Re: Vendor conflict of interest - Consultants, etc.

> Mike wrote:
> To Leif's point, while it's valid to me that assumes the outcome (and
> assumes it's positive) and from where I was posing the question (and
> probably not well enough) would be before the results.  And I can list
> numerous projects whereby we had consultant assistance that resulted in
> further work being assigned to the consultant and the results weren't all
> that hot.  I suppose that's a bit of a self serving answer but just to
show
> the other side.
>
> Granted, we ask for things to be answered in a certain way sometimes.  But
> there are times we want that objective approach and want an independent
> answer.  I'm just seeing us involving more and more consultants for a
> recommendation on a decision who can (and most often do) derive a definite
> benefit depending on one of the answers they provide.  It's kind of the
> nature of the beast these days but I'm not sure I like it.......

Mike,
This sometimes happens when dealing with governmental or
quasi-governmental entities like governmental corporations.

Even though most governments require competitive bidding on the
project or purchase, the user requirement is written in such a
fashion (often with the help of the vendor) that ONLY a certain
vendor or package can satisfy the requirements given, thus limiting
the field of qualified applicants for bidding purposes.

I have seen this in practice.  My company has done work for the
state of Texas, and we observed first-hand how the system works.

It kind of reminds me of a loophole that I read about
in the U.S. federal tax code back in the 60's or early 70's.  As
written, the tax law gave either a tax break or credit to a certain
type of foundation, and the qualifications were enumerated in great
detail in the tax code.

It turned out that the Howard Hughes Foundation was the only
foundation that qualified to take advantage of it.  I'm sure that
some lobbyists were paid very well to get this loophole written
into the law!

Steve Landess
Austin, Texas
(512) 423-0935