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Article: The procurement system: backwards to bureaucracy? A look at the goals of procurement reform over the past few decades and a suggested course of action that mirrors current concern over achieving performance outcomes while adhering to high ethical standards.(MINI-FORUM: PARTNERING FOR CHANGE)
- Article from:
- The Public Manager
- Article date:
- September 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Bureaucrat, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This is a dangerous time for the federal procurement system. Political controversies over Iraqi contracting have been in the headlines, following earlier headlines over credit card abuse. Within the system, there have been reports of contracting problems involving streamlined contracting vehicles run by the General Services Administration. These developments threaten a process of modernization and improvement begun over the last decade that has aimed to allow the procurement system to become more oriented toward providing best value for agency missions and taxpayers. They create a risk that we hurtle backwards to a time when the main role of the contracting function was ...