Don’t Dump on Us! Case Study

Question 1

Product, price, quality and product warranty are some of the main aspects that the government would take into consideration when they are looking for tenders. But the most important aspect that always influences their decisions would be the price of the products and services. The government should not always have the tendency to accept anything and everything based solely on the price offered by tenders. They should instead take into consideration other aspects such as the availability of cheap labour or raw materials in certain countries like China. If every decision for a tender is based solely on the price, it would be unfair to local producers and manufacturers because they would no doubt be at a disadvantage.

The government should really consider the quality of the products and services offered by tenders. If the product is of good quality then it is worth the slightly higher price. For example, if the product offered has the approval of the environmental act, then surely it is a good investment because it can contribute in saving the environment. Another aspect that should be taken into consideration would be aftersales services. Large companies like Dell offer good aftersales services to their customers and thus it is worth the price paid.

Another responsibility of the government would be giving local manufacturers the “handicap” status to protect them. This is to level the playing field and to give local manufacturers a chance to grow. However, the government should not overdo it as over time, local manufacturers would only rely on the “handicap” status and would not take the initiative to compete with other international producers.

Question 2

A shared tender is definitely an unethical position to take. The local company can only afford to reduce its price 2% for the tender while the EU company was able to quote a price 45% lower than the local company. With the lower price offered by the EU company, it is obvious that the...