Contract Performance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Contract Performance - Research Paper Example Two bids were received, one by the Alabama Laundry and Linen supply and the other by Tennessee Valley Laundry and dry cleaners; however, the Tennessee bid was cheaper. Alabama Laundry management filed a protest, which alleged that Tennessee Laundry was inexperienced, and therefore it should have been declared non-responsible. The law concerning performance contracts required that a bid be given to a responsible contractor; who should have achieved a satisfactory performance in his previous contracts. Alabama Laundry further alleged that Tennessee Laundry’s past performance was unsatisfactory; therefore, the contract should have been terminated. Thirdly, Tennessee Laundry was accused of violating the law by not inspecting the site of performance. Therefore, the protestor argued that the award granted to Tennessee should be granted to Alabama Laundry. However, these allegations were found baseless without evidence; Tennessee Laundry was therefore given a go ahead in their contra ct and the protest was dismissed, since Tennessee Laundry was found to be responsible. Regulatory provisions (FAR) pertaining to contract performance in general The federal acquisition regulation (FAR) provides the requirements pertaining to contract performance; bidders have the right to compete for the contract equally. This is referred to as sealed bidding acquisition, whereby, the lowest bidder and responsive bidder get the award. FAR law prohibits any restrictions that limit the number of bidders. Once the bids are read, those that do not meet the requirements are rejected; nevertheless, FAR requires the contractor to have sufficient resources to perform the contract. Secondly, the contractor must be capable of complying with the performance schedule. Thirdly, the company should have a history of satisfactory performance from its previous jobs. Business Ethics are also considered an important factor. Further, FAR requires the contractor to have quality and effective skills. The refore, if the bidder meets all the above requirements, he is at an advantage of receiving an award (Vacketta, 1999 Para 4). In addition, apart from sealed bidding, a contract may be awarded through negotiation, allowing flexibility to determining the winning bidder. Here, the contracting officer conducts negotiations with offerors, therefore evaluating the best bidder for the contract. This process ensures that the best is obtained from a pool of bidders. However, the law prohibits the contracting officer from conducting favors on some bidders. FAR 52.249-2 indicates that, termination for convenience permits the government to terminate a contract at any time, without a reason, but only when in the government’s best interest (Vacketta, 1999). In addition, FAR 15.304 (c) (3) (i) require the evaluation of past performance on the contractors, however, in the lowest price factor, evaluation of past performance is not necessary (Naval air welfare centre, 2009). The selection of a bidder may be beyond responsiveness and responsibility; nevertheless, price is a very important factor in choosing the right bidder. Cite and explain the regulatory provisions (FAR) that relate to the particular contract performance issue of the report you chose. The protest on bidder’s responsibility and contact performance involves an appeal by one contractor in protest of the selected bidder’s award. Vacketta (1999) explains that an appeal to the United States court by a contractor should