It is quite possible to say that in the future, I will have to address various issues related to contract performance and disagreement that private organizations need to resolve. There are many cases when business partners are not able to meet their obligations. One of the challenges that I may face is the inability of contractors to keep the schedule negotiated in the agreement.
This failure can pose a threat to the financial and organizational performance of any company that may depend on timely delivery of goods or services. Secondly, in many cases, contractors cannot reach the quality standards set by the customer in the agreement. For instance, such issues are of great importance to manufacturers that must ensure that their suppliers provide with materials or component parts of specified quality. These situations are very widespread in various industries.
Additionally, companies have to prove the terms of the agreement have been violated by their business partners. In many cases, these conflicts lead to legal disputes that can become very expensive and time-consuming. These are the main challenges that I will need to avoid and overcome. By overlooking these risks, managers can imperil the financial and organizational performance of the company. Overall, one has to take several precautions in order to minimize the possibility and reduce their impact.
In order to do it, one should thoroughly evaluate different business partners of the company and their ability to meet contractual obligations. Close attention should be paid to the previous performance of the company, its relations with the clients, and the guarantees that it can offer. By doing it, managers can greatly decrease the possibility of future conflicts. So, this is one aspect of contract performance. Additionally, legal professionals recommend the use of contract performance bonds (Lerner & Baum, 2006, p. 60).
This bond is a guarantee to fulfill the contract or at least compensate clients for their financial losses (Lerner & Baum, 2006, p. 60). In this way, one can motivate a contractor to comply with the requirements set by client (Lerner & Baum, 2006, p. 60). This practice is widely adopted by many companies. This is why the terms of the business agreement should clearly define what kinds of products or services the contractor should deliver at a certain moment.
On the whole, the provisions of the contract can provide an extra incentive for business partners to act according to the previous agreements. Additionally, practitioners advocate the use of information technologies such Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems that enable a client to track the performance of contractor and assess this organization in terms of time and cost-efficiency (Stackpole, 2011, p. 767).
Furthermore, these software solutions enable companies to document the malpractices of their contractors and this information will be very useful in those cases when there is a legal dispute between a client and suppliers (Stackpole, 2011, p. 767). More importantly, information technologies can help the management detect possible malpractices of a contractor at an early stage and minimize their impact on the performance of their company. This is the main advantage of relying on information technologies.
So, in my work, I will focus on such aspects as preliminary evaluation of business partners, the formulation of contract agreements, and careful documentation of their performance. These are the main steps that I will take in order to manage these issues. These strategies can address a variety of issues related to contract performance and conflicts between business partners. As it has been said before, they reduce the risk of poor performance and decrease its impact on the firm.
Furthermore, I will have to pay close attention to such issues as the management of data, patents, and copyrights that belong to the company. The intellectual property can give this organization competitive advantage over other firms operating in the market. Therefore, managers must ensure that these rights of the company are respected by other businesses.
There are several practices that managers can adopt in their work. One of the approaches used by companies is called defensive strategy. It means that the legal professional prosecute its competitors in those cases when they use patents of the company without asking for authorization (Parr & Smith, 2005, p. 548).
As a rule, litigation is the main way of compelling other businesses to respect the rights of the company (Parr & Smith, 2005, p. 548). The main advantage of this strategy is that the organization can prevent possible competitors from entering the market (Parr & Smith, 2005, p. 548).
Nevertheless, one should bear in mind that legal disputes can be very costly and time-consuming. This is one of the drawbacks that should not be overlooked. In some cases, legal professionals suggest the adoption of more flexible policies. For example, the company can license some of its patents or copyrights to other businesses and receive the portion of their revenues (Parr & Smith, 2005, p. 553).
This strategy enables businesses to avoid many conflicts and derive profits from their intellectual property. Finally, it is important to remember that businesses should implement information security procedures that prevent outsiders from accessing the data that can be of commercial value. They are supposed to reduce the possibility of information leakage. These are the main practices are used by modern-day companies.
On the whole, this issue will play an important role in my daily work. I will have to adopt different strategies. Certainly, I will need to rely on protective strategy to make sure that other businesses do not violate the intellectual property rights of the company. This approach is critical for eliminating possible illegal practices of the competitors.
If there is no other option, I will certainly insist on starting litigation that will restore the intellectual property rights of the company. Nevertheless, I will definitely try to seek a compromise in such situations. It is quite possible that the company can give other businesses access to their intellectual property provided that the activities of these organizations will not pose a direct threat to the performance of the company. The benefit of this approach is that a business makes an active use of their intellectual assets.
In order to avoid possible problems companies should pay close attention to market trends such as the availability of substitute products, the intensity of competition as well as the main strengths or weaknesses of a company. These are the main steps that I will have to take. It seems that the combination of these strategies will help a company uphold its intellectual property rights and derive profits from its information assets. This is the main objective should be achieved.
Reference List
Lerner, L., & Baum, T. (2006). Performance Bond Manual of the 50 States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Federal Jurisdictions. New York: American Bar Association.
Parr, R., & Smith, G. (2005). Intellectual Property: Valuation, Exploitation, and Infringement Damages. Boston: John Wiley & Sons.
Stackpole, C. (2011). PMP Certification All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies. New York: John Wiley & Sons.