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April 2008
April 30, 2008
Letter: Bring boomers into workforce again with creditable service
A reader writes about a way to engage boomers: [Civil Service Retirement System] and the military can buy back years of creditable service.
Letter: Focus on boomers may not encourage other employees
A reader writes that appealing only to boomers may affect the morale of others in the workplace.
Letter: Think of the baby booomers and younger employees
A reader says younger workers need jobs with benefits, too.
April 29, 2008
Letter: GSA's attention divided by telework issues
A reader asks Lurita Doan, GSA's administrator, to focus on tackling the Alliant contract and other major tasks under the agency's mission.
Letter: Let's be real about clearance investigations
A reader says that the Office of Personnel Management's comments on improvements in clearance times should be checked against online public forum sites.
April 28, 2008
Letter: Article overstates vulnerabilities
A reader says our physical infrastructure is not as open to Internet-based attacks as some experts think, but there are other weaknesses.
April 25, 2008
Letter: Experience, not education, is key for contracting officers
A reader writes about how a contractor without a college degree went moved from a GS-4 to a GS-14.
Letter: For enterprise architecture, keep it simple
A reader writes, "The reason EA has not advanced is because it has been largely the realm of techies."
April 21, 2008
Letter: Real ID timelines cause confusion
A reader writes: "I think it would be a lot wiser in the long run to just secure our borders and build whatever fence necessary to do this."
Letter: Use of open systems now will attract next generation
Open architecture is not an option but a matter of time imperative. Current systems have served us well over the decades and can still support the [open architecture] transition, but the future will not wait.
Letter: Praise for GSA's panel on multiple award schedule
I would like to applaud the [General Services Administration] and its administrator for taking the first steps in establishing an advisory panel that will be looking into the issues that have surrounded the [multiple award schedule].
April 18, 2008
Letter: Cut out the middlemen in tax e-filing
Each year, I tell the IRS in my letter that I consider the requirement for me to pay a fee to an intermediate reseller of e-File services as a form of cost-shifting from the IRS to me, with an enviable profit margin going to the reseller.
April 17, 2008
Letter: E-mail rules already exist
A reader asks why a congressional committee is needed to investigate the application of existing laws and regulations about retaining electronic records.
Letter: Older feds are frustrated, too
A reader who wants to use wiki technology for an agency project says, ‘It is not only the younger generation that wants the latest greatest tech.’
Letter: E-filing should be free
A reader says free e-filing is technically possible and wonders why the government chose not to make it available.
April 14, 2008
Letter: IBM case: Many questions not addressed and not answered
There was a protest. The protest was never settled — it was made to disappear through the magic of the suspension that was hanging over an honorable company.
Letter: Contracting officers can face conflict of interests
it is not uncommon, that contracting officers are unduly influenced by those who stand to benefit politically by recommending one course of action instead of another.
Letter: Basic information in acquisitions goes a long way
Contract specialists need to be encouraged to make themselves operationally knowledgeable about what they are procuring so that the method of acquisition and the subsequent management of the contract are complementary to the requirement.
Letter: Time was biggest obstacle for Census
My reading of the situation, including articles in FCW, leads me to believe attempts were made to include new technology in the administration of the next census — it's just that agreement couldn't be reached in a timely fashion on what the technical requirements were going to be.
Letter: Smart card advice for a smooth transition
It is actually much easier to prepare the network to accept smart cards for log on while accepting both a user name and password or PIV card/PIN for log on.
April 11, 2008
Letter: Taxpayers lose under many agency-oriented contracts
The fed should be unifying, consolidating, and integrating its sprawling acquisition enterprise to save resources.
Letter: Vets GWAC could be used more
With well-qualified teams of companies bound together to meet IT mission requirements, one may have to look beyond his or her agency's specific mission needs to meet socioeconomic mandates.
Letter: Set a DOD PowerPoint standard
One reader, who is not fond of PowerPoint's bullets, writes: "The use of bullets within the Department of Defense should be limited to weapons."
April 8, 2008
Letter: Census should have kept Internet option on the table
A reader says that if the bureau had pursued a Web-based response system for the 2010 census, the decision to abandon handheld devices wouldn’t be so disappointing.
April 7, 2008
Letter: GAO lost objectivity under Walker
A reader says Comptroller General David Walker has completed GAO’s transformation into a management consultant to Congress, undermining and often abdicating its role as an independent auditor in the process.
Letter: Agency practices keep employees from advancing
A reader says the practice of “stepping” keeps qualified employees from using outside experience to move up to the executive level in government.
Letter: Vendor turmoil is not unique to U.S.
A reader points out that Canada is dealing with its own contracting issues.
Letter: Lifting IBM’s suspension was the right move
One reader has worked with or competed against IBM for 30-plus years, and he believes the company is rigorous about following the rules.
Letter: IBM sales figure is misleading
A reader says the company’s sales to the government exceed $1.5 billion when you consider indirect sales through other contractors.
Letter: Is IBM off the hook?
A reader says the government’s reversal of its ban on IBM shows a failure to adjudicate.
April 3, 2008
Letter: Intellipedia goes beyond CIA
A reader says the entire intelligence community collaborates on the wiki, which the Office of the Director of National Intelligence hosts.
Letter: Agencies need to make older workers happy, too
A reader says young professionals aren’t the only ones driving changes in the government workforce.
Letter: Craft an organizational change strategy and test it
Change is enabled by carefully crafting strategies (including, but not limited to communication and compensation) to help employees and organizations to shift their mind-sets.
April 2, 2008
Letter: More to be concerned about with contract specialists
Blended workforce issues don't disappear by shifting procurement activities to another contracting organization, but the degree of separation makes it easier to shift blame for problems.
Letter: A collapsing GSA needs to listen and lead
To date I have met no one at GSA genuinely interested in feedback from clients or industry on how to take charge of the acquisition arena as they could well do again. But even if they did listen, they would surely be unable to synthesize and manage the data and effectively respond.
Letter: Why shouldn't OPM employees like their jobs?
When you are:[Getting] raises and sometimes even bonuses [that] are almost automatic, and you cannot be fired, what's not to like?
Letter: Strict hiring policies limit talent pool
There are some exceptionally talented and dedicated individuals who have not had previous government experience. Hiring policies restrictive to those who have had previous experience does not serve the needs of the employer.
Letter: Use a simple rule: Go for the lowest price
The simplest way for contracting activities to avoid protests is to use the "lowest price technically acceptable" source selection process.
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