An Appraisal of the Short-Term Cost Results of a Selected Number of Air Force Should Cost Studies

Abstract

Should Cost briefly can be described as a technique of contract pricing which seeks to determine a realistic price objective which reflects reasonably achievable economies and efficiencies of contractor operations. The Air Force has performed a number of Should Cost studies, each with the stated objective of achieving the desired results contemplated by the above definition. Has the Air Force achieved these results. Up to this point, this question has not been easily answerable since the final cost outcomes have not been available as a basis against which originally negotiated cost targets could be compared. Based upon a limited sample of four contracts which were negotiated using the Should Cost technique, the study showed that Should Cost, as used by the Air Force, may be producing results which are not more effective than those experienced from contracts negotiated using conventional cost analysis.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1975
Accession Number
ADA016262

Entities

People

  • Roy F. Birkhead
  • William E. Schaefer

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Contract Administration
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Cost Analysis
  • Cost Estimates
  • Cost Reductions
  • Costs
  • Logistics
  • Manufacturing
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Procurement
  • Production
  • Test Methods

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Systems Analysis and Design