061. 92 -1619. 08 -665. 43 -599. 22 86. 12 -462. 91 -214. 14 2817. 2 -793. 46 1755. 07 862. 39 172. 14 68. 93 1927. 21 774. 41 442. 98 685. 77 315. 49 -708. 18 -2103. 74 132. 19 1739. 65 109. 78 -48. 6 62. 36 110. 96 172. 14 62. 36 What worked? Mr. Singh timed the sale of his family silver perfectly – he got a huge premium for the stake before U. S. regulatory concerns came to light. Daiichi, after the initial stumbles, seems to now be heading in the right direction and in the past year has integrated Ranbaxy's R&D unit in an effort to gain synergies. Daiichi also launched a generic version of Pfizer Inc. ‘s cholesterol drug, Lipitor in US recently. The verdict: Fail This is a classic example of an acquirer paying top price without looking too closely at the quality of the goods. Daiichi continues to pay for the huge risk it took in the deal. U. S. regulatory problems have slowed down the integration of Daiichi and Ranbaxy a lot more than expected. We can see that Daiichi is having similar level of operating expenses and yet to achieve anything special from Ranbaxy. US FDA said that, Ranbaxy had ‘numerous problems' at its facilities in US and India. The US DOJ has also filed the consent decree against Ranbaxy in the US district court of Maryland on 26th January 2012, which would further put pressure on the margins. â€Å"Daiichi is yet to realize anything concrete from this deal. â€Å"

Mice and men Explore the themes of loneliness in ‘Of mice and men’ Essay

The story ‘of mice and men’ had lots of lonely people with no family and no friends; that’s the reason why Lennie and George are different is because they have got somebody who cares for them. Most of the characters in the novel feel scared of showing their true emotions. For example, when candy’s dog was about to get shot candy didn’t tell the other workers that he needed the dog and that is was a friend to him. I don’t think any of the characters want to show weakness. The title of the novel is ‘of mice and men’ was written in the 1300s. At the time of the novel there were many workers who travelled form ranch to ranch looking for jobs. The most isolated group at the time were Negroes be cause they were considered inferior and no one wanted to be with them. There were no laws against racism and it was tolerated all over the country. Crooks is the stable buck and he is a Negro so he is also the loneliest man on the ranch. His race and colour made him isolated from all the other members of the group. A lot of people bully crooks; Curley’s wife says, ‘Well, you keep your place, then, nigger. I could get you strung up to a tree so easy it isn’t true.’ Crooks is a proud man and also the most educated as well; he reads lots of books but the most important book is the 1905 California civil code. This book says that Crooks is no slave and can do what he wishes with his life but nobody takes this into consideration because he is still treated as a slave, which they can push around. Once on Christmas day the workers forced crooks to fight even though he had a bad back. All the other workers think they can make Crooks do what they want. He is isolated from the others; he doesn’t go to talk to them and they don’t come to talk to him. There is only one person that come s into Crook’s hut and that is Slim. Crooks is very proud because he knows that he is free and he keeps himself aloof from all the other workers. He doesn’t talk to any of the other workers, he says, ‘Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody’. This is from a conversion which he has with Lennie. Crooks spent the most time working on the ranch and the only person he tells his true feelings to is to Lennie. Because Crooks knows that Lennie would probably forget. Near the end of chapter four crooks starts to get along with Candy. Crooks even offers to work on the ranch which George ,Candy and Lennie are going to go to but after Curley’s wife threatens Crooks and then he says ,’ well, just forget it . I didn’t mean it. Just fooling’. This shows the reader that crooks knows that he will never be treated differently.

Society and Fashion in the Age of Postmodernism Essay

Society and Fashion in the Age of Postmodernism - Essay Example The essay "Society and Fashion in the Age of Postmodernism" concerns the postmodernism society. Language lost its ‘meaning’, culture lost its ‘centre’ and history found itself struggling for being, let alone authenticity. Because of the work of thinkers like Derrida, Foucault and Lyotard ‘mental structures’ began to wobble; foundational assumptions came under a cloud. What is man’s role in a society? Is not he the subject of several forces including language and discourse? Can he lay claim to any ‘Truth’ when even the hyponyms of it were being questioned? Perhaps the answer to this whirlpool of uncertainty lay in his summoning up his infinite potential of creativity for a plausible answer. The one that bagged consensus was ‘celebration’. A celebration of the joke called life. Of the absurdity called existence. Everything, including architecture and fashion, responded to this interpretation. (Postmodernism may say that there are not any facts but only interpretations, but the human mind considers this as a fact). The greatest manifestation of this new-found enterprise was in the salad that combined ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture. Music strove to mix 14th century church chant with the latest in euphony. Buildings displayed gothic arches with a bunch of steel tubes to add to its effect. And in vogue were straitjackets with a naughty hint of one’s backside. Joanne Finkelstein recollects anthropologist Jonathan Friedman’s observation that in African Congo during the 70s and 80s.... The currency of the young subculture was to wear the latest in European fashion circles. Although the social and economic differences between Congo and Paris were too vast to be mentioned, the young sapeurs chose to bridge dream and reality through clothes. So much so that wearing haute couture was like realizing a dream. And this imbalance between dream and its realization, between valuing a particular object and having the capacity to possess and maintain it was a fundamental dynamic of fashion, according to Finkelstein1. However, in the 'subcultures' of Britain which included teds, punks, skinheads and hippies the dynamic of fashion was something totally different. Dick Hebdige points out that the main aim of the subcultures was to cobble out of the available forms, a new set of genres that will free them form the manacles of tradition2. However, Hebdige admits that the commercial culture itself had the wherewithal to counter the hegemonic culture by producing for the subcultures. By marrying the high with the low, the radical with the conservative, it produced a range of clothes for the punk that is still looked upon as an act of positive aggression. These two divergent theses coalesce to the synthesis that in fashion there cannot be a common protocol. At a time when 'consilience' is the order of the day and terms like 'society', 'identity' and 'nation' are themselves undergoing significant semantic changes, 'fashion' which is the signature of these terms in flux cannot remain steady and static. In postmodern zeitgeist is not only that fashion influences society but also that society influences fashion. Fashion becomes an

Technology survey analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Technology survey analysis - Essay Example They have become an integral part of our lives over the past few years and now it just does not feel right if we do not have access to them. For example, the internet has completely changed the way we live our lives today. It has penetrated into most households and into most individual’s life. With the use of internet it is possible to do things today that people could not have dreamt before. Accessing information, listening to music, reconnecting with high school friends, communicating with people in different parts of the world and managing business electronically has become exceedingly easier with the use of internet. The ease of use of technology has led to the ever increasing usage of technological products amongst the college going students. With the exceeding use of black berries and smart phones, high end gaming platforms, faster and more reliable computers, robots etc a typical college going student is bombarded with technology from all sides. But out of all the technological products a student interacts with the internet can be classified as the one most important technological invention that has completely changed the lives of students. Therefore, I have decided to study the impact of internet on an average college going student. Since my study focuses on college going students I decided to carry out my research at Bentley University. The University is located 10 miles west of Boston and is one of the nations leading business schools which aim to produce business leaders with strong technical skills and high ethical standards. Thus it presented me with an ideal blend of college going students who could be used for the survey. The study was carried out at the Bentley University by asking students to fill a questionnaire. The questions were aimed to identify the impact of internet usage on a college student’s life. The study was limited to finding out the nature of the impact rather

Which theory(ies) of persuasion in advertising are the most, or least, Essay

Which theory(ies) of persuasion in advertising are the most, or least, persuasive - Essay Example riety of functions with their advertising campaigns which include informing the public regarding their products and services, persuading the public to purchase their products and services, creating a brand image for their products and services, and reminding the public regarding their products and services (Sutherland & Sylvester, 1993, pp. 20-28). Hence, the main objective of businesses through advertising campaigns is to gain maximum business and earn maximum revenue by selling to more customers or selling more of their product to existing customers. Businesses tend to do this by attempting to persuade customers to perform in the way that the business sees desirable. Accordingly, businesses must take a sequence of steps and use various persuasion theories in order to convince customers to act in the manner the business deems desirable (Odih, 2007, pp. 40-48). Businesses use a variety of theories and appeals in order to engage commercials within their advertising activity. The three main types of advertising appeal that businesses use includes humor appeal in which businesses make funny adverts in order to appeal to consumers and show a light-hearted image of their company and products/services, sex appeal in which businesses use attractive content to appeal to the customer’s sexual preferences, and logic appeal in which business provide appropriate logic for purchasing or using their product/service (Odih, 2007, pp. 51-56). Businesses use a combination of theories in order to engage the customer into their advertising activity. Some theories claim to be more effective than others in attracting customers towards a product/service. The first thing that is essential for an organization to consider is the audience that they are catering to. There may be various types of people with differing personalities within their audience. Hence, it may be rather difficult to appeal to each of the different personalities individually and target the various types of people

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Essay Example However, there are individuals who come up with original ideas for the future to gain huge profits. As a rule, these types of business look very interesting. How do you react when you are told that another millionaire made his millions on the sale of conventional jackets autographed by celebrities? But in fact this is the way Tanneberg Walter raised his capital in German city of Kiel. Selling jackets with autographs impressed rich people and they paid huge sums of money for these jackets. However, the business plan should be developed with regards to the investor's needs. The following steps should be taken: Summary. Every business plan summarizes data it contains. After reading the summary of the investor can "wake up" and invest money. Product. This section includes information about the product (product, service, project, and company): description, data – and a "unique selling proposition" (USP). It is very important to show confidence in the success of the project (Mintzbe rg, Ahlstrand and Lampel,1998). Market analysis. This part of a business plan includes information on the amount of the target market, its main trends. Such issues as market share and the actions taken are considered and a part of expenses is devoted to advertising and promotion. Manufacturing process. A description of all production phases of the project, a list of resources and tools (equipment, premises etc). Staff. The list of professionals involved in the design / development / promotion project (their skills, experience, qualifications etc). Project management. The list of project managers and the distribution of responsibilities between them. Cost management personnel, including the costs of the office (salaries, bonuses, rent, equipment, furniture, supplies etc). Sales plan. Projected revenues in the first months after launch, and after a year, three or five are considered. Examples of different scenarios for the project should be included in this section. Investment. The am ount of funds required to implement the project. You need to specify how much will cost borrowings, in which periods of activity and to what extent they are needed. Of course, there are many other issues, which should be taken into account, but, to my mind, the central innovative and a unique idea is a guarantee of further business plan success. My unique idea looks like this: I want to help my city in cleaning the roads from the used chewing gums. I plan to develop a series of posters with portraits of various celebrities - from politics to pop business starts. These posters can be placed on the subway while moving escalator, at the exit of the subway and bus stops and lamp posts and every 100 meters. The idea came to my mind after I noticed that people stick gum used for posters with images of people. Therefore, I plan to develop posters with the faces of famous people and write questions on them, such as "How do you feel about the legalization of marijuana in England?", "How do y ou feel about legalizing euthanasia?", "How do you feel about the banning of abortion?" And so on. Of course, people would like to vote in such an interesting way. Then personnel of my team will collect gums from two sectors of each poster: "for" and "against." Therefore, our community will get clean roads without any expenses on cleaning techniques, find out nation's attitude to critical social issues and enable me and my company to promote famous people and produce posters with their names. We can