Mitigating Spirals of Conflict in DOD Source Selections
Abstract
In 1984, Congress gave its investigatory arm, the General Accounting Office, or GAO (renamed the Government Accountability Office in July 2004), authority to decide protests of source selection decisions under the Competition in Contracting Act. Judicial forums for resolving protests are adversarial by design. GAO is not. It is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism, designed to be fast, inexpensive, and flexible. How well does this process work? The response to this question evokes not one, but two answers. If the question means: Does it handle protests efficiently? the answer is clearly "yes." If it means: Does it fix the root causes of the conflicts that lead to protests? the answer is less clear. To answer the question, we apply concepts from the theory of dispute-systems design. We used a protocol designed to diagnose conflict to interview over 25 members of the acquisition community. These are not a representative sample, but rather a network that expanded as respondents recommended others who could share their perspectives. Their insights are suggestive, not definitive. We also analyzed GAO bid protest decisions related to DoD source selections between 2001 and 2009. Our interlocutors generally agree that source selection procedures, although often onerous for everyone involved, are basically fair and bid-protest processes effective. They also expressed concern about insufficient information, inconsistency, and bias. In the absence of information, innocuous matters can grow into spirals of conflict. Miscommunication and misperception trigger distrust and sometimes hostility even though the procedures for resolving disagreements seem clear. Agencies fear rejected offerors will exploit their every word, so utter fewer of them. Businesses fear agencies will utter fewer words, so try to pry more out of them. In a spiral of conflict, perception matters more than substance. Reciprocating reactions create an adversarial tone.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA539723
Entities
People
- Fred Thompson
- Steven M. Maser
Organizations
- Defense Acquisition University