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When you say it's widespread, I'm curious where you're getting your information. The purchasing managers I talk to all seem pretty keen on doing right by their
by Frondo 11y ago
When you say it's widespread, I'm curious where you're getting your information.
The purchasing managers I talk to all seem pretty keen on doing right by their aspirational goals, and the firms that try and cheat the system that way, well, it's known that they're trying to cheat the system.
Furthermore, all this stuff is public record--all the purchasing decisions, awarded contracts, etc., and I know that the local papers here in the Pacific Northwest periodically sift through that data looking for signs of abuse. They do report it when it comes up, too, but it simply isn't prevalent, and I'd be quite surprised to see any interpretation of the data that would let you characterize it as "widespread".
- CamperBob2 11y agoPersonal experience in electronic test/measurement and components sectors.
- Frondo 11y agoFair enough, I won't contradict your experience in the electronic test/measurement sector. I would like to mention, though, that I've literally never seen a contract issued by a state agency or local unit of government to purchase electronic component testing services or equipment (either directly or a larger contract with a subcontracted piece for that). That's not to say it never happens, just that most of the contracting dollars I see spent are on construction and personal services (counseling and social work, IT services, and the like). I would suggest that your experience probably isn't reflective of the disadvantaged business community as a whole, and I suspect any empirical evidence we could unearth (i.e. the public purchasing records, and so on) would support that claim pretty unambiguously.