The latest news suggests that mentors won't have to disclose financial interests, but even if that changes, and the officers eventually adhere to new ethics regulations, or are hired directly by the Pentagon as part-timers, this will only chip away at the margins of the information deficit.
The fact is that, while contributing their invaluable experience, these officers also glean invaluable inside information. It is hard to imagine that they erase what they learn as mentors when they conduct their work as defense industry executives or consultants, and vice-versa. In the area of the economy, contractors manage - and more - taxpayer stimulus and bailout money, giving them access to should-be government information.
The Wall Street Journal said:. BlackRock's multiple hats put it in the enviable position of having influence on setting the prices of both the assets it is buying and selling. Another big area of concern is in the outsourcing of information technologies.
An estimated upwards of three-quarters of governmental IT was outsourced even before the major Iraq war-related push to contract out. While outsourcing certain IT functions, such as computer network services, may be unproblematic or even desirable, IT often can't be separated from other mission-critical operations.
Contractors often control crucial databases. How did private and corporate interests seize the upper hand from government? A key reason for the information deficit is the sharp decline in the number of government oversight officials, relative to contractors. In theory, contracts and contractors are overseen by government employees. But the number of civil servants who could potentially oversee contractors fell during the Clinton administration and continued to drop during the Bush years.
The contracting business boomed under Bush, while what is commonly called the "acquisition work force"--government workers charged with the conceptualization, design, awarding, use, or quality control of contracts and contractors--has remained virtually constant.
The paucity of oversight is the reason large procurement operations are identified by the GAO as "high risk" due to "their greater susceptibility to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.
Government officials are often reliant on what the contractors report and recommend, especially when a sole contractor carries out a given program or project as is often the case. As a top GAO official, Katherine Schinasi reported that, in many cases, government deciders scarcely supervise the companies on their payrolls.
And routinely, contractors are also hiring and overseeing other contractors. Nearly a year before the Iraq combat began, the army reported to Congress that its best guess was that it directly or indirectly employed between , and , service contract workers--a discrepancy of half a million workers.
And, as the GAO's director of acquisition and sourcing management reported,. The government could also increase the limitations on government work or data being accessed offshore. That said, despite the rhetoric on the subject for the past few presidential terms, little broad-based change has been implemented. Only time will tell if the next presidential term will bring about real change to the outsourcing landscape e.
It has been a difficult week for our country and our industry. Our best wishes go to those affected by Hurricane Sandy, and we are hopeful that the presidential election, whatever the outcome, can help bring us together in healing. Pillsbury's Global Sourcing Team. Share this: Print. This does not mean the US lawmakers won't actually enact protectionist legislation for political reasons, but it won't last.
One is relative costs. If it's significantly cheaper to outsource, companies will do so. As the Staff. Two, relative costs do not matter if the strategic value of owning a technology is overwhelming. Apple will always develop its technology inhouse to retain tight control of the IPR, but it will build its iPads and iPhones in China.
It will thus both insource and outsource. But does the same logic work for GM? Three, insourcing makes sense only if the value created in-house is greater than the value that can be created outside.
Genpact was sold by GE once its value as a standalone BPO giant became significantly larger than as a captive unit. India should not spend much time fretting about GM's insourcing nonsense. It will fall apart under the weight of its own contradictions. Divya Deshmukh scored five points from nine rounds of the First Saturday Grandmaster chess tournament in Budapest and came up with a rating performance of to secure her third and final WGM norm. Irving is an engaging, curious year-old who does a lot of charity work behind the scenes, but he's got a contrarian's streak a mile long.
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