Strayer BUS505 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week 1 Discussion 1
“Winning New Business”Please respond to the
following:
- Analyze
the list of common proposal mistakes discussed in Chapter 1 and determine
which types of mistakes are probably the most commonly made. Explain your
rationale. Then, discuss how you as a manager would work to ensure those
who work with you are mindful of the common mistakes. - Review
the 10 characteristics of winning bids listed in Figure 1-1 and propose at
least one more that would further describe a winning bid. Explain your
rationale.
Week 1 Discussion 2
“Anatomy of a Government RFP”Please respond to the
following:
- Analyze
the elements of a RFP and determine which section is the most difficult to
correctly complete. Explain your rationale. Recommend at least two tips or
practices that can be employed to simplify the process. - Assume
you have been hired by the federal government to redesign the RFP format
that is referenced in Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2 of the textbook. Explain
what changes you would make and why.
Strayer BUS505
Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week 2 Discussion 1
“Federal Government Source Selection”Please respond to the
following:
- Assume
you own a small company that makes widgets. Carefully review the federal
government acquisition process and determine how you would best position
yourself long before you place your first government bid. Discuss the
benefits of your preparations. - Analyze
the elements of both the technical evaluation and the past performance
evaluation. Next, determine which is the most difficult to evaluate from
the federal government perspective and how you (as a business owner) could
make the evaluation process easier. Then, directly respond to the
assessment of a fellow learner and evaluate his or her post (on-ground
students will discuss the positions).
Week 2 Discussion 2
“Strategic Business Planning”Please
respond to the following:
- Assume
you own a company that manufactures a specific product of your choice. Create
a one-paragraph mission statement that addresses the what, who, how, and
why of your company. Then, discuss how each component is addressed in your
mission statement. - Based
on the same company you described above, create a strategic business model
that incorporates the four major elements of strategic business modeling
discussed in Chapter 4 of the textbook.
Strayer BUS505
Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week 3 Discussion 1
“Long Term Positioning”Please respond to the
following:
- Analyze
the elements of collecting market information and determine which would
provide the most valuable information to a company seeking business with
the federal government. Explain your rationale. - Review
the eight types of information the author recommends go into a bid
proposal library, as discussed in Osborne’s “Long Term Positioning,” and
recommend at least one additional type of information that could / should
be included. Provide your rationale. - Review
the various improper practices and conflicts discussed in Chapter 5, and
make at least one recommendation for preventing them or stopping them
before they become a significant issue. Explain your rationale.
Week 3 Discussion 2
“Sealed Bidding”Please respond to the
following:
- Describe
the purpose, general requirements, and awarding of the contract in a
sealed- bidding process. From the e-Activity, provide at least two
examples where sealed bidding had a positive effect on the contract
selection process. - Discuss
two of the problems that might be encountered by an agency in producing a
sealed bid, and how apparent and obvious mistakes can be addressed. From
the e-Activity, provide at least two examples to support your response.
Strayer BUS505
Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week 4 Discussion 1
“Pre-Proposal Phase
Activities”Please respond to the following:
- Evaluate
the overall phase of pre-proposal activities based on the best practices
identified in Chapter 7 and make at least one recommendation for improving
the phase. Provide specific examples that illustrate how your
recommendation would help. - Determine
and discuss the worst possible mistake a proposal team could make during
the pre-proposal phase. Explain your rationale. Identify a strategy that
prevents this mistake.
Week 4 Discussion 2
“Bid Strategy”Please respond to the following:
- Analyze
customer assessments, program requirements, and competitive assessments,
and determine which of the three would be the most difficult to collect
information for and why. From the e-Activity, make at least one
recommendation to address the difficulty you have identified. - Analyze
the specific bid strategies section of the text and compare what the
author says to what you discovered in the e-Activity.
Strayer BUS505
Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week
5 Discussion 1
“Building and Organizing the Capture Team”Please respond to the
following:
- Analyze
the roles and responsibilities of capture team members and determine which
two roles could be combined into a single role. Explain your rationale. - Analyze
the required qualifications of capture team leaders and determine which
leadership role best suits you (where you would be the most successful).
Explain your rationale.
Week 5 Discussion 2
“Contractor Qualifications”Please respond to the
following:
- Assume
you were preparing to be a contractor. Identify what you would begin to
work on first to sure up your qualifications. As part of this process,
analyze the three types of materials used to assess contractor
qualifications and determine which types would yield the most viable
information. Explain your rationale. - Develop
a one-paragraph scenario that exemplifies behavior discerning debarment or
suspension. Provide specific examples to support your reasoning. Discuss
the necessity of such communications.
Strayer BUS505
Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week
6 Discussion 1
“Analyzing Customer Requirements”Please respond to the
following:
- Based
on the e-Activity, describe how you could leverage the ambiguous language
you found in the RFP. Provide specific examples to support your response. - Analyze
each of the key proposal preparation documents discussed in Osborne’s
“Developing a Proposal Preparation Plan” and recommend at least one
additional document that would help you analyze customer requirements.
Week 6 Discussion 2
“Developing a Proposal Plan”Please
respond to the following:
- The
author states that a proposal outline that deviates from the order of
instructions in Section L will almost guarantee a losing proposal. Discuss
possible strategies for not following the instructions in Section L that
might still result in winning the proposal. - Analyze
the contents and intent of the author guide outlined in Chapter 10 of the
textbook. Determine the section with which you believe most proposal teams
would have the most difficulty. Explain your rationale.
Strayer BUS505
Week 7 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week
7 Discussion 1
“Preparing the Winning Cost Volume”Please respond to the
following:
- Evaluate
the list of common cost proposal mistakes described in Chapter 14 of the
textbook. Select three from the list and determine the most likely cause
of each mistake. Suggest a recommended action that either the federal
government or the offerer could take to avoid the mistake in the future. - Determine
which of the following would be more difficult to execute correctly across
the greatest number of projects: preparing cost estimates or preparing the
cost volume. Explain your rationale.
Week 7 Discussion 2
“Types of Contracts”Please
respond to the following:
- From
the e-Activity, identify a contract offering that you believe is
beneficial to the government. Describe the type of contract based on what
is described in Chapter 16 of the textbook and explain why you believe the
government has benefitted from the contract. - From
the e-Activity, identify a contract offering that you believe is
beneficial to the offerer. Describe the type of contract based on what is
described in Chapter 16 of the textbook and explain why you believe the
offerer has benefitted from the contract.
Strayer BUS505
Week 8 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week
8 Discussion 1
“Writing the Winning Proposal”Please respond to the
following:
- Drawing
upon your experience writing papers for this class, discuss three
additional tips for writing the first draft of a proposal. Provide
specific examples to support your response. - Evaluate
all the elements of writing the proposal outlined in Chapter 12 of the
textbook and determine the three most critical elements that are more
important than all the others. Explain your rationale.
Week 8 Discussion 2
“Tips for Effective Proposal Writing”Please
respond to the following:
- Discuss
the degree to which the proposals you found in the e-Activity followed the
tips for effective proposal writing found in Chapter 13 of Osborne. Cite
where you obtained the proposals. Then, discuss the main area where
deviation was present and speculate as to why. - Using
the criteria presented in Chapter 13 of the textbook for writing effective
proposals, rewrite at least one section of a proposal that you identified
through the e-Activity and explain why you made those changes.
Strayer BUS505
Week 9 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week
9 Discussion 1
“Proposal Reviews”Please respond to the
following:
- Evaluate
the list of common cost proposal mistakes based on the recommendations in
Chapter 15 of the textbook. Select three from the list, and determine the
most likely cause of each. Then, recommend a strategy that either the
federal government or offerer could take to avoid the mistake in the
future. - Determine
which proposal review would be the most effective in gaining a competitive
advantage based on the reviews in Chapter 15 and explain why. Create a new
review that’s not part of the review process listed in Chapter 15 and
describe how the review adds value to the process.
Week 9 Discussion 2
“Proposal Production and Improper Business
Practice”Please respond to the following:
- Analyze
the different types of revisions discussed in Osborne’s “Proposal Reviews”
and recommend a completely different review process that would be just as
effective or better. Explain your rationale. - Analyze
the statutes (laws) designed to curtail improper practices and conflicts
and make at least one recommendation to improve the current system.
Explain your rationale.
Strayer BUS505
Week 10 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
Week
10 Discussion 1
“Post-Proposal Submittal Phase”Please respond to the
following:
- Review
the steps involved in the final proposal production phase that are
described in Chapter 18 of the textbook and make at least one
recommendation for improving the process. Explain your rationale. Then,
evaluate the recommendation of one fellow learner (on-ground students will
discuss the recommendations in class). - Discuss
how a successful debriefing could benefit a company in future proposals.
Include the areas of importance to discover in debriefing and what
information is available to those who were not awarded the contract.
Week 10 Discussion 2
“Contract Award and Performance”Please
respond to the following:
- Review
the procuring agency, Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the U.S.
Court of Federal Claims forums presented in Chapter 33. Then, describe an
actual case where a protestor is arguing using one of the forums. - Devise
a strategy for significantly limiting the number of post-proposal
inquiries you might receive. Provide specific examples to support your
response.
Strayer BUS505
Week 11 Discussion 1 & 2 latest 2016 August
dq 1
Week 11 Discussion 1
“Looking Back”Please
respond to the following:
- Thinking back on everything you
have learned in this course, what single lesson learned was the most
surprising or interesting. Explain what made it so. - Describe the most difficult concept
or process addressed in this course. Create an analogy that would help
someone encountering that concept or process for the first time to better
understand what it is about.
dq 2
Week 11 Discussion 2
“Looking Ahead”Please
respond to the following:
- Discuss how you can effectively
apply what you have learned in this class even if you wind up in a
position that has absolutely nothing to do with contracting with the
federal government. - Imagine yourself five years from
now working for a firm (or perhaps head of your own firm) that gets 100%
of its business from the federal government. Discuss what you would like
the most and what you would like the least of being in such a position.
Strayer BUS505
Week 3 Assignment 1 latest 2016 August
Instructors,
training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.
Assignment 1: Firm
Research
Due Week 3 and worth 80 points
Imagine you are a small-business owner seeking a federal
business opportunity that falls in one of the following categories: competitive
8a, woman-owned, HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, or veteran-owned.
Write a two to four (2-4) page paper in which you:
1. Describe the
small-business line of business (LOB).
2. Determine which federal
government procurement opportunity is aligned with the LOB using the Federal
Business Opportunities Website:https://www.fbo.gov
3. Provide the firm’s
current strategies and then assess the strategic success using financial
figures or “soft” indicators as the background.
4. Develop a SWOT
analysis (use a table) for the business to determine the internal and external
factors in servicing the federal government and then provide a gap analysis
(using the weaknesses and threats) in satisfying the expected requirements.
5. Using the federal
procurement process, create an action plan to fulfill the expected requirements
based off the gap analysis.
6. Use at least three
(3) quality resources in this assignment. Note:Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be
typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific
format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. - Include
a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,
the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and
the reference page are not included in the required assignment page
length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
- Analyze
the operations and functions of the key participants in the federal
procurement process and assess a firm’s ability to satisfy expected
requirements. - Research
and locate federal government procurement opportunities. - Determine
the required actions to enable a firm to be able to participate in the
federal government contracting actions. - Use
technology and information resources to research issues in business
strategies and proposals. - Write
clearly and concisely about business strategies and proposals using proper
writing mechanics.
Strayer BUS505
Week 4 Assignment 2 latest 2016 August
Instructors,
training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.
Assignment 2: Bid
Strategy
Due Week 4 and worth 150 points
Provide a bid strategy using the same firm and scenario from
the first assignment.
Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:
1. Review the action
plan from the first assignment and create a future plan that is consistent with
federal procurement opportunity’s mission or strategic plan.
2. Create a bid decision
evaluation form, select a total of five (5) criteria of the firm’s current
marketing position, and then score against the requested opportunity using the
example on Figure 7.1 described in Chapter 7 of the textbook.
3. Develop a bid
strategy that provides a competitive edge over the peer federal acquisition
market using five (5) customer key evaluation requirements (CKERs).
4. Identify three (3)
risks of the bid strategy and then develop three (3) opportunities to mitigate
each risk.
5. Use at least three
(3) quality resources in this assignment. Note:Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be
typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific
format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. - Include
a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,
the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and
the reference page are not included in the required assignment page
length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
- Determine
the required actions to enable a firm to be able to participate in the
federal government contracting actions. - Formulate
strategies for business development to be competitive in the federal
acquisition market. - Use
technology and information resources to research issues in business
strategies and proposals. - Write
clearly and concisely about business strategies and proposals using proper
writing mechanics.
Strayer BUS505
Week 7 Assignment 3 latest 2016 Augus
Instructors,
training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.
Assignment 3: RFP
Response
Due Week 7 and worth 150 points
Respond to a RFP using the same firm and scenario from the
first and second assignments.
Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:
1. Review the firm’s
organizational structure and then develop a matrix of five (5) roles,
responsibilities, and authority for the key members of the captured team to
execute the proposal.
2. Read the RFP and then
provide the method the company will use to respond to the RFP ambiguity by
using a competitive advantage approach.
3. Create a proposal
requirement document using Figure 9.1 as an example.
4. Use at least three
(3) quality resources in this assignment. Note:Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be
typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or
school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional
instructions. - Include
a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,
the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and
the reference page are not included in the required assignment page
length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
- Analyze
government RFPs and plan the development of the firm’s proposals to
effectively compete for contract award. - Develop
the elements of proposals to respond to RFPs. - Use
technology and information resources to research issues in business
strategies and proposals. - Write
clearly and concisely about business strategies and proposals using proper
writing mechanics.
Strayer BUS505
Week 8 Assignment 4 latest 2016 August
Instructors,
training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.
Assignment 4:
Proposal Preparation Plan
Due Week 8 and worth 150 points
Provide a Proposal Preparation Plan using the same firm and
scenario from the previous assignments.
Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:
1. Discuss and prepare a
work breakdown structure (WBS) showing a condensed version of cost estimates,
using the price to win (PTW) cost approach. Use the example shown in Chapter 14
of the textbook as a guide.
2. Describe the
strategies that could be implemented to prevent unethical practices and promote
compliance with federal guidelines in the selected contract type’s performance
risk and profit incentive.
3. Develop three (3)
ground rules and three (3) assumptions that are conditional to the cost
estimate.
4. Use at least five (5)
quality resources in this assignment. Note:Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be
typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or
school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional
instructions. - Include
a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,
the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and
the reference page are not included in the required assignment page
length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
- Analyze
government RFPs and plan the development of the firm’s proposals to
effectively compete for contract award. - Develop
the elements of proposals to respond to RFPs. - Generate
effective ethical guidelines to prevent unethical contracting practices
and ensure compliance with federal guidelines. - Use
technology and information resources to research issues in business
strategies and proposals. - Write
clearly and concisely about business strategies and proposals using proper
writing mechanics.
Strayer BUS505
Week 10 Assignment 5 latest 2016 August
Assignment 5: Proposal
Presentation
Due Week 10 and worth 250 points
The procuring agency requires an oral presentation as part
of the proposal response.
Create a presentation in a common format (PowerPoint or a
similar program) with a minimum of twenty (20) slides and corresponding speaker
notes in which you:
1. Create an Executive
Summary that supports your firm’s proposal projection to successfully enter the
contract.
2. Discuss the support
that the agency is proposing the firm to acquire in entering the contract.
3. Provide the
reliability plan for the firm’s capability in entering the contract.
4. Prepare a conclusion
based on the firm’s projected performance in entering the contract’s projected
time frame.
5. Provide an action
plan using the cost estimate and selected contract type as a finalization of
the firm’s conclusion in the solicitation process.
6. Use at least five (5)
quality resources in this assignment. Note:Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
- Be
typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or
school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional
instructions. - Include
a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,
the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and
the reference page are not included in the required assignment page
length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
- Create
presentations to effectively communicate the firm’s proposal and complete
the solicitation process. - Use
technology and information resources to research issues in business
strategies and proposals. - Write
clearly and concisely about business strategies and proposals using proper
writing mechanics.
