Content area
Full Text
Introduction to Public Procurement. By Khi V. Thai, Herndon, VA: National Institute for Governmental Purchasing, 2004, ISBN Number: 1-932315-00-4, hardbound, 208 pages, $80.00.
Thai's Introduction to Public Procurement is the initial text in the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc.'s Learning and Education Aligned to Procurement Program (LEAP). As such, it introduces the reader-and the student using it as text in the introductory course-to the practice and the profession of public procurement. It is an excellent reference tool, generously identifying other texts in the LEAP series. In addition, Thai advocates adoption of the most innovative aspects of public procurement in ways that will add to growing professionalism.
The book is divided into three parts as well as eleven chapters. The parts entail the Framework, the Functionality, and the Profession of Public Procurement. The individual chapters succinctly provide the basic information that is essential to understanding the nature of public procurement. Thai adds insightful analysis along the way, accurately identifying factors and conditions that affect decisions and the choice of policies and procedures that are key to effective public procurement.
The initial overview chapter provides a needed look at trends in the discipline, clearly stating that the profession is evolving, growing in importance and significance as the goods and services that are purchased become more complex. Thai raises a key issue: how can the effectiveness or success of purchasing be judged? This initiates a brief discussion of key goals of procurement, including at least two that reflect increasingly higher priority procurement practices: quality and managing risk. He suggests that any assessment of effectiveness entails weighing tradeoffs among specific goal achievement, as managing risk more effectively may mean higher costs.
The second chapter is highlighted by a thorough discussion of the organizational arrangements for public procurement, ranging from highly...