About the Book
The federal government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, spending hundreds of billions of dollars per year, employing hundreds of thousands of people as civil servants or contractors. Yet no textbook is commercially available to discuss how federal contracting is done in a format that is written for the general public as well as the practitioner. This publication is intended fill this void – to demystify the volumes of regulations and policies, and provide in one volume a succinct yet thorough treatment of federal contracting requirements and regulations. Bringing together concepts of business law, politics, public and social policy, pricing, and procedures for contract placement and administration, the author draws on over 30 years of federal government experience to cover the vast spread of this important process which impacts our daily government operations.
About the Author :
Dan Lindner possesses more than 30 years of experience in federal acquisition and program management for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. He was a long-time contracting officer for the Navy, and is well-versed in federal acquisition policy and procurement regulations. He has chaired review panels and study teams, negotiated contracts for major weapons system components, worked daily with administrative contracting officers, established a remote buying office, and served as a Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist. As a staff aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he conducted personal briefings on pending Congressional issues affecting defense acquisition, and co-authored the Procurement Reform Act of 1986. Dan also established and chaired the Environmental Committee for Defense Acquisition Regulatory (DAR) Council, and was a member of the Cost Principles Committee, gaining expertise with Cost Accounting Standards.
Dan also has a lengthy career in the private sector, working closely with technical and acquisition clients to define business needs and product requirements, counseling program managers and contracting officers to develop effective strategies, and helping to develop winning proposals. He also served as Vice President for Mindcorp, Inc., a small business furnishing program management support to both Federal and commercial clients.
In academia, Dan was an instructor for the Navy Office of Human Services and with Fairfax County (Virginia) Adult Education where he developed and taught newly-hired employees about procurement basics.
Review :
With more than 30 years of experience as a federal contracts official and related time in the private sector, Lindner brings solid credits to this comprehensive, clearly arranged work. While aimed at experienced purchasing agents, the book is a complete course in the total process: legal background of government contracts, planning essentials, placement and procurement steps, pricing complexities, and post-award actions. Steps within the subjects are arranged alphabetically. A new potential contractor will learn what is and is not allowed, including the applicability of laws and regulations, whether in business generally or in small or disadvantaged firms specifically. Extensively documented, up-to-date notes at the end of each chapter, current information (e.g., green procurement), a massive bibliography, and an accurate index enhance the work. There are other, less-expensive guides, but none are as complete or authoritative. This is an essential resource for large public and academic libraries where federal contracts play an important role.
The author of this work brings more than 30 years of practical experience to this text, having worked in the departments of Homeland Security and Defense (Navy), as well as in the private sector. He organizes this volume using ‘5 Ps’: principles, planning, placement, pricing, and post-award. The information is quite detailed from the very beginning.... The detailed complexity of the entire process is pointed out when the author lists 41 strategies to keep in mind during a certain kind of contract negotiation process! And similarly, following the signing of a contract, ‘contract administrative officers’ and their teams may have as many as 76 functions to perform. It is clear, however, that the author’s background in this world allows him to present the many steps in the contract process clearly to those who require the information. Given the highly specialized information presented here, specialized libraries will be most interested in acquiring it: business school and law school libraries, corporate libraries of companies dealing with the federal government, and possibly some academic libraries at institutions which teach related courses outside their professional programs.
A Guide to Federal Contracting: Principles and Practices is a studious, in-depth textbook and reference written especially for businesses that seek to engage in transactions with the American federal government. Author Dan Lindner puts his over 30 years of experience in federal acquisition and program management to paper, discussing the principles that shape a federal contract, how to effectively and professionally seek a federal contract, pricing methods, steps to take after a federal contract is awarded, and much more. A bibliography and an index rounds out this ‘must-have’ for business executives and aspiring leaders, as well as university School of Business reference shelves. Highly recommended.
