Contract management is a complex process that involves the principal and agent. For a particular study, the role of the principal is given to the government, and the role of the agent is any contractor who is providing services. Usually, the government’s and the contractor’s objectives are conflicting. The objective of the government is to obtain a high-quality service within the contract time and the lowest possible price. Meanwhile, the contractor’s main objective is to earn profit along with company growth, higher market share, and better cash flow (Mitchell, 2014). Hence, the contracts between these two entities are very complex. Also, the information that the principle and agent have are different. The conflicting objectives and differences in the information that the two sides have to push them to act in a specific way or model.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest contracting agency within U.S. federal government. DOD Contracting Competency Model’s aim is to assess the contract management and cover its gaps via training and development. The DOD Model includes eleven units of competencies that are categorized as ten technical and one professional unit. The units are further divided into twenty-eight technical competencies and ten professional competencies. These competencies are further broken down into smaller elements.
Another contract management competency model that DOD contract management can access is NCMA’s Contract Management Body of Knowledge (CMBOK). Since 2002, CMBOK provides a “common understanding of the terminology, practices, policies, and processes used in contract management.” (Rendon & Winn, 2017, p. 72). The foundation of the model is the Contract Management Standard (CMS), which is based on the surveys of contract managers, peer reviews, expert drafting, and validation of formal public commitment. The model consists of seven primary competencies, which are further divided into a total of thirty process competencies.
The major similarity between the two models is that both of them, CMBOK and DOD, include “Pre-Award” as a major category. The difference is that the DOD model has “Pre-Award” and “Award” categories together as one competency unit. At the same time, the CMBOK model has a separate primary competency named “Pre-Award.” Moreover, the CMBOK model has a separate primary competency for “Post-Award,” but the competency unit of the same name is not included in the DOD model. Hence, the DOD model is better to use the separate competency unit for “Post-Award” since any model must have all major contracting life cycle categories for effectiveness (Albano, 2013). Because when the categories of contracting life cycle are not properly named in the contracting competency model, a user can get confused about the implication of the competency within the contracting life cycle.
Another significant difference between the two contract competency models is the addressing of professional competency. DOD model contains only one professional competency unit with ten professional elements. At the same time, CMBOK covers the same professional issues via two separate competencies, which provide a more detailed description for the user. Also, one more difference between the CMBOK model is the “learn” competency, which is not covered by the DOD model. The category provides valuable information regarding the competency at the individual level as well as a capability at the organizational level.
To sum up, the structure of DOD and CMBOK models are different, and each has its own specific features. Compared to the DOD model, the CMBOK model is more oriented and based on the major contracting life cycles, “Pre-Award,” “Award,” and “Post-award.” The structure of the DOD model’s units is not strictly followed by the contracting life cycle, which might make users confused. Hence, these elements of the CMBOK model’s structure can be combined with the existing DOD model’s structure to increase its user-friendliness and efficiency in use.
References
Albano, J. D. (2013). The contract management body of knowledge: A comparison of contracting competencies. [Master’s Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA].
Mitchell L. Springer. (2014). Project and Program Management: A Competency-Based Approach: Vol. Fourth edition. Purdue University Press
Rendon, R. G., & Winn, T. (2017). Competency in contract management: A comparison of DoD and CMBOK competency models. Contract Management, 57(12), 66–81.